Tharper

Hello Andy, curiously its actually the opposite. When an engine is running rich the mixture is fuel rich and air poor so combustion is much slower. That long burn allows more cylinder wall to be exposed to the combustion heat during the power stroke and thus more heat is transferred to the block and coolant. If its really rich the burn can carry into the exhaust stroke thus heating the manifold above what it normally would be. If you have primer cups its fairly easy to see what the mixture is doing. With the motor running and up to temp open one of the primer cups and observe the color of the flame. If its red and sooty than the mixture is too rich. If its pale yellow than its too lean. A nice blue flame is what you are looking for. It's a quick and easy method to see whats going on. Here is a demo using the Museum's 1928 Lombard dump truck, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylRn2qy3T7U Also of course the timing can make it run hot as well. All good fun right? Best regards, Terry

Hello Bob, Yes, those are valve covers. I lucked out and found a fairly un-molested set in Don's stash of parts. I can measure one of mine to see if they are the same size as yours. The best bet would be to have then cast then machined. If I remember correctly Don used a metal detector on me to make sure I wasn't spiriting choice parts away! (LOL)

Very, very nice Bob! I am amazed how fast this project has progressed. Can't wait to see the old beast in action. Best regards, Terry

On this side of the big pond Freeman Supply offers wax fillet material available in strips and various sizes. as well as the application tools. They also offer leather fillet material. https://www.freemansupply.com/search?q=FILLET WAX

Hello Bob, Yes, if I can find a suitable starter! It was OEM equipment for the beast. Here is a photo of a factory starter setup on a Wisconsin "AM" which is the marine version.

Fantastic Bob! Well done! It sounds wonderful! Terry

Bob, That all looks fantastic! Its great to see the valve shrouds and clips in place and so glad we could help! I am looking forward to sharing the photos with my students. I really love these projects! Best regards, Terry

Steve, Nice work on the pattern! I am glad the "Donut" method worked for you! Rather than having to cut the patterns in half and worry about fudging it - what I do is glue the halves together with a piece of brown wrapping paper in between before turning. It holds the halves together while you shape them and finish them. Then they are easily split apart using a knife to gently pry with. Since all the pieces of the pattern are done this way you are assured to follow the part line exactly. In the photo below you can see one of the halves of the thru pipe with some of the paper still attached after splitting. In this case I only needed to hold the two halves of stock together for turning in the lathe. To the right you can see the turned stock for the small core prints - they too were temporarily held together with a strip of brown paper in between. Again, fantastic work! Best regards, Terry

1914. That very well could be Brake H.P. as opposed to gross. A period test on a 1915 Stutz chassis listed an average BHP of 47.8 @ 1,235 rpm. Max. Torque was 209 ft/lbs. @ 1,052 RPM.

Looking at the specs for the Wisconsin "B" Bore: 4-1/4" Stroke: 5" The bores are offset from the crank centerline by 3/4" towards the exhaust side. Total weight: 475 lbs HP. (ALAM rating) 28.9 hp The ALAM ratings are archaic and its hard to convert to anything meaningful. A graph within the same Wisconsin catalog show approx. 46 hp @ 1,600 rpm In their day they were indeed light, perky engines and when coupled to a minimalist chassis such as the Bearcat you had a real thrilling ride. No doubt lightening the flywheel and playing with the carb and timing would help as well. A twin spark setup was a hot ticket and was well worth the effort. However, like most low rpm engines back then it wasn't about horsepower but torque. I don't have the figures for the model "B" but my 6 cylinder PT generates just shy of 600 ft/lbs at 800 rpm yet is rated at only 104 hp. I am loving watching this project come together! Best regards, Terry

Bob, That's all good news! Wisconsin made a quality product! That valve guide looks great! I had to replace all mine and the valves as well. One of the seats was sunk about a 1/16 of an inch from being ground very, very frequently back in the day. T.

Great work! A piece of rubber under the patch will do. I have a very large (vintage) patch like this on my big Wisconsin. (a large portion of the bottom of the cast aluminum oil pan was smashed out at one time) If any one asks just tell them its a bullet hole from back in the day.

Nice work! Another trick you can do with the paper gasket is give it a quick coat of shellac just before you do the assembly when its still wet - this makes a nice seal and makes the gasket more durable. When I disassembled my big Wisconsin T-head many of the gaskets were original and done this way including under the blocks , the oil pan and the timing gear cover.

A while back my students reverse engineered a magneto coupling used on early Wisconsin engines. Here is a rendering of the assembly. The disk is leather. The splined hub is keyed to the input shaft the eared coupling is keyed onto the magneto. I am not sure if this would help but its an alternative. We have a set of shop drawings and a set of patterns as well. Best regards, Terry

Or.... press start on the CNC mill :-D

In regards to your core boxes.... been there done that! I found the simplest way was to make male masters than use those to cast the actual core box in plaster-of-paris. Love seeing the progress and I cant wait to here that engine roar into life! Best regards, Terry

Today we finished milling out the core boxes for the valve covers for Bob's FWD. Again we used the Tormach 440 (Love this machine!) Now we just need to mount the patterns on a backer board, seal and finish them. The core boxes will be joined together and mounted in a frame and will be sealed and finished as well - then its off to the foundry!

We started work on the patterns and core boxes for the valve covers for the Wisconsin in Bob's FWD. Interestingly the original piece we are using as a "go-by" arrived here in far northern Maine from great Britain via Connecticut. I suspect at least one of you might have been involved with that transaction. Having the actual part on hand has saved us quite a bit of work and... with it sitting on my desk at school (soon to be shipped back from where it came) no small amount of wonder among the students. "A 1917 FWD?? What's that?" Anyway, we (my students and I) started by developing a 3D model using Autodesk Inventor Professional. (I teach Drafting & Engineering Technology to High School students). Once the model was completed we generated a set of 2D working drawings. Usually I would disappear into my shop and turn this piece out using my old 1943 Southbend lathe. However.... this time I decided to use the Tormach PCNC 440 CNC mill we have newly installed in our classroom lab space. Using Fusion 360 we generated the setups and the tool paths then post processed it to PathPilot. I cannot say it is faster than using the old Southbend but it sure is nice. Here is a photo of the patterns ready to be mounted on the backerboard. The core boxes should be cut this week. Best regards, Terry

Not to beat it to death but I thought I would provide some more info on DIY etched plates. I use a product called PNP Blue http://www.techniks.com/ Its used to etch circuit boards. I create my artwork using AutoCAD but any graphics program will work. The artwork is transferred to the PNP Blue using a laser printer. (remembering that it has to be mirrored) and make sure you print on the proper side. I usually make artwork for both the front and back with registration marks. Once folded the brass sheet can be inserted and the ends stapled to from a little envelope. By masking both sides of the plate it allows the etchant to work all the way through around the perimeter and create any holes etc. If you don't do this than you will have to protect the back of the plate. (I good layer of packing tape works well) than cut to final shape by hand and drill any holes etc. The brass sheet is prepped by making sure there are no burrs etc. around the edge and going over it with very fine steel wool followed by a washing in lacquer thinner You have to be very careful not to get any finger prints etc. on the brass. The next step is to transfer the image on the PNP Blue to the brass sheet. Heat is important. I usually heat the brass in the oven. Once the PNP Blue is in position I go over it with a hot clothes Iron (no steam) to transfer the image. A quick dunking in ice water and you can peel the backing off. Front of plate ready to etch: Back of same plate: Any blemishes or scratches in the masking coating can be touched-up with a permanent marker. Then its to the acid bath. I use Muriatic Acid cut with hydrogen peroxide. The trick is to get enough ratio of acid to Hydrogen Peroxide that will allow the acid to work quickly but not lift the mask. I good trick to help prevent this is to apply permanent marker to the cut edges of the plate. During the etching process I make sure to agitate the solution so the areas being etched are always exposed to fresh etchant. And... here it is right out of the etchant and after a quick rinse in cold water. Note the registration makes that allowed me to align the front and back masks so all the holes and the perimeter would be cut through. A washing in Lacquer Thinner will remove the mask. Painting: Yes you can use chemical blackeners - unless the original was done that way I do not. Typically after a clean-up and polish with fine steel wool I spray on the background fill. I like to use off the shelf rattle can enamels. To ensure the paint is fully cured I bake the plate for a bit. Once I am sure that the paint is fully cured wrapping a piece of 800 grit wet/dry paper around a hardwood block I set to work removing the paint from the high spots. Its important to work slowly - let the sand paper do the work not muscle! Sand across the whole plate not just one portion. Also make sure you are working on a hard flat surface. (I have a piece of polished granite countertop I use) I frequently rinse the sand paper in soapy water - this helps prevent galling. Do not over sand! Its fairly easy to remove all the relief. Once the background is in than you can add any other colors - sometimes I end up using a toothpick to carefully "drop" the paint into place. Sand again than polish with very, very fine steel wool and your done. Here is a motometer face I made for a collector. The face has been silvered. I hope this helps! Best regards, Terry

Remember this was a day and age when air cleaners were rare indeed and engines were not far removed from the "total loss" oiling systems. Some T-head manufactures did provide protection for the valve gear - Sterling hid their valve stems and guides behind covers in the blocks. Wisconsin used cylindrical aluminum shrouds on some of their engines that enclosed the stems and springs. Rather than keep out dust their purpose was to contain the "oil mist" blowing up through the lifters to lubricate the valves. Once again... magnificent work.

I ran into a similar type in a 1909 Jackson. The mains were simply machined Babbitt inserts with no backer. They were indexed in the crankcase and caps with steel dowels. Here you can see the aluminum caps and the two Babbitt "inserts". I am assuming they did it this way because of the difficulty of bonding poured Babbitt to aluminum.

You are correct - However, many times you will find these old T-heads with bent rods. As you have probably discovered its very easy to have things jamb-up and the rods take the weight of the block if the pistons get a bit off kilter. A while back I was helping my brother pick-up his airplane after its annual - while chatting with his mechanic he mentioned how with the old engine when valves would stick he would take-out a spark plug, insert a length of nylon rope into the bore. When he cranked the engine over by hand the piston compressed the rope and pushed the offending valve closed. The rope could be easily removed since one end was left hanging out the spark plug hole. Needless to say... one could use a length of rope coiled-up in the combustion chamber to keep the pistons from sliding too far up and popping a ring over the top of the bore. Once the block is suspended upright over the crankcase with straps holding the piston in you could pull the rope out and lower the whole assembly in place. Just a thought.... On another note... its great to see the engine going together - I cannot wait to here it run. You mentioned scrapping in the bearings - are they cast-in-place Babbitt or are the bronze backed Babbitt shells? Best regards, Terry

Its great to see this engine come together! In regards to a gasket between the blocks and crankcase - On my T-head Wisconsin they used thin paper gaskets. They were nothing more than shellac coasted brown paper. The gasket and the block were assembled while the shellac was wet. In fact all the gaskets were done this way. Best regards, Terry

Hello John, Its just a core sand (as close to 100% silca as possible) There a hundreds of recipies for core binders - Flour & Molasses is one that works well, Linseed oil use to be used a lot. Now sodium silicate is quite popular. This is cured by exposure to CO2. You can even make no-bake cores from green sand. Baking time and temp depends on the size of the core. Bigger cores need to be baked at a lower temprature for a longer period to insure they are cured all the way through. I have not heard of using soft versus hard cores...but the pattern must take into account the shrinkage rate for the metal and alloy being used. What the foundry guy does with gating, risers, shrink bobs etc. also affects this. Steve, I live in the Pine Tree state. The pines here were once emblazoned with the King's broad arrow mark and were favored for masts for the Royal Navy! Best regards, Terry

Hello David, That would be a very short thread! Anyway...the core is actually sitting in a rectangular core print. Its formed by a corrosponding piece which is pinned to the back of the pattern. Its removed so the pattern will lay flat during ramming of the bottom half of the mold. Once its been flipped over the piece that forms the core print is attached (aligns with dowels) and the other half of the mold is rammed leaving the imprint for the core. It worked quite well. Best regards, Terry