Big Steam Engine Build! Part 1

[@Blondihacks]

Hey gang! A few themes in the comments that I can address here: 1) Many suggested offsetting the smaller boring head in the four jaw chuck to get more reach, or mounting a cutter offset (or using the faceplate to hold an offset cutter). These are all excellent ideas that would probably work! I honestly didn’t think of it, so I bought the larger head instead. Could have used you all in my shop that day. 😁 2) Will this big engine get a boiler? I don’t know right now. I haven’t done the math on how much steam it needs, but it’ll be a lot and I suspect I can’t legally build a boiler myself that is big enough in my jurisdiction. Above a certain size, boilers must be built by licensed professionals, certified, and annually inspected. This engine may be in that range. But we’ll see! If all else fails, I’ll run it on air, even though I know that’s way less cool. 🙂

[@xXcagllariXx]

But if no one in your jurisdiction knows 🤔

[@Ranger_Kevin]

technically, if you would build a bunch of small boilers (each with their own safety features an within the legal limit) and plumb them together with non-return-valves, would that be a loophole?

[@cameronwebster6866]

Technically, running a steam engine off of compressed air is cooler than running it of of steam.

[@PatrickPoet]

The only steam engine I ever made, in a machining class I took, has _only_ run off of compressed air. Sigh.

[@mxcollin95]

@@xXcagllariXx I know right? I wasn’t going to tell anyone in her jurisdiction...where any of you? Ignorance is bliss...git’r done!!! 💪

[@DavidHerscher]

EDIT: I have the same lathe, you 100% bent the drive pinon that engages with the rack. You can see it if you look behind the carriage. You can probably even see the bend. I did the same exact thing, in a different way... It's pretty easy to replace, just call PM and they'll ship out a new one. Quinn shows us how to machine an ACTUAL engine on hobby machine tools. *Not the hero we deserve, but the hero we need*

[@trevorjones2473]

I own a UK market version of the almost identical machine (Warco branded) and had exactly the same issue with the drive pinion. Some thick cardboard between the pinion and the rack and some brute force on the hand wheel sorted it. Proof that the pinion spindle is made of monkey metal!.

[@Blondihacks]

At the risk of spoilers for next week, you are quite correct. 😁

[@boylard]

@@trevorjones2473 thats interesting, I have been musing over making a Warco purchase. I am heavily inspired by Quinn and want to see just how hard it really is. If the Warco machines are comparable thats one question answered.

[@Reman1975]

@@boylard For their home/hobby machining kit, Warco tend to sell rebranded versions of Chinese products these days. Mind you, Warco are big enough and order enough to dictate the machines are built to their specs, AND tolerances. The tolerances of the machines they're based on are often ludicrously bad, and it may take a month of fettling before it can cut anything even approaching acceptable. Buying from someone like Warco at least takes that worry out of the purchase. It's one of those rare cases where "Paying for the brand name" isn't such a bad idea, because you're also paying for that names much pickier quality control and their support if something isn't exactly right when it arrives.

[@philipmylan5075]

You know, more than other KZbin machinists, there's something about watching this channel that makes me think, "Hey, if she can do this then I can do this!" It's got a more realistic, down-to-earth feel to it than a lot of channels, kinda hard to put into words.

[@Blondihacks]

Everyone CAN do this! Don’t let anyone tell you differently. 😉

[@cedricpieterse7280]

As a professional fitter& turner, having worked for 32 years on lathes and milling machines, I am impressed with your ingenuity, tenacity and skills. Well done!

[@brucematthews6417]

Lots of great examples in how you approached the setup. As machinists know it's "mostly" not about the actual chips coming off. It's about how to set things up so the chips come off the right spots. And that comes back to the methods for work holding. And with castings like this the issues can be quite demanding. You're reasoning and planning within the limits of your tooling shows that you're off to a great start.

[@meh.7539]

I very much appreciate your silliness.

[@13tucker45]

The damage to your lathe is a testament to how well your work was clamped down! Thats pretty crazy

[@grayghost5973]

I worked for GE making steam turbines. My partner and I ran a 20 foot vertical boring mill, machining high pressure heads. I was up in the crows nest dialing the cuts, while he was inside the part taking the measurements. I'm going to enjoy watching you make your big steam engine.

[@colincreedtattoomachines]

Being an old Jeweller, we use magnets to run through the lemel & separate any ferrous from the precious metals which results in the same problem on your Magnetic DTI Stand, but worse because an every day standard magnet has no "off" switch... My simple solution was to just drop the magnet inside a small plastic "zip lock" bag & so now when I need to use a Magnetic DTI in close proximity of my Lathe or Mill, I just slip the base section inside a larger "zip-lock" bag. The plastic bag doesn't effect the strength of the magnet & it stops the frustrating tiny "dusty bits" from getting into the gaps. HTH, Colin

[@Oldtanktapper]

I do the same with my lemel to get the iron out of it prior to recycling it. The plastic bag trick works a treat, it always surprises me how much ferrous material gets in there.

[@scharkalvin]

Wow that's a big engine. I can't wait to see the boiler you build to power it! So THAT''s why you made that line boring tool in a previous video!

[@Ranger_Kevin]

Another steam engine build? Madame, you are spoiling us! Can't wait for all of the other episodes :-)

[@sofiatgarcia3970]

I particularly appreciate you giving us measurements in both Imperial and Metric as I'm Canadian. We moved from Imperial to Metric here in Canada when I was in grade 8…over 40 years ago… and I more or less understand both to varying degrees. But in the smaller measurements, I find Metric easier.

[@Blondihacks]

I am also Canadian so I feel you. 😁🇨🇦

[@Somnifluous]

Yep, Quinn is badass. Thank you for sharing your thoughts as well as your technique. The why is as important as the how. Your instruction is golden!

[@JasonDoege]

New patron, here. The line boring setup and execution alone are worth the price of admission.

[@gavdawiziscool]

Oh Quinn, you've fallen down the model steam rabbit hole now! So excited to see this engine come to life!

[@atheistsfightclub6684]

It's always satisfying when watching a video where a problem is laid out, i think of a way to handle it, and then that exact thing is done, makes me feel like I've learned something from watching all of these videos over the years. =)

[@RonCovell]

Quinn - hats off to you for some very innovative setups!

[@Blondihacks]

Thanks Ron! 😄

[@Reman1975]

They're certainly better than some of the death trap jury rigged work holding techniques I've employed in the past.......... Anyone else here needed to use a faceplate to turn an alloy casting, and had to supplement the single clamp they could fit on the workpiece with a liberal dose of superglue? Has anyone else used "Worm drive Hose clamps" as a form of work holding? How about a whole bag of zip ties ? :D...... You can usually tell when you're doing something "Ill advised" with a lathe, it's when you suddenly realise that you're involuntarily operating it at an arms length to the left or right of where you'd usually be standing. :D

[@Naturesyouth]

really excited to follow along, big steam engine for the win!!

[@carolsmith9478]

I love going through the working process with you ( watching) I struggle with you when things go wrong and smile with you when the process works. I have a car that is dead in my garage with no electronic key. I hate electronic keys. My dad parked too close to the wall. I can do this, but it is a major pain! Life goes on ….

[@reddcube]

I'm always fascinated how you can swap your tool and part holding on a lathe.

[@Reman1975]

Yeah. With enough work holding toys you can force a lathe into filling a few different workshop roles. You just have to accept that it's never going to do the job as well as a purpose built machine (By "Not as well", I mean in terms of either finish, convenience, time, or precision. You usually have to sacrifice at least 2 of those). Like you saw Quinn doing, with patience you can use one as a basic mill. With a good vertical slide you get a less rigid, but more convenient basic mill. With the right tool and a LOT of back and forth on the Z axis you can use one as an internal keyway shaper. If you're desperate you can even put a wire wheel or buffing wheel arbour/mop in the chuck and use it to finish metal up (But cover EVERYTHING beforehand, and clean it thoroughly afterward). There's also a slight safety aspect to think about with all this though. If you're using a lathe as a mill, you tend to be leaning over it more than you would when turning things on one, so be careful not to get hair or clothes anywhere near the spinney bits.

[@neiljborja]

I remember seeing John Grimsmo putting some tooling in the vise of his mill and using it as an ad hoc gang lathe. He didn't do it for very long for good reason though.

[@manythingslefttobuild]

Intro: Amen. Looking forward to seeing more of this project. Also to the companion go-cart build and drive to the store to buy food for Sprocket.

[@Hydrogenblonde]

A while back you expressed the thought that you might like to make a internal combustion engine at some stage but you expressed some self doubt about your ability to achieve the accuracy required for internal combustion. I say you have nothing to doubt yourself about. You have the accuracy. You have the skill. You have the imagination to work out unusual set ups. Go for it. I have no doubt that this will be another excellent project. I can't wait to see all the videos.

[@peteb2]

Wow thank you for your witty presentation on the start of a new HUGE project. You don't know how much admiration i have for you in daring to take on a project this big with the 'mini-machines' you have! Again WOW!

[@terrytopliss9506]

Ten out of ten for ingenuity Quinn,loving the video.👍👍

[@haramanggapuja]

I watched the intro & thought "I wonder if she's gonna have a flywheel like's on my old cast iron press." And damn, you pulled that flywheel out the box & a big surprised grin smacked across my face! This looks like a project for a true maniac. Love it. Just be careful . . . as I'm sure you will be.

[@donaldsutherland244]

Very good idea about hanging the plans! I can't believe that I never thought of that!

[@bencheesecake]

This feels like the absolute pinnacle of your video making style. You have gone over several operations and discussed small mistakes and learning opportunities, and I really appreciated the "why" explanations here, and your humor is on point as well. I loved the CRT screen joke, that was the highlight for me.

[@HorochovPL]

22:12 Would smaller fly cutter do the job if mounted in 4 jaw chuck with the offset? Sideways clamping would be a problem if fly cutter extending axis would be in line with two jaws, but when the axis is at 45 degrees between the jaws (like on the video), it should work...

[@Blondihacks]

Yah, good idea! That might have worked

[@NotAMinifig]

@@Blondihacks wondering if the same would have been able to make the smaller boring head work.

[@Legendinium]

@@wildin13 That is a great idea! In this day and age maybe it could take the form of a "Machinist's Wiki" or somesuch? I think the format of an online resource could really help with recruitment of the next generation machinists, and for those of us with an affinity for paper there would be nothing wrong in doing a print run of say "Wildin's curated collection of tips'n tricks from the Machinist's Wiki" ;)

[@davidhomer78]

All of my hobby machine tools are smaller than yours. I could not do this project with mine. I still enjoy your videos and I really appreciate the fact that you mention the different sounds your tools make. I am still in the learning phase for most things and knowing what it sounds like is helpful (good sound versus bad sound). I watch other machining videos and most don't even retain the original sound. I like the confidence you show when you approach a project. I am not always confident about the results but tell myself that I can always start over. I was an apprentice machinist for a couple of years in my younger days. A half thousandth was a very loose tolerance in that shop and mistakes were not allowed. Of course all the machines were large expensive machines. I left that job to earn more money in another industry and I am happier machining as a hobby now that I am retired. You videos are helpful and informative. Thank you.

[@captiveimage]

What a beautiful process. I remember a comment in one of the first vid's of yours I viewed. You explained that the lathe and the mill were variations on the same principle. You've just proved it with a spectacular, practical demonstration. Amazing ingenuity you've demonstrated here. Just superb.

[@johnmcclain3887]

I've enjoyed this engine build so much, I think I'm going to buy this engine kit myself. It's been ten years since I built a steam engine, and this one is substantially bigger than my last. Thanks for sharing, it's good to see the same old techniques brought to date as you delve in.

[@JonathanRockway]

Wow! The machined cast iron looks spectacular in that last shot.

[@keithpattison6763]

Very impressed with your machining skills Quinn. I did an apprenticeship in fitting and machining in the 60´s and at trade school, we had to machine castings for gear cutting, etc. This was carried out in the morning and in the afternoon, we had to do our drawing class. It didn´t matter how well we washed our hands, the cast iron dust still came out on the drawing unless we sprinkled talcum powder on it.

[@petetheprettygooddog]

First time I have watched your videos. I am a retired machinist and have built some model steam engines, that is what caught my eye. You are a very clever young woman, and certainly know your stuff. Nice camera and editing. My hay is off to you.

[@seandamon057]

“Hello internet, my name is Quinn and this is blondihacks. Today we are gonna be making a functional Union Pacific ‘big boy’ steam locomotive using small hobby machines”

[@cat637d]

Many decades ago Dana Brown of Safari Coffee started his advertisements with a similar shtick and I always loved it😊. Ms Quinn I am a newbie to your channel but I am RIVETED😖. Your channel is the Oak Island of the Mini Machining universe!

[@joatguy84]

I admire machinists. Ive worked with them when I was a welder and they always astounded me with the tricks they had. Like me with my welding hacks. I could never be a machinist with the tedious things that need to be done and ALL the numbers and ratios and what not. I do like steam power so this vid has me on the SUB list! Thanks Blondi!

[@bullittman281]

This is gonna be GREAT!! I've eyeballed this engine/kit for many many years. I've never had the tooling or opportunity to build any sort of engine. I look forward to seeing this build!!!

[@stevenlitkey9354]

I have the same Mathews lathe (30") and did the same "dumb" thing. Ran the carriage into the steady rest. Yes it bent the drive pinion. Very very EZ repair. Pulled the carriage apart, removed the pinion, mounted it in the lathe chuck, found the high spot and tappy tap, messaged it right back straight !! 👍👍👍

[@michaelcurl2440]

Quinn - Setups are the most interesting aspect of machining. You hit a home run with this one! Seeing traditional mill tools used on a lathe always make me smile. 🙂 Mike

[@yagwaw]

After the last video I think we all expected something big, and you didn’t disappoint us - to say the least. That’ll be a great series!

[@LaddGardner4]

Quinn, I am so impressed by the quality of your workmanship, given the tooling limitations. Really incredible.

[@bernieshort6311]

Hi Quinn, delighted you have started a new steam engine project including your first cuts in what would seem to many people, a none starter for a small lathe. Way to go showing how it can be done. I first saw line boring on a steam engine driven overhead belt driven, line boring horizontal mill at the beginning of my apprenticeship in 1968, some 54 years ago, lovely to see you doing it in such a fine way. Please will your new vertical boiler be able to run this engine or is there another boiler project in the making? Kudos to you duck and thank you for sharing. I have decided to become a patron of yours given how much I watch and enjoy your tutorials. Kind regards from England UK.

[@jimsmith6937]

Straight is always a relative term when referring to castings... Excellent solution.

[@stewkingjr]

I'm just starting this series after watching your small steam engine (in the future). I am really impressed how you come up with alternatives, even though others have suggested additional alternatives.

[@Jagdtyger2A]

I just loved your video. I am a machinist who had to retire due to macular degeneration making it impossible to read a micrometer, even with glassed. Self medication has held the deterioration stable enough to still be able to drive, but my machining days are over. So I really enjoy videos of interesting builds by talented people. Let me know when part 2 comes out

[@1SweetPete]

Oof that machine tool collision feeling... Heady mix of abject horror, shame, wallet screechings, aimless explitives, and wild stocktakes of time and energy that just evaporated; and all in about 8 seconds!

[@mike94560]

Wow thats a rare sight around my shop. A clean workbench.

[@zhubajie6940]

Great job taking your time to get your initial references right. I'm sure it will pay off immensely.

[@BeeGeeTheImp]

Gotta love that "excited face"!

[@mxcollin95]

Woohoo...let’s go Quinn...on to bigger and better steam engines!!! I just started the video and I’m already learning things. 👍

[@blakehafling6995]

Your right, that windowed boring bar shot is really cool.

[@nickchesshir6994]

Watching this made me happy! I have been wanting to use my lathe as a makeshift mill for some things and seeing this shows if you got some ingenuity you came do alot of things with not the most ideal of tooling

[@marcmckenzie5110]

Quinn, a really cool project, and the line boring et al was really fun to watch. I was just telling my wife how bright you are, and how much I’ve learned between you, Adam Booth, and Tom Lipton. Hope you are well!

[@ElmerJFudd-oi9kj]

Dear Quinn, this was a very exiting episode of a no doubt challenging project. I decided to sign up to your channel because I like your way of thinking and approach to the problems at hand. Your comment and editing and sense of humor are great! I hope the problem with the lathe traverse is easily solvable, and look forward to the next episodes, for I am a great steam engine fan since my youth. Thanks a lot, Chris.

[@adamthethird4753]

Steam Engine? Series? Blondiehacks?! Wooo!

[@shawnmcauliffe5072]

"Off balance and poorly thought out..." sounds like a motto I could live by!

[@brewster3987]

It deserves a tee-shirt. Or at least a sticker....

[@steinmargunnarsson3709]

Excellent solution for getting what you need out of the lathe; well done.

[@grotevin]

I normally watch Abom79 and cutting edge engineering. They have all the tools, machines and skills to tackle a project like this 10x faster. But seeing it can be done on smaller machines with more basic tools as long as you are innovative is really satisfying. Good job 👌

[@modellbautorsten9535]

Hallo Ich finde es schön, das Sie wieder eine Dampfmaschine fertigen. Ich selber bauen auch Dampfmaschinen im Modellbau. Nun kann ich mich wieder jeden Samstag Abend auf eine Fortsetzung von Ihnen freuen. Liebe Grüße aus Hamburg/ Deutschland und bleiben Sie gesund

[@wayupnort6271]

Where there’s a will there’s a way! Well done! You have amazing patience.😊

[@fredflintstone8048]

TheLazyMachist youtube channel did a series of videos on planning out the entire job in advance and documenting everything and the benefits of that. Most of us are too impatient to do that, but I've found it's well worth it. I thought about that when you mentioned that you didn't have enough travel in your cross slide for the flycutter milling operation given where to you mounted the casting on the cross slide. You stated, 'I could have done it if I had planned ahead'. That says it all. Glad that the part colliding with the tail stock didn't do any real damage to the boring process. Good of you to point out your mistakes. Every one of us makes them but how many include them in a video presentation? I'm sure you'll find and fix the problem in the apron.

[@nothing2loud]

I am 75% done with the #6 engine. They are fun kits to build for sure

[@Chlorate299]

Necessity is the mother of invention - that looks awesome, love that you pulled it off in one setup, all the bits of me that worry about GD&T are highly satisfied.

[@MikeT]

I am so excited for this. I absolutely loved the last steam engine build series

[@barreypickersgill6125]

😾Hi Blondie, love your new big engine build. eagerly awaiting your next instalments. I live in Australia and I am at the thick end of 70 now do a lot of model engineering projects, I'm impressed the way you go about things and the thought process behind it. It is very refreshing to see another's approach to solving problems, I'm also a lover of cats. Thank you for sharing your machinery journeys with us. Best wishes Barrey Pickersgill Albury New South Wales Australia.

[@nigelleyland166]

This is going to be super interesting, as the owner of a small 1928's lathe and a 1912 shaper, pushing the limits is always an exercise in resourefullness of the machinist.

[@jasonm4982]

That was great, having machined smaller Stuart Turner engines, you vlog gave me some ideas for future builds, thank you

[@Ioughtaknowbetter]

I'm really looking forward to watching this build. If I didn't have such a full plate right now I might even purchase the castings in play along but that's just not in the cards. Instead I get to watch you which is almost as good. Out of balance and poorly planned applies to a lot of us

[@Maltanx]

YAY! Another long series that will stay with us for another year! Thank You! Seeing a big project come toghether little by little is what i really love about this channel. I still like the single video projects and tutorial, but long series like that of the boiler or steam engine are just something else

[@OscarSommerbo]

New engine!! Weeee. And helpful metric conversions on screen. What more can you ask for?

[@Rickmakes]

Another steam engine? What did we do to deserve this? You’re the best! First video has already got me hooked.

[@MichaelS3013]

Hi, Thanks for showing the 1st part of building this steam engine. The individual steps are very well thought out. Especially with cast parts, it is always not that easy to process them effectively. I already did that when building the Stuart No. 5a noticed. Greetings Michael.

[@DeathTollRacing]

That’s going to be really cool! Love all the trouble shooting!

[@steam212]

How is it that I am just now finding your channel? I love the content and your sense of humor is fantastic. Thank You!

[@sameer-gm3zy]

U r crazy!! U dont need high tech advance automatic tools, i am amazed that how u solve this intricate problem with ease plz keep tradition continue . Thanks for making such videos

[@cameronmccreary4758]

You did a very nice job on the engine.

[@ScottHenion]

This should be interesting! Coming next year: a live steam engine you can ride ;)

[@cwmd7651]

This is perfect timing, I just finished watching your old steam engine series!

[@nicholashacking381]

By the 'eck, lass, tha's fettled 'un grand. Also, I believe that I am starting to understand the point of line boring. Thanks for another inspirational video.

[@paulyoung181]

VERY smart cookie here!

[@Wyllie38]

As someone who does large cast iron parts at work I can confirm, cast iron is very messy and it’s gets everyyyyyyywhereeeeee! In your hair, ears, nose and soul.

[@Bubblytubebob]

Wow You really knocked the ball out of the park with that episode ! Cheers

[@clintchapman4319]

That was some setup! Great job Quinn!

[@MattDonafrio]

So excited for this new build.

[@outsidescrewball]

great video production,discussion,build…..enjoyed all of the smart setups….outstanding!!!

[@whizzer9295]

Super stoked to see you start a new project. Looking forward to the videos and end results.

[@dragade101]

Lathes are really amazing for how compact they are. Nice solution really!

[@williamsworkshopuk]

Never been happier to be a Patreon!

[@Blondihacks]

I’ve never been happier that you’re here. ☺️

[@wezm]

So excited for this series. Love your patience and dedication to accuracy in all the set up and prep work.

[@paulthomas3782]

Yippee another engine build. I am really looking forward to this build and all the challenges you over come thanks so much for sharing.

[@robertwalker7457]

Excellent improvisation, thank you very much.

[@frankpresley494]

Great video. Impressed by your solutions for dealing with large parts on your lathe.

[@cyberbadger]

Thanks for doing these steam related machining and fabrication videos! Your videos are inspiring and informative for someone who finds machining somewhat intimidating.

[@punishr36]

A couple of things. Tool room lathes are not dead square to the spindle, I'd go online to review standard design which would generate a curvic fit for mating parts.. You can also use your 4 jaw to hold tooling for the offset of turning the OD of the flange end. You could have offset your boring head or the tool itself in the 4 jaw which would bring the tool closer to the spindle bearing.

[@polkiipo]

What a wonderful news !!!!!!!!! i'm super excited !

[@goldassayer93555]

There is ALWAYS a project that will exceed your machine tooling. That is why other shops have those bigger tools to do the pieces you are not equipped to do and you do the pieces that can be done with your tooling, then do the final assembly.

[@warrenuecker683]

Outstanding, as usual. I 'm really stoked at the new project and your videos are the perfect side-dish for my Saturday morning coffee! Two cups, two watches; three cups, gotta pause it for obvious reasons... Love your posts!

[@D100112]

Hi Quinn, Really enjoy all the videos. I saw a video from Cutting Edge Engineering Australia (Line boring & Bore welding D10 Dozer... @ 25:52) where he is line boring and he has holes in the boring bar to put an indicator through. Then you don't have to remove the bar.

[@mrtnsnp]

This looks like an excellent start for this build. At ¼ horsepower, this engine is supposed to output about 180 W. That is some significant oompff, and a really large burner if you do this on steam (given all efficiencies or lack thereof).

[@LightAndSportyGuy]

Definitely the most difficult part to machine in that kit. 'Specially when you don't look carefully at the print and drill a symmetric bolt hole circle on the top. That was fun. The crankshaft parts were easy enough to machine, but hard to assemble straight.

[@Blondihacks]

I almost did that. Thank god the drawing noted it’s a weird pattern. I would have missed it