[SEL] Stuck Piston Rings

[Ed stoller]

Hi Jerry,

I picked up the 4 HP  Ottawa Log Saw engine a few weeks after our fall show. 
It was in the flee market and no one wanted it. It looked very rusty and the 
piston was stuck and it is not complete. I picked it up for $25 just to 
develop some skills getting the stuck piston out. I really did not plan to 
restore it. But, now that the piston is out and the working part of the 
cylinder wall does not look that bad to me, so I plan to clean it up , 
repair what is there and paint it. I am thinking about making a mixer and 
igniter.  The rings are pinned and the gap is cut on an angle so getting new 
ones might be a hassle. Besides, it would not be hard to install new rings 
if everything else was in place. Since the rings are pinned, I plan to 
remove them one at a time so as to not get them mixed up or turned around 
and re- install them exactly the way they came out so as to match the 
original ware pattern except for a light honing of the cylinder wall. I plan 
to make mic the cylinder before installing the piston.

I may have already broken one ring by tapping it in before I made the first 
post.

Ed Stoller
New Fairfield, CT
http://home.earthlink.net/~edstoller/
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jerry Evans" <jerrye at databak.co.za>
To: <sel at lists.stationary-engine.com>
Sent: Wednesday, April 29, 2009 4:04 PM
Subject: Re: [SEL] Stuck Piston Rings


> At 06:00 PM 29/04/2009, you wrote:
>>Message: 10
>>Date: Tue, 28 Apr 2009 13:52:01 -0700
>>From: Rob Skinner <rob at rustyiron.com>
>>Subject: Re: [SEL] Stuck Piston Rings
>>
>>Hi, Ed.  Get yourself a brass drift, start at one end, and tap the
>>rings IN.
> <big
> snip>
>>Rob Skinner
>
> Hi guys,
>         No disrespect meant, but why is it so important to save the old 
> rings?
>         Allow me to ask a few questions:
>         i) Is it for the sake of keeping the "original" parts and does
> this increase the value of the restored engine?
>         ii) Is it because replacing the "old rings" with "new rings" does
> not fit the budget or that those "old rings" are no longer available "ex
> stock". ?
>
>         If it is for the sake of being able to say "this engine is totally
> original as it came from the factory" then I do understand.
>         If NOT then why not break the old rings out and have new ones
> made? (The old ones are perfect for cleaning out the "ring grooves" and 
> are
> probably worn out anyway).
>
>         Maybe we are just lucky in South Africa in that we have a company
> that specializes in making piston rings (from their own cast iron) and are
> quite willing to make a single set of rings at a very reasonable price. My
> 12 H.P. Witte Diesel rings (are there 5 or 6 of them, I don't remember)
> cost ZAR 250.00 or thereabouts. That's about US$ 30.00. (or about 50 cans
> of good South African Beer :-))
>         Just asking!
>
> Keep the revs up (or down)
> Jerry Evans
> Near Johannesburg in Sunny South Africa.
> Etched Brass Engine Plates made to order:
> <www.oldengine.org/members/evans/plates/index.htm>
>
>
>
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