[davidbliss]

Andy
Yes many pistons were changed without balancing and often they got it wrong to start with and comes down to a good bit of guessing and if you get it right its so satisfying. I restored a 1905 Rover 780cc 6HP single cylinder car engine the balance was was a bit lucky with a new rod of different design and lighter piston, however taking masses of weight of the reciprocating mass is like loosing quite a chunk off the flywheel weight so effects idle.
Well think they said normal running 24mph was 900rpm but could be run be run up to 1200rpm that gave 28mph and returned 40 mpg, Well with a bit of experiment with the induction length we could better 40mph and got 70mpg but at a cost of low down torque and getting it nice to drive knocked it back to its original 28 max with still 50+ mpg in all conditions.
I also found a bit of interesting or what was used early on was Masked ignition where the plug sits in its own combustion chamber, and it works, a engine can use vast quantities of oil and not fowl its plug, and if taken to extremes will only run a engine at well below -20 degree and above will overheat. My 1905 Rover wasn’t fitted with the Masked plug chamber later on it just appeared, A mr Alfred Feaviour got commendation on improvements to early aircraft engines and later sold as plug savers which I have one this was also used in cylinder heads from small equipment to car engines. I was asked to a old tractor that its mag wasn’t good and noticed it back plug sat up not on one of the plug savers but three so don’t think that cylinder would have been doing much. photo of a very lighten rod by rust and the un-masked 05 plug with the later 06? later, so Rover, emergency aircraft generator and one of the plug savers.

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[davidbliss]

Never knew the bicycle three speed makers made engines. And yes the float isn’t good but the worst bits are inboard of the float needle, the tickler goes through at an angle. I was hoping they used a engine from a well known motorcycle manufacturer. so might have found a piston, not a problem making one but then would have to balance the crank as wouldn’t use the heavy cast iron. To start with you have to calculate is it a two or four stroke, as can start as little as 50% for a two stroke and as much as 70% for a four stroke, then its add the stroke, revs, is it a horizontal or vertical and with the weight of frame its to be fitted into as that can cause harmonics to set in.

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[davidbliss]

Those little Briggs have that odd way of a compression release by a bump on the back of the inlet cam thats a horrible idea, thats why the odd valve clearance 2-5, so you must not get the cam in the wrong place when going to adjust. I once just ground that bump off, this made the engine run like any normal engine, however it could snatch a bit on the pull-start but it went years after that.

[davidbliss]

The Villiers engined pumps were the 2” inch JAP’s 1.5 inch and I just had a bit of seamed stainless pipe, don’t think the engine shaft was more than 4 inches, so a reamer took the bumps out, the new ceramic seal worked similar to the very simple carbon disc, bit of rubber with a spring to push those bit up against the brass bit the pump body, it wore very little over all those years, its amazing it often would instant pump after standing overnight without the water running back so the clack valve done its job, in the very dry times it help water the stock maybe a field away from the farm it often lived out for a month or so just with a old tin bath hung over drawing water from a pond. It once ran a week every day flat out emptying fire lagoons on a airfield as they were being taken out. and the one pump has a pressure gauge on it and rarely did it better the red line of twenty.

[davidbliss]

Yes they are very easy starting but these two really do take some bit to get over compression and best way is to turn them over by hand until at TDC then rap the rope and go for it, if you don’t they bite back, There was nothing of any governors on the one.
One was running last year when it was getting dry so just incase soaked round my bonfire, the other hasn’t for some years used to hook up both together to get a bit more pressure.
and yes the book says not to operate above 2,400 RPM well the one been doing over that for over fifty years. I’ll see if my daughter can do a video.

[davidbliss]

The one on the right that did have governors just has the one small brass plug carburettor side, I found you had to hold the governors open to be able to prime in a reasonable time and when it did the governors just opened the carb to full throttle so they were of really no use so did away with them. However the engine started to knock in only two hours of use, the white metal in the big end shell had just been squeezed out and it looked as it was very soft. The other engine been running ok for around thirty years and never had a issue, took a good look at the carbs they were slightly different the un-governed the butterfly only partially opens so it got the revs to prime but reckon it restricts full constant overload, so I welded a bit on the butterfly rods arm to stop full throttle and ran them side by side so got same revs under load. I also noticed the spare shell sets look a very white colour where the failed shell was dark grey and just thought they had deteriorated laying about all that time. Now the un-governed block is very different in several places, instead of the one small brass plug for the governor rod carb side its got one large ether side and casting bumps filler cap side looks like other attachments for working the governors if it had any. The crankshafts the same as the one that was in use filled its sump with water and found that the metal had rotted away where the seal sat so swapping them was a quick fix, later skimmed a bit off the crank and slid a bit of stainless pipe over and further mods to take a modern seal wasn’t that easy, the old type was just a very thick carbon washer with a bit of rubber held tight against it by a spring still watertight in nearly 80 years. They are particular painful to start with the small rope pulley and light in weight both had there oil filler caps shared off as they lept up the pull-start rope and fell on there caps. was told were probably ment to run on the 100 octane so higher compression?.

[davidbliss]

When we had one never gave it a thought and fitted the free swinging blades the other way up so like all rotary mowers.

[davidbliss]

The air chisel is a very good idea, I still have a old CP9 with some tin weevil chisels thats ideal peeling spot welded tin off things, although powerful struggles at a 1/8 inch tinwork will throttle back and split a pencil line in thinner tin. With things on a taper a straight gentle pull may not work. A friend had a Alvis car wheel hub well stuck, not only did they have the very strong standard puller but also a legged hydraulic one over the top to no avail. With the standard puller pulled up tight, flash heat and the burrrrrup of the air chisel was off with no damage, I have seen quite a few things that were just forced to be shifted like time as often leave over night under load and carful treatment would have worked.

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[davidbliss]

I have an idea I once welded a fine threaded nut on the existing nut end as was still captive in the flywheel, but you must use a very tough ended draw stud or you will damage the crankshaft, tighten and warm with a hot air gun and leave, do this several times before giving the draw bolt a sharp tap, small hammer only as many small taps better than something to do damage.

[davidbliss]

Looks a early engine, as it has the separate valve caps, twenties to early thirties. A bit odd seems to have a air filter snorkel and pipework, but carb not for having one, I had a similar thing with I think Villiers engine and Albion gearbox with reverse.It had a small plow and cultivator, as completely worn out apart from the gearbox that was the same as I think Douglas motorcycle so only motorcycle with reverse and the rest ended up as a really handy thing to mount a pressure washer on.

[davidbliss]

Bolens used stock bearings but to gain a few £s they had the ODs taken down so a standard one wouldn’t fit without the housings altered. Bearings are usually all good, think in the 80s there was some Russian ones and for some reason we had a shortage and had what was available, they were so soft if heavily loaded stationary after fitting just sounded terrible. So there are bearings and bearings and today am amazed how long some go with heat and horrendous speed. But for some applications you still need if possible the old solid brass cages as if anything goes belly up the strong cage keeps the balls or rollers all in there positions it is also noticeable the bass cage laps the balls or rollers to a better finish, where in certain conditions a steel cage will seize very quickly or nylon will brake. A 4.3 Alvis ran roughly 400 miles shedding teeth off the crown-wheel but done little damage, a nylon or light steel caged would have let go with the amount of metal chips going through. the replacement is a easy off the shelf twin ball type like some FWD cars use. I would not use one of those and said why, well they found a genuine old stock, and blow me it had the Alvis part number etched in, I said how many do you have and got 25, I payed £90 and knew some were asking £400 for the same bearing so always try firms that know what you are asking for and helpful so you don’t just get the this is what we have also firms that are spread about they may have inherited old stock and I always say why I want a particular type so its reliable like originals if possible.

[davidbliss]

If you could post the exact sizes I could look in my archive of old bearings, as many old bits of equipment ran those small bearings.

[davidbliss]

I have run two Bolens mowers now 43 years, and rebuilt the decks a few times, I went to replace the bearings and found they are a odd size, one firm said couldn’t I get the housings turned out to take a standard bearing, well they are not that strong to start with, so I tried Hayley’s Norwich, they have other branches. they said we keep them specially for you old boys. However I could have machined down a standard bearing and then ground to the finished size. as have done several for replacement obsolete bearings for early cars. The Bolens bearing sizes are, bore 3/4” OD 1.780 width .608. photos of Bolens, 1905 Rover gearbox bearings being turned down to size.

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[davidbliss]

They often keep to same BSP thread pitch for pipe fittings, however if you have a gauge it saves guessing. if its of US manufacture they use NPT thats only one thread per inch different, I get the odd motor cycle they often used cycle rate 26 tpi for there oil fittings thats not good into alloy being so fine. I often make my own taps and dies and a easy metal to machine then harden is EN24 works quite well as can go up a few thou without going up to next size. I recently was repairing a 1924 French car gearbox that was very poorly designed that allowed a non captive bearing to work partly off, as there is a French odd ball metric pitch I did that at a imperial 1/2”size to be equally awkward.

[davidbliss]

As nobody tells me that can’t be done without certain machines, I just do it on clapped out old things some rescued from the scrap, spend hours making a press tool for a thing that would have cost pennies, but get satisfaction no one else have ever bothered, its often funny the crudest made tool can turn out a complicated to form the metal boys say impossible, then say would cost thousands just for the tooling, if my idea of a tool didn’t work it wouldn’t matter but has so far. It isn’t just machining I will have a go at tin work, and make parts by just welding, I had made a engine manifold, sent a photo to a friend in the States saying there you go casting by mig welder, well blow me they do just that continuous welding with a CNC mig water cooled, annoying thing I haven’t the knowledge of how to program. Door capping’s for a 1915 car, was told a very difficult part to make as had a slight curve, well D shape railing top bent to give a curve and a block of Elm wood, four G clamps, one hour to fold up four mark free.The cast exhaust manifolds metal was shot so bent pipe and a few drawn metal elbows, cut and lots of welding and finish inside is as good, no one would ever know they weren’t the originals and they haven’t warped. like the cast ones do.

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