Jon Zwicker's Farmboy

 Hello Allen

I just wanted to let you know that I finished my Farm Boy No. 1019 , this is the first engine I’ve ever built and I really enjoyed it.  Your prints are excellent.  I was a pattern maker for 30 years and it seems that there were always a few missing dimensions.  Your prints were very complete !

I thought you might like to see some pictures.  I haven’t painted it yet and maybe I won’t, having too much fun just watching it run!

I see in one of the photos of someone else’s engine that they built they had an oval Farm Boy plate made for the side of it.  Any idea where it could possibly get something similar ?

Thanks Again

Jon

Alan Gorlick's Farmboy (and plan changes/corrections)

 Hello Allen,

Just a note to let you know that my FarmBoy engine, Serial # 1033 is finished and running well. I downloaded the plans in March this year and worked on it steadily since then. I used the buzz coil ignition with spark saver option, a standard length Rexcel plug and a 4 AA battery pack. I did depart from the plans a bit to build it as a six bolt head instead of four, just to put my own mark on the model.

The plans are excellent but I can confirm there are two errors on sheet 3. As identified by Andrew Whales in his build series on YouTube, the horizontal spacing between the crankshaft and cam shaft is 1.031" for 48DP gears, not 1.026" shown on the drawing. The other error is that the 0.325" dimension for the cam mounting pad thickness on the Rearward View should be 0.355" as confirmed by the correct  0.105" (plus 0.25") dimension for the pad shown on the Bottom View.

The engine started and ran on the very first attempt, startling me completely! The only adjustments I made was experimenting with governor spring force, initially using a rubber band to get a feel for the right tension and then making the light spring shown in the attached video link which is a short clip of the fourth run. I've raised the speed slightly with the adjusting screw in the catch lever and finished the mounting bolts with nyloc nuts etc since that clip was filmed. The only things left are the crank bearing oil cups and deciding on a paint scheme or maybe leaving it natural.

Thanks again for the quality products,

Regards

Alan Gorlick

Qld, Australia

https://www.icloud.com/photos/#/icloudlinks/09eIMdROuPz9pF8GblRNJj0Og/0

Indiana Engine Show - Oct 12-13, 2024

 

V4 Construction Links and Parts List

 

PowerHouse - Page 5 Correction

It has come to my attention that there appears to be a dimensional error on page 5 of the Powerhouse plans. On "Frame Side View" (upper left), the dimension of .281 for the distance from the edge of the frame to the location of the push rod bracket holes, should be ~ .210 to .213 instead.  If .281 is used, then the leftmost pushrod bracket located 2.156" away will be too close to the cam gear.

Many thanks to Jay Bolyard and his son Erik who caught this.  

I'm very surprised that this has not been brought to my (or Dad's) attention until now as the plans have been around since 2001!

Regards,

Allen

Kees Bijker's 3-D Printed V4 Update

Hello Allen,

I wish you and all your loved ones a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. This is the last update of 2023 of my 3d printable Howell V four. Nearly done and still so much to do. Got 99% of the parts printed now and just need to figure out some minor improvements for printing and fitting. Then it is back to the printer and printing all the final versions and creating a bom list and build instructions. This will be 2024 I am sure. The camshafts prove difficult and I have printed 4 different iterations without luck so far. This last one has to be the one. Going to print it with a much smaller nozzle and lower speeds for high definition. Should do the trick. Enjoy the festivities and hope to hear from you either this year, if not next.

Kind regards, 

Kees.

Jan 10, 2024: Here's a link to the completed project:
https://www.printables.com/model/714791-working-model-of-the-howell-v-four-engine

Alan Gorlick's BuzzCoil Review and Comments

 Hi

Just a note to let you know the "buzz coil" ignition module kit, spark plug & hall effect sensor are installed and working well on a hit & miss engine that I have just finished, it's based on a David Kerzel design. 

I am using a 2mm x 1mm magnet set in the cam gear at 0.5" radius which works very well at the low speed of this engine. The hall effect sensor is epoxied onto an arm that can pivot around the cam gear shaft as suggested in your notes. That change to Mr Kerzel's design made setting the ignition timing extremely simple and precise. The coil is a universal ATV coil and is the only thing in the ignition system that has caused any problems. The first one had a loose primary terminal.

I did successfully bench test the spark saver circuit with a second hall effect sensor but have only installed the single sensor circuit as battery capacity has not been an issue. I am using a 6V 4.5ah rechargeable lead acid battery (AGM type) which I haven't had to recharge yet and cost very little more than a pack of 4 AA energisers and case.

One low cost change that I suggest you could make to your kit is to use an 8 pin IC socket that is soldered onto the PCB first and the 555 Timer IC just clips into that socket after everything else is installed. It removes any risk of exposing the 555 to the heat of soldering and allows easy replacement of the timer if ever required.

Thanks for the quality product,

Regards

Alan Gorlick

Bundaberg, Queensland, Australia

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0d5FHJTjAPdnaYQS7rdgz797A
https://share.icloud.com/photos/0b5nNV26JYIzEbaKk6JayRknw