Posted on September 9, 2010

       All right then! So now we are ready for paint!!! I have since stripped down the engine and cleaned all of the parts with automotive brake cleaner. The cleaner does a good job of degreasing the cast iron so the paint will stick to it.

       After doing some research on different paints I decided to use an automotive acrylic enamel paint to coat the engine. The acrylic enamel will resist rust as well as handle the lubricating oil that will most assuredly be spilled onto the engine’s surfaces. I chose to use the Dupli-Color brand enamel as I have always had good results with their paint.
       The actual color of the paint is “leaf green” (Cat #DA1630) which I think will be an attractive color for the engine.

       The kit’s plans suggest that any bare metal be primered before the actual color coat goes on. I am going to omit this step as I have confidence that the paint I have chosen will stick to the cleaned cast iron without any problems.

       At this point I had to carefully decide what was going to get paint and what was going to be bare metal. The bare metal stuff all received a proper masking with blue painter’s tape as seen below.

       I am now ready to take the parts outside for a little rattle-can paint job....

       After the parts were painted they were allowed to cure overnight so the surfaces were safe to handle during reassembly.

       I started rebuilding the engine with the crank assembly. The bronze bushings were situated into the pillow blocks as seen below...

       A couple of drops of blue Locktite were added to the bushings to keep them from moving later on. Note: be careful not to get Locktite on the enamel paint or you will blemish it....

       The next part to install was the connecting rod and crosshead.....

       The piston was now screwed into the crosshead and adjusted to the proper end clearance as measured before. The piston rod was locked into place with the 5/16” lock nut (and a drop of locktite).

       The cylinder lagging jacket could now be reinstalled....

       Remember those drain ports that I plugged off to get the engine running? Well, I finally got the globe valves in that I was talking about. They were supplied by PM Research (Cat #GV3). These super cool miniature valves actually work!! Coupled with a set of 3/16 x 40 pipe nipples (also supplied from PM’s catalog) they were attached to the cylinder for a real finished look...

       The next step was to reinstall the Teflon piston rings and then slide on the cylinder.

       It was now time for the cylinder and valve heads go on......

       Remember the oil holes that I tapped on the pillow blocks and crosshead frame? Well I finally got in my drip feed oilers in from an eBay seller and boy are these things cool!! They are really going to spruce up this engine with very little effort on my part :0) These oilers are quite possibly the same ones that are sold on PM Research's site (Cat #DFO-3) but I am not sure of that. Either way they are really cool!!!

       I screwed in the oilers and tightened them in place. Not too shabby!!!

       The next step was to install the throttle valve and cylinder oil port on the engine. The oil port (the 1/8” pipe plug on the top of the “tee”) will be used to manually add oil to the steam inlet port before running the engine on compressed air. Once I move over to steam I will add a “displacement” style lubricator that is for the most part an automatic function.
       Unfortunately the displacement style lubricator does not work well with a compressed air system so I will have to wait...

       The next step was to build a display board for the engine. I had some oak veneer plywood that would do the job nicely so I cut out a piece and started figuring out where the engine would be mounted. I decided to offset the engine to one side of the board to allow room for a power accessory like a generator. Once the layout was complete I sanded the board followed by staining and a thick coat of polyurethane sealer (to keep oil from staining the wood).
       I added a set of handles to the ends of the board for easy transportation.

       Once the board was ready I was able to bolt down the engine with stainless 10-24 screws. Blind nuts were used under the board to hold the screws securely....

       At this point I am quite happy with the final product :o)

       The miniature globe valves really added appeal to the engine even though I was not going for a scale looking valve....

       The miniature drip oilers were also a nice addition to the engine. The fact that they really work is amazing :0)

       To take care of my new steam engine I have assembled a few products. On the left (below) is premium grade cylinder oil which was especially formulated for steam engine use. You can get this stuff at any model engineering site online. In the middle is a bottle of Woodland Scenics premium light oil which is perfect for all of the moving parts on the steam engine. This stuff is the best machine oil I have used and is available from Tower Hobbies (Cat #LXKR67).
       I have saved the best for last. On the right is the most useful product I have ever used!!! Boeshield T-9 rust and corrosion protectant is what I will use to keep all of the bare parts of my engine from rusting. This stuff is amazing and lasts a very long time. I use it on all of my shop tools to keep them rust-free, I would be lost without the stuff!!! A light coat of the paraffin based lube will keep parts bright and shiny for months!!!
       You can get Boeshield from McMaster-Carr (Cat #10215K15) and I would highly suggest you get this stuff if you don’t want your engine to get eaten away with rust!!!

       You will notice the long metal applicator on the Woodland Scenics oil bottle. It is perfect for filling up the drip oilers as they have a very tiny fill hole.

       And now for a test run!! Before I ran the engine I added a 1/2 ounce of cylinder oil to the oil port before turning her over. I also added some “light oil” to all of the moving parts as well as adjusted the drip oilers. You may have noticed that I modified the cylinder oil plug to have a handle for easier removal (below).

       I hooked up the air line and once again the engine sprang to life!!!

See the engine running here!!!

       I couldn’t be any more pleased with this kit. The plans were well designed and the castings were of exceptional quality. I can honesty recommend this kit to anyone wanting to build a quality engine that will last for generations.

       Thanks a bunch for spending some time with me on this project. I hope you enjoyed the project as much as I did. I do believe the experience has helped me tune up my machining skills for the next big adventure (whatever that may be :0)
       But wait, I’m not done yet!! Stay tuned for a special episode of the 6CI project where I actually get the engine to do some work!!! Till then be safe my fellow experimenters!!!

Don R. Giandomenico

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