2 ms·

I don't know -- while I admire what he's trying to do here, it's just a little too cargo cultish. There's a lot of engineering in internal combustions engines

by msisk6 13y ago

I don't know -- while I admire what he's trying to do here, it's just a little too cargo cultish. There's a lot of engineering in internal combustions engines and all that info is readily available. Things like compression ratios, spark timing, and fuel-air mixture ratios; all very important but it seems he didn't give any thought at all to this before jumping in. A little thinking ahead of time could have saved him a lot of time and money I think. I'd suggest the author spend a bit of time looking at the designs of the Wright Flyer engine and that in the original Model T and going from there. These two engines are of very simple design and worked reasonably well. And there's a ton of technical information out there on these, too. Oh, and some fabrication skills with a lathe and mill could be handy, too. I'm always amazed at the length some folks will go to with building stuff from hardware store stock. A community college class in machining and a cheap lathe and mill opens up a whole new world for any maker.

numbsafari 13y ago
I agree that he should have done more research before jumping in. A quick Google search for animations of simple two-stroke engines would probably help him get that working in fairly short order. I disagree, though, about needing to go crazy with the craftsmanship. I mean, if the purpose of this is to build something experimental, or something that could be used to illustrate to kids how an engine works, having it NOT be craftsman-like might help demystify the whole thing. I really like that he has built it onto a piece of plywood. It reminds me of those old electronics builder kits you could buy at radioshack. Would you want to actually use one of those as a real radio? No. But building a simple radio that actually functions where you can see all the pieces really helps to make it real. So, from an educational perspective, I think the simplicity of it is helpful.

by msisk6 13y ago

numbsafari 13y ago

I agree that he should have done more research before jumping in. A quick Google search for animations of simple two-stroke engines would probably help him get that working in fairly short order. I disagree, though, about needing to go crazy with the craftsmanship. I mean, if the purpose of this is to build something experimental, or something that could be used to illustrate to kids how an engine works, having it NOT be craftsman-like might help demystify the whole thing. I really like that he has built it onto a piece of plywood. It reminds me of those old electronics builder kits you could buy at radioshack. Would you want to actually use one of those as a real radio? No. But building a simple radio that actually functions where you can see all the pieces really helps to make it real. So, from an educational perspective, I think the simplicity of it is helpful.