Home-Built 1/4-Scale Model Of 1912 Red Wing

2011 - Volume #35, Issue #2, Page #41

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Home-Built 1/4-Scale Model Of 1912 Red Wing "Hit And Miss" Engine

I enjoyed building this 1/4-scale model of a 1912 Red Wing 5 hp "hit and miss" engine. It runs well with ignition provided by a Ford buzz coil and a spark plug.

    I bought the castings and the finished timing gears from an acquaintance, who had purchased the casting kit from a mail order company. He had already machined the flywheels, the cylinder head, and most of the cylinder block.

    The piston was the first part that I machined, using an extruded cast iron blank that came with the kit. The finished 1 1/4-in. dia. piston had to be .002 in. smaller than the bore, and the ring grooves a very close fit to the two piston rings provided. The 5-piece crankshaft was made from steel stock and is press-fit together. The connecting rod is tapered and the ends silver-brazed on. The intake and exhaust valves are identical. The stems consist of drill rod, with the stainless steel faces silver-brazed on with Harris Safety Silv 56. The valves are lapped to the seats. I machined the mixing valve (carburetor) from a brass casting that came with the kit.

    The most challenging part was making two very small holes intersect inside the tiny casting. A little JB Weld bailed me out here. The brass castings for the governor were finished by hand.

    The engine has a 2-in. stroke and a 1 1/4-in. bore, with a displacement of 2.45 cu. in. The engine develops about 1/10th hp at 300 rpm's.

    There's a brass sheet metal gas tank inside the base casting. The water hopper holds about a cup of water, and the oiler holds a teaspoon of oil. The main bearings and the big end of the connecting rod are lubricated via grease cups that I bought.

    All the machining took about 300 hours, and the assembly took another 10 hours or so. I mounted the engine on an oak skid that bolts down to the floor of a homemade miniature hay wagon, which I pull around at antique tractor shows. (John Magnuson, 4640 Ensign Ave. N., New Hope, Minn. 55428 ph 763 533-5787; magnu@msn.com)

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Home-Built 1/4-Scale Model Of 1912 Red Wing Hit And Miss Engine ENGINES Engines I enjoyed building this 1/4-scale model of a 1912 Red Wing 5 hp hit and miss engine It runs well with ignition provided by a Ford buzz coil and a spark plug
    I bought the castings and the finished timing gears from an acquaintance who had purchased the casting kit from a mail order company He had already machined the flywheels the cylinder head and most of the cylinder block
    The piston was the first part that I machined using an extruded cast iron blank that came with the kit The finished 1 1/4-in dia piston had to be 002 in smaller than the bore and the ring grooves a very close fit to the two piston rings provided The 5-piece crankshaft was made from steel stock and is press-fit together The connecting rod is tapered and the ends silver-brazed on The intake and exhaust valves are identical The stems consist of drill rod with the stainless steel faces silver-brazed on with Harris Safety Silv 56 The valves are lapped to the seats I machined the mixing valve carburetor from a brass casting that came with the kit
    The most challenging part was making two very small holes intersect inside the tiny casting A little JB Weld bailed me out here The brass castings for the governor were finished by hand
    The engine has a 2-in stroke and a 1 1/4-in bore with a displacement of 2 45 cu in The engine develops about 1/10th hp at 300 rpm s
    There s a brass sheet metal gas tank inside the base casting The water hopper holds about a cup of water and the oiler holds a teaspoon of oil The main bearings and the big end of the connecting rod are lubricated via grease cups that I bought
    All the machining took about 300 hours and the assembly took another 10 hours or so I mounted the engine on an oak skid that bolts down to the floor of a homemade miniature hay wagon which I pull around at antique tractor shows John Magnuson 4640 Ensign Ave N New Hope Minn 55428 ph 763 533-5787; magnu@msn com

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