[SEL] Petter AV2-M Restore, progress report No. 3

[Rob Skinner]

Elden, you're a pretty smart guy, so now I don't feel so bad.  I'm  
only typing this so nobody else makes any BONEHEADED moves.

The crew was working on a rare, 30 horse engine, and was having  
problems removing the head to fix a water leak.  The engine ran fine,  
but there was a slow drip from the gasket area.  They asked my  
assistance.  As I was trying to separate the head, I was yammering on  
about the time I loosened the head bolts on an engine, primed it,  
tripped the ignitor, and "poof," the head gently popped off.

The other guys liked the story, and strongly suggested we quit wasting  
time and do the same thing.  Very well.  We put the head nuts back on,  
except for the last inch.  I primed the engine with about a quarter  
cup of gasoline, hefted my fat butt onto the flywheels and rocked them  
back, and Kelley tripped the mag.

KAFU!@#$%INGBLOOIE!

When we regained our wits and the smoke cleared, there were flames all  
over from the unburned fuel.  One guy was screeching about "being  
hit."  I beat out the flames with oily rags, and by then, Screecher  
had determined he was ok, only being hit by a chunk of flaming gasket  
material.

It was now time to analyze what had happened.  I walked over to the  
head, to see if it was loose.  It was GONE.  We found it about eight  
feet away.  Half of the 1" bolts were sheared off, the others  
stripped.  The head had blown off and impacted a colossal wood  
cabinet, taking out a big chunk and moving it several inches, then  
ricocheted onto the floor.

Did I mention that the head weighs about 80 pounds?

Did I mention that the head is right at chest level?

If someone had been standing in it's path, they could very well be  
underground right now.  But at least the head was off.  The next week  
was spent making and installing new studs, and by the next weekend we  
had the project complete and the engine was running like a Swiss...  
no... American watch.

I'm sure there's a moral to the story... maybe...
Let a cute girl trip your mag, and you could unexpectedly blow.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.


	
Rob Skinner
Antique Stationary Engines
La Habra, California

rob at rustyiron.com
www.rustyiron.com