[SEL] 8hp Blackstone/cast engine plate

[Jerry Evans]

At 06:00 PM 24/05/2010, you wrote:
>Message: 6
>Date: Mon, 24 May 2010 09:23:20 +1000
>From: Russell Gilbert <russell at ncable.com.au>
>Subject: [SEL] 8hp Blackstone
>To: The SEL email discussion list <sel at lists.stationary-engine.com>
>Message-ID: <20100523232311.E221D30418C at gex-cn02.ncable.net.au>
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed
>
>G'day all, although a long time between drinks; I finally got my 8hp
>blacky together yesturday. Well complete enough to fire it up. Had to
>tinker with the governor for quite bit to have it settle down but it
>runs. Was seized when I got it; but not the piston. Rather the side
>shaft.  I bought it with both gears on the shaft smashed. This was
>due to some dill trying to turn the engine over with the shaft
>seized; it must have strong rocker arms as they didn't brake but the
>gears instead!! Still plenty to do, has a wobble in the pully side
>flywheel, still need to assemble fuel pump, cooling exhaust etc. Nice
>big engine how ever; anyone have a spare cast blacksone badge?? the
>one that goes on the barrel with the engine number on it? it's a
>different size to the plash guard badge. Jerry not sure if this is your bag?
>regards Russell


Well done Russell,
         No, you're right, not my forte, I know the Blackstone plates - 
beautiful but alas, cast not etched.

         I've often thought that someone with a bit of ingenuity should be 
able to reproduce a cast plate quite easily if they had an original to use 
as a "master".

         Casting is not a strong point of mine but surely, if you could 
borrow one it would be easy to take it to a sandcaster to make a mould? 
I've seen our local "non ferrous" casting guys making really complicated 
designs literally in minutes. I do realise that shrinkage comes into the 
equation but on something like a plate this is not important.

         The guy who showed it to me made me hold some sand in my clenched 
fist and then inserted a nozzle into the sand and pumped in a gas (I've 
just forgotten what the gas was but it was a commonly available gas - not 
anything fancy) and within about a minute had a perfectly formed mould of 
the inside of my hand - fingerprints included. Obviously the "sand" had 
also had some kind of previous treatment but it could not have been 
anything too fancy as they had the stuff lying in a pile on the floor and 
were just picking it up with shovels to put into moulds.

         Try your Aussie mates and borrow a plate to make a casting from. 
If you need to add serial numbers and suchlike then take it to an engraver 
later or stamp them in.

         One thing I've found about engine people in South Africa is that 
most of them do not mind taking a piece off their engine and "lending" it 
to you to copy - I assume that this is the same elsewhere. I've seen 
"rocker arms" and other parts replicated in this way before.

All for now,

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>