Work in Progress

Projects used to move a lot quicker out in the garage but hanging out with the little man definitely has changed the pace. This project is one that has been crawling along with a half hour here and a half hour there. Maria and Parker were out of town the last several days though, I told her I would be waiting in the garage for her to come back. With the extra time though I was excited to see things starting to take shape

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eq-kwpVvSV4&feature=youtu.be

Small Engine Repair

In the middle of fixing  the "fire engine" bike

Whether you enjoy working in the garage or not, it is not uncommon to find yourself with a gas engine that refuses to start. Even if it is just that lawnmower that worked fine last year, sat through the winter, and now you are wearing out your arm trying to bring it back to life. I thought it would be fun to put together a little tutorial on small engine repair. I have found that a small sampling of the basics will cover a large percentage of the problems you will face.

  Over the last year I have had a couple friends bring 4 wheelers to the orange garage for repair. The great thing about these small engines is that they are infinitely more simple than fuel injected cars. The first one I fixed was a lawnmower engine off of a little buggy. I worked slow and took lots of pictures so I could put it back together. After bumbling my way through it I was surprised to find that some simple fixes were actually able to get it running. Since then I have repaired gokarts, lawnmowers, weedwackers, ATV's and motorcycles and for the most part they all have the same parts and the same problems.

To run, an engine needs a spark, compression, and good carbureted gas and air. When I troubleshoot something it is all about eliminating variables so I will start with the spark. 1) remove wire from top of spark plug 2) remove spark plug 3) With it still out, put the wire back over the top 4) touch the plug to the engine block or anything where it will be grounded 5) crank the engine

 If you see the spark then you don't need to spend any more time worrying about gap lengths, wires or coils. Hand tighten the plug back in place, wrench it no more than a quarter turn past that, and make sure the wire seats all the way back down over the top.

Before you actually replace the sparkplug you will want to take a look at the compression. Most people don't have a compression test kit at home but many auto parts places will loan them out, I got mine on the cheap at HarborFreight. While the spark plug is out you simply screw in the attachment in its place and crank the engine.

If you dig around online or in a good service manual, you can find out what psi you should be getting. A lot of these smaller engines use an automatic mechanical decompression. Basically the exhaust valve purposely doesn't seat all the way when starting. This makes the engine much easier to start so you don't throw your back out ( I watched my dad do that trying to start a snowmobile once) but it will also give you a reading that seems too low. Even if your engine has automatic mechanical decompression, it should still give you at least 15 psi. This one reads 60 psi so I am going to call it good and move on.  If it was below 15 or if you can find a PSI value from the manufacturer and you feel it is reading low, then I would do a leak down test as follows: 1) manually put engine into TDC ( piston all the way up with exhaust and intake valves in closed position) 2) attach air compressor 3) listen to see where air is 'leaking down'
If it comes out exhaust then the exhaust valve is not seating. If it comes out at the air filter than the intake valve is not seating. If it comes out of the oil cap then the piston ring needs to be replaced. It may also come out around the head gasket. Poorly seated valves may just need to be cleaned and you can often visibly see large carbon deposits on them.

These first two tests go quick because they usually are not the problem. Most of the engines I have looked at were not getting fuel because of a dirty carburetor. First, a simple crash course in how a carburetor works. The car you drive is probably fuel injected, meaning it actually sprays fuel right into the cylinder, as opposed to most small engines (and older cars) which are carbureted. Basically the carburetor is in charge of mixing gas and air together right before it enters the cylinder. To do so the carburetor literally sucks the gas through tiny holes called jets. As the gas is sucked through the jets it turns into a mist so that it will burn well once it flows into the engine. Unfortunately the sucking power of the carburetor is limited so it can't suck it all the way from the gas tank. To make carburetor's job easier, it has what is called a fuel bowl sitting directly below it. The fuel bowl works very much like the tank on your toilet. It has a float valve that allows gas to fill the fuel bowl until its floats close the valve. This maintains a consistent amount of gas for the carburetor to conveniently suck from. The bottom of the fuel valve will often have a tube coming out where excess gas can leak out (like the overfill hole near the lip of your sink) and will also have a screw or bolt which you can open to drain gas from the bottom (a good idea for storing the engine,draining bad gas, or testing to see if gas is making it in at all)

The carburetor is found in between the engine cylinder (on the right with fins) and the air filter (to the left out of the picture). You will commonly see one or two throttle cables, a choke cable, fuel line, excess fuel drain tube, intake tube (from air filter), and exhaust tube (going to the cyliner) coming off of the carburetor. Lawn mower engines often have no cables but will have the choke and throttle adjustments directly on the carburetor with the air filter directly on top.

The carburetor often sits below the fuel tank, you may have to rip it out for better access. Usually not that big of a deal. You are going to want to drain the old gas anyway and this will make the job easier.

To be thorough you will have to remove the carburetor. Take a couple pictures of where things go, be brave, and yank her out. The fuel bowl can be see here below the level of my thumb nail.

With the cover for the fuel bowl removed you can see the floats and their little valve that they operate. It is not uncommon for debri to get caught in this valve causing continually leaking gas (which is why it is not a bad idea to clean things before you take them apart, being particularly careful with fuel lines that have collected oil and grime on the outside). I have also seen these get stuck in the closed position which prevents the fuel bowl from filling which will stop an engine in its tracks. With the carburetor out and fuel bowl removed, I like to poor gas in the fuel line and test this valve, moving the floats up and down.

In between the floats you can usually see two different tubes which you can screw out (only one is visible here). You will want to remove both.

With them removed you can now see the actual jets. These holes are often the size of a needle head. This is the weakest link in getting fuel to the engine. If you skim this article here is the most important part, YOUR ENGINE PROBABLY WILL NOT START BECAUSE THESE HOLES ARE CLOGGED.

Get yourself some carb cleaner to blast and soak the jets. While you have the carburetor out take the time to also blast its many different nooks and crannies, both from the fuel bowl side and from the venturi (main channel) of the carburetor. You may also find one or several diaphragm gaskets on more advanced carburetors. If they appear damaged the engine will probably still start but may idle funny and or be sluggish or even die when you punch the gas. These are often fairly cheap to replace.

It is also worth the time to take a look at the air filter and its housing to make sure air can easily flow through (and only air). This one had a puddle of water, gas, and oil sloshing around the bottom...not an ideal set up.



With all that done, put her back together and cross your fingers. In most cases the engine should be able to start up but may need some tuning. If you follow the throttle cable to the carburetor  you may be able to find a set screw which limits the motion of the throttles rest position. This is the idle set screw. Play with the set screw until the engine RPMs at idle are a healthy margin higher from where the engine dies. On the side of the carburetor you will also find another screw that adjusts how rich or lean the fuel mixture is.

This carburetor has its fuel mixture screw just above the MIKUNI lettering. The simplest way to describe this adjustment is to just play with it until you like the sound, probably something worth YouTubing if you would like to actually listen to an adjustment.






I described how to be thorough and break down the carburetor but if the engine is not so bad off you may be able to take some shortcuts that don't involve you actually taking the carburetor and gas tank out. A good abbreviated approach would be to drain the old gas (be sure to not just drain the tank but also the fuel bowl), add fresh gas with SeaFoam added to it, remove the air filter and spray engine starter down the hatch and try to start the engine that way. It is also possible to pump up carb cleaner through the fuel bowl drain tube with carburetor in place, just be careful not to flood the engine in the process.




Sometimes the biggest obstacle is just being afraid that you will break something or never be able to put it back together. That usually isn't the case and 9 times out of 10 you won't regret the "just go for it" attitude. If I waited for a mentor every time I tried something new in the garage I would never get anything done, so hopefully I have inspired someone to tackle that dusty lawnmower in the corner of the garage instead of putting it on the curb or paying someone else to take care of it. And if I didn't then feel free to give me your "irreparable" four wheeler that you aren't using anymore...

I tried to keep this crash course tutorial brief so if you have questions or get stuck halfway through a project feel free ask any questions and I will try my best to answer!

Angus 2.0

 

Skip to video of Angus HERE

Last summer Maria and I went up to visit her family in Idaho which is when I first met Angus. Angus is their four wheeled two seater Rhoades bike which we had a blast riding around the Tetons that week. After looking at the existing hardware I mentioned to my father in law Pat that the bike already had most of what it needed to be motorized and that it looked like a fairly easy and cheap project. My original idea was to put in a 200cc honda clone. Pat was interested but also a little more responsible than I am. He was concerned about the legality of such a creature. Anyway, the idea had been planted and Pat was later able to find a 50cc kit that would be mostly road legal in Idaho.

This summer when we went back up to Idaho for another visit Pat had already started putting the kit together and I was able to help him mount it onto the bike. The engine is light enough that you can turn it off, pedal, and forget that it is back there (in fact that is the backup plan for when we see police). It is also unique in that the engine uses one of the existing sprocket sets so you can use one of the bikes shifters with the engine as if you were driving a manual car.

Click HERE to watch a little video of the bike in action.

UBA helmet

A while back my dad found some old  pictures from one of my earlier creations which he emailed out to the family. We called it the UBA helmet (Underwater Breathing Apparatus minus the Self Contained part of SCUBA). We had a lot of fun with that thing, bouncing around on the bottom of the pool in slow motion like we were out on a moon walk. Strangely enough, my memory of events don't completely match up with those of my siblings but I thought it would be fun to include their memories from that chain of emails.



"I mentioned Rich's early inventions like the diving helmet.  Here is a later diary entry with a drawing of the famous helmet and also a couple of photos of the prototype in actual use (notice who he has working the pump on the edge of the pool).  I continued to use that big rock with the strap attached when I would clean algae off the bottom of our pool.  I noticed the note says "hose can be as long as you want it" (which in Rich's case was about 30 minutes since he got interested in other inventions as soon as he finished this one)."
Russell Cannon

"I remember when we first tried this out. Rich tied a rock to himself and sank to the bottom with the bucket on his head. Once he got to the bottom the hose detached from the bucket, and all the air bubbled out through the hole. He sat at the bottom of the pool for a while, tied to a rock with no air, while we debated about who should jump in to help. He eventually made it out on his own, though."

Jesse Cannon

 "I also remember that first trial run. As I recall, it was still winter or early spring, so Rich was wearing his wetsuit since he didn't want to wait for warmer weather to try it out. None of us wanted to jump in the freezing water, so instead we tried throwing small rocks down on him as a signal..."
Nate Cannon

"I don't think this experience was actually a test run for the UBA but a test for his brothers."
Gina Steed

standing desk

Maria had been dropping hints for some time that she would like a standing desk so I started building one last month for her birthday. I am normally a big fan of surprising her with gifts but the desk took up too much time and space in the garage to slip under her radar. Besides that, it was fun to get her input and get a better idea of what she wanted and take measurements to customize the height for her. She wanted kind of a utilitarian look (oh good, the only thing I know how to do) and this is what I ended up with.

 I picked up a couple sticks of 1"x.095 square cross section  for the metal frame. It makes the desk fairly light but very sturdy. For the wood sections I used MDF. The stuff is easy to work with and you don't have to worry about picking up warped or knotty pieces. One downside is that it picks up stains and smudges very easily and I will probably have go back and throw on a coat of polyurethane before long. There is one metal cross bar that can be unbolted allowing the whole thing to be disassembled and stored flat (in your face ikea). Before this project I had been working on building my own chop saw, it was 90% complete when I found a nice one at a garage sale for $20...oh well. The chop saw made a big difference in producing sharper cuts and welds for a more professional look.

 Maria and I came up with the idea of doing half peg board and half cork board for the backing which has really helped clean up some of the clutter from the old desk.

 When I got my grandfathers old table saw I also found some cool little attachments that simulate routed edges. For the desk I used a simple round edge that would be comfortable to rest your wrists on.

And here is a link to a fun article to make you want your own stand up desk    Become A Stand-Up Guy





.

Marble Works

I built these several months back for a couple of my younger nephews. I had some plexiglass laying around and had recently picked up some straight routing bits I wanted to practice with. Simple construction and I think the kids have had fun with them.

And here is a video of how it works
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caVIwxnXLxM&feature=youtu.be

my best creation yet

bandsaw

A while back I inherited my Grandpa Hatch's old table saw. Apparently he got it when they were first married but it still works just fine. It is powered by a 3/4 hp induction motor which has a shaft extending out of both sides so I had the idea that I could use the free end to power an additional tool. Bandsaws go in the broad category of "tools that I would love to have but can't afford" so it was a natural candidate.

The first problem was that the motor rotated the wrong way. Unlike simple DC motors, you cant just trade a + and - pole to reverse direction on an induction motor. I found some vague directions on the motor itself but the wire colors didn't make sense. After staring at it for a while I realized one wire was of a different construction than the others as if it was not an original, It seems my grandpa had been doing his own modifications decades earlier. This little discovery warmed my heart and brought a little smile to my face.

Assuming his wire to be the missing color i was able to successfully rewire it so it now can be switched to rotate in either direction. I fabricated anti-bump flanges to go around the switches for some added peace of mind.

Next i added a sprocket to the free shaft to drive the chain was planning on using. To save the money I used bike chain i had lying around, which didn't quite fit. The motor made a convenient lathe so i could grind the sprocket down to a workable size

 

After doing the math I found that the original wheel sprocket would spin the bandsaw much to fast so I welded on a larger sprocket from another bike to bring the final speed down.

Free handing with angle grinders, warping metal with the sloppy mig welding process, and drawing up plans in my head is not the best recipe for precision, so to get the tighter tolerances needed for a bandsaw I had to make almost every component adjustable. The final product has 19 points of adjustment to keep it running well. One key point of adjustment is the angle of the two wheels to control how the band tracks across them. This is what i ended up with.

 Each wheel has one of these brackets on both sides. This allows me to adjust their angle with a great deal of precision and also doubles as the band tensioner.

For simplicity and cost, the original design used bike wheels. I wasted a lot of time experimenting with shoegoo, rubber, and different types of tread to try and line the wheels. The wheel well has a natural trough to it that you think would help the blade track to the low point in the center. After more research and experimenting I realized an important counter-intuitive truth, the blade will actually always try to climb to the highest point. I ended up ditching the wobbly bike wheels, ripped out their existing hubs/ bearings, and mated them to mdf wood cutouts.

Using a temporary set up I was able to spin up the wheels and then grind down the perimeter until they ran perfectly true.

Unlike the original wheels, i carved these ones so that they were slightly rounded with the high point near the center of the wheel.

For upper and lower blade guides, I pulled bearings out of an old pair of rollerblades which turned out to be a perfect size.

The frame itself was fairly simple and straight forward.

The table mount allows for the table to be set at different angles and has a lateral adjustment.

Lateral adjustment for the lower blade guide.

This mount can adjust the lateral and vertical positioning of the upper blade guide and controls the angle as well to make sure it runs parallel to the blade. The T bar coming out towards the camera tightens the back bracket allowing for quick raising and lowering of the blade guide.

Using the old wheels to cut out the new mdf wheels

Finished product

In truth the whole thing works better than i thought it would. It produces an even cut with a small clean kerf and can do really tight arcs. Switching the motor back and forth between the bandsaw and the table saw usually only takes a couple of seconds. One major drawback is that if i ever want to cut a larger piece of wood it can only go so many feet past the table saw before it hits the back of the bandsaw. It takes several minutes to unbolt the bandsaw from the bench at some point it may be worth make some kind of quick release mounting (or finding a new motor so it can be mounted independently to its own bench, any one have an old induction motor lying around?). A cover is also in the works to have less of the blade exposed.

Here is the final product in action.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0cNV1Hhu8k&feature=youtu.be