Thread: Model Steam engine build

If you need some inspiration, check out Keith Appleton on Youtube. He has hundreds of videos on building, restoring, setting up and timing model steam engines.

He has a whole series on building a Victoria - you just have to do everything twice...



Unfortunately the rest of this series is on his Patreon feed, but for $1 you could watch them if they are of any use. I used to be a Patron of his, but I share my money around a bit, so haven’t been for a while.

Originally Posted by Homestar

If you need some inspiration, check out Keith Appleton on Youtube. He has hundreds of videos on building, restoring, setting up and timing model steam engines.

He has a whole series on building a Victoria - you just have to do everything twice...



Unfortunately the rest of this series is on his Patreon feed, but for $1 you could watch them if they are of any use.

Thanks Gavin,

The Stuart Turner instructions are a bit sketchy but I should be able to work it out. Mind you the video you posted has made me think about checking the steam ports in the cylinders for casting sand !
As all the machining is already done it's really just a case of polish, paint and assemble....oh and get the timing correct.

Rather than needing inspiration I really just need time to do the assembly.


Colin

Time is everything isn’t it. Hope you find some!

As for engine timing, He has quite a few videos on this amongst his other stuff.

One of my good customers, now deceased, was widowed in 1980 and decided to retire when he was offered a redundancy package from the ATO where he had worked all his life. Trev decided he needed a hobby and for reasons unknown to me decided to take up model making. He started with a small single cylinder steam engine of the type one sees in hobby shops. He had never had any involvement with metal trades but was a good learner. He progressed to bigger and better models driving me mad in the process with 'phone calls "how do I do this", "how do I set this up". By steps over a number of years he worked his way up to a three cylinder triple expansion big enough to power a 24' launch. Then he built the launch! He built a model WW1 rotary engine as used in aircraft which ran nicely and sprayed castor oil like a full size one. Next was an Indianapolis Offenhauser made from drawings not a kit. Ran well too. Age and illness caught up with him and his model RR Merlin was never finished. This was a semi-finished kit. The biggest challenge with this was making the jigs and fixtures.

R.I.P Trevor Jones 1924 to 2015

Flywheel painted, sourced some timber for a stand and then found a couple of parts missing....bugger.

The model has been in the shed for over a year with some parts painted some still shrink wrapped. Searched high & low and nothing.

Sent an email to Stuart Models in the UK explaining the situation, just had a reply.....they are sending the parts out FOC ! Fantastic customer service.

Once the parts arrive I can get cracking.


Colin

More pics, please!

I bought a set of Stuart Turner 10V castings about 30 years ago when I was a member of the Sydney Society of Model Engineers. I did a little work on them before moving to Norfolk Island in 1990 but have never got back into them after returning to Oz.

I should sell them, I will never finish the engine.

As a kid i always a model steam engine, still love them and the larger varieties. Pics please.

Started building last night, I'll try & remember to take some pics.

I'm making a hardwood base (I'm a member of the local woodwork club) but last night was fiddling with 7BA screws to assemble the cylinders.

I purchased a 10V kit many, many years ago when I lived in the UK. Never got round to doing anything with it so gifted it to my father-in-law and he built it (it may have been me who got him onto model engineering....).
Clearing his garage I found a boiler, several MS (Minature Steam) engines which are like the 10V, other small engines, a boiler feed pump, several governors, valves, gauges the list goes on......


Colin