Build a Hobby Sized Steam Engine
These plans are for a mini table top steam engine.
Although it is not a scale reproduction of
any particular engine, it has the same general
appearance and eye-taking appeal of
the picturesque old-timers so hard at work
about the turn of the century.
The model is equipped with the linkmotion
reverse gear perfected by George
Stevenson for his famous locomotive, The Rocket, in the 1830s. This valve action, which also provides a variable steam cutoff, has played a historic role in steam-power
The engine is a double-acting
noncondensing one that exhausts directly
into the air with the familiar puff-pup of a
donkey engine or steam shovel.
With its 1 3/4" cylinder bore and 1" piston
stroke, and with 75 or 80 Ib. of steam in
its boiler, the little engine will turn over
at 1,500 r.p.m. Actual power will depend
much on the boiler used and on the workmanship in the engine itself.
The design is
for heavy duty, however, with main bearings
and other working parts larger than
scale, and the engine will stand up well
under hard, continuous runs at full working
load, developing enough power to drive a
quite large model boat, a small dynamo,
an air fan, or other light equipment of
How to Build a Small Steam Engine Part 1
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