An 1854 'A' frame engine: restoration

I like having a restoration on the go at the same time as a build and switch from one to the other.

This one is quite large, it's 22" high and weighs a fair ole bit. It's been very nicely constructed with wedge & cotters, and you can see and feel the quality of the parts The bearings have no wobble in them and the engine spins smoothly. The most significant issue is the crank is missing so will need to work out the throw and manufacture that part.

There is an obvious inlet pipe at the front, and exhaust at the side of the valve chest, but a also a tap connected to the bell shaped object underneath the cylinder, what is that dome and why is there pipework connected to it.

I'll going to make a Heath Robinson crank oil her up and blast some air through her. There's no way of adjusting the timing at the moment so I'll rotate to the crank to get it roughly into position

Oh yes nearly forgot ........how do I know its date, well under all the dirt, grime and rust I found this plaque ........... very pleased to find this, a real connection to the past and we are trying to find the original owner as it's very easy to work out when he was born! 

Is that really an engine, or is it a vacuum pump?

Quote from: cruebyIs that really an engine, or is it a vacuum pump?

Well with a bit of speeded up time I made an adjustable crank to work out the the throw without dismantling it - I guessed it was about 1.5" It took a lot of tweaking to get the timing sorta right, but this what happened!  It'a exhausting air continuously, so will need stripping down and further investigation. The tap at the bottom seems like another exhaust, when opened there's air being pushed out 

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/5KiU2tPImXw

I think it's an engine as it has a governor (although decorative), have a look at the B&W photo below it looks vaguely like it. Finally, I can't imagine the look on Walter's face when he was presented with a vacuum pump on his 21st birthday!! 

Would really need to see if the piston rod carries on down to move a diaphram of some sort for it to be a pump, would also need some non return valves. Stick your finger on the end of the pipe and see if it sucks or blows.

Interesting, so could be a steam driven pump? Here's another video of it running, and it blows out of the bottom tap; you can hear what happens when I place my finger on/off the end, the engine speeds up/down slightly so if there's a diaphragm or extended piston it must have a leak/bad seal? No sucking from the tap end.....

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/-sxvtgnyuiY

One thing I'm not going to do is take the rivets out which fix the cylinder to the dome. I've had to sit the engine on the Workmate in the corner of the shop as it's taking up valuable bench space. It's now sucking up Liquid Wrench which will hopefully let me dismantle this old girl gently without breaking anything and I can start to clean her up and design/make a suitable crank

Have found a Walter Norton born in 1833 who looks like his family manufactured cloth at mills and he was a successful chap in his own right ......... can't be 100% it's him, but could be........ 

https://houseandheritage.org/tag/walter-norton/

Huh. Odd combination. That tap at the bottom would only be a pump outlet if there was an inlet somewhere else, other than where the compressed air is coming in. 

Quote from: cruebyHuh. Odd combination. That tap at the bottom would only be a pump outlet if there was an inlet somewhere else, other than where the compressed air is coming in. 

I'm going to be stripping the thing down over the next few days; let's see what gets unearthed! 

Well that was only slightly terrifying taking apart a 172 year old engine!  The Liquid Wrench did its work overnight and there were a few extra tight bolts which caused alarm however everything is apart, without breakages and bagged 'n' tagged' crime scene style and lots of pictures taken and lots of witness marks either documented or made to assist with reassembly.

The dome must have contained a diaphragm at some point you can see the remnants which look to be made of leather? Not sure how it would have operated as there is no indication of an extented piston rod. There is a hole in the bottom of the cylinder into dome and a traditional exhaust port. I think I'll just put back together as is and keep the tap from the dome shut or close off the hole in the cylinder which may make it run better?

Next stage is to slowly clean the component parts including the wooden base which looks to be made of mahogany from the reddish colour

Here's a video of all the bits 'n' bobs ..........

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7A5vX5C4D5w

EDIT

Not sure what the reddish/orange sealant is but being cautious NOT to digest of breath any of it in! 

Maybe the builder intended it to have an extended piston rod down to the diaphram, but either never installed it or removed it when it failed?? An interesting setup if that was the case. Though for it to work as a pump, it would have needed something like a Tee fitting with check valves on the pipe with the shutoff valve.

Is that the same material under the A frame feet in which case it looks to just be something to isolate metal from wood.

With the thread on the bottom of the cylinder/top of dome and the pipe going into that any diaphram would do nothing.

Big bore cylinder drain?

was the pipes connected to the tapped hole in the bottom of the cylinder
i wonder if it was a pump for gas  ?  what does the valve face look like
john

I think the drain is probably the purpose but wondered if it could be a bellows rather than a pump? BTW what looks like a T junction is an elbow as one side has been blanked off. The material could be isolation, I’ve ordered some thick gasket as replacement for the graphite looking metallic substance which is on top of the cylinder, and will use the same material on the valve chest

@John Yes the pipe with the T was connected to the bottom of the cylinder and the valve face is just a normal valve with a recess in it

Not exciting in the slightest, started to clean the bits up in rust remover; I could live stream it, but guessing audience figures would be low to none 

Quote from: Sanjay FNot exciting in the slightest, started to clean the bits up in rust remover; I could live stream it, but guessing audience figures would be low to none 

Followed by the next blockbuster movie: Paint Drying, The Movie!