dgjohnsonstein
Member
- Joined
- Jun 5, 2025
- Messages
- 7
Well, oddly, I am in instructor in CNC G and M code--however, I was hired because I was a MANUAL machinist. I knew NOTHING of G & M code to start with, but after a year of instruction I now know quite a bit. Am still struggling however, due to the fact that the projects my students are doing, are so much more amenable to manual techniques. CNC is obviously made for making many parts and what we are doing is onesy, twosy parts at a time. My school is buying some small manual machines this year, so it should improve my ability to teach. Believe it or don't, they could not find qualified CNC instructors! I was the bottom of the barrel but now I'm up a couple feet from the bottom.
I like steam engines as I thimpfk they are the wave of the future (particularly if we get into a devastating war on our home territory in the future). I have two Coles Corliss engines, one I have been working on for FIFTY years! Mostly because I didn't have access to a good lathe and mill. Funny thing is, it's actually easier to make certain parts like the crank shaft on a manual. At least in my experience. The onesy-twosy thing is also a stopper for CNC making hobby stuff. Also I am continuing on five Stuart models, one of which is the Sirius--a type of model that saved us during WWII--that is, it was sent with spies into France in ordfer to charge the batteries for radios. Really something IMNSHO. Oddly I managed to get a Stuart "Sun" which is almost identical to the Sirius but a bit smaller. The Suns were discontinued in the the '50s. I haven't started on that yet. The third one is a Stuart upright twin which was partly machined (a very crappy job on the crank) from 1962. It was in a garage sale. The other two are the Stuart horizontal and upright.
I like the Sirius and Sun because they have enclosed crankcase and so oiling is much less cumbersome. I've seen enclosed crank case machines that were coming about in the early 1900's used for powering real generators and I guess, some manufacturing. But they were supplanted by the ICE. Of course, being a dooms dayer, I am always worried that our power will become shut off, gasoline will be impossible to obtain and thus a steam engine which can run on grass, buffalo chips, wood or even hair, it is much more amenable to emergencies.
These little Sirius's and Suns have very little power (I estimate 1/4 HP) but I am interested in buiilding jobs that are up to 5 HP. If anyone has knowledge of enclosed crankcase steam engines, please give me a holler.
I like steam engines as I thimpfk they are the wave of the future (particularly if we get into a devastating war on our home territory in the future). I have two Coles Corliss engines, one I have been working on for FIFTY years! Mostly because I didn't have access to a good lathe and mill. Funny thing is, it's actually easier to make certain parts like the crank shaft on a manual. At least in my experience. The onesy-twosy thing is also a stopper for CNC making hobby stuff. Also I am continuing on five Stuart models, one of which is the Sirius--a type of model that saved us during WWII--that is, it was sent with spies into France in ordfer to charge the batteries for radios. Really something IMNSHO. Oddly I managed to get a Stuart "Sun" which is almost identical to the Sirius but a bit smaller. The Suns were discontinued in the the '50s. I haven't started on that yet. The third one is a Stuart upright twin which was partly machined (a very crappy job on the crank) from 1962. It was in a garage sale. The other two are the Stuart horizontal and upright.
I like the Sirius and Sun because they have enclosed crankcase and so oiling is much less cumbersome. I've seen enclosed crank case machines that were coming about in the early 1900's used for powering real generators and I guess, some manufacturing. But they were supplanted by the ICE. Of course, being a dooms dayer, I am always worried that our power will become shut off, gasoline will be impossible to obtain and thus a steam engine which can run on grass, buffalo chips, wood or even hair, it is much more amenable to emergencies.
These little Sirius's and Suns have very little power (I estimate 1/4 HP) but I am interested in buiilding jobs that are up to 5 HP. If anyone has knowledge of enclosed crankcase steam engines, please give me a holler.
