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Rose Engine - ornamental turning

F

Fred in NC

Joined
Dec 23, 2004
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Location
North Carolina, USA
I have been considering building myself a Rose Engine, much like the one shown in this link:

http://home.vicnet.net.au/~pwguild/

The stumbling block to building this setup is the spindle:

First, the spindle itself needs to be machined, and the machined recesses need to be very smooth. This is obviously a job for a machinist with a suitable lathe.

Second, the bearings in the pictured setup are wood. I am not sure how easy it is to adjust the bearing block to get it just right.

If anyone remembers the Babbitt bearings, these were split in the middle, and adjustable. They were also messy with the need for lubrication, however they were used for lathes. Right now there are materials available which are better suited for babbitt type split bearings. These are self-lubricating plastics that are very durable even under extreme conditions.

The idea here is to get the spindles machined, with a set of bearings to fit. The next requirement is an indexing plate, and I have already had some machined, so I know they can be obtained. The rest of the Rose Engine can be pretty much home made. To do this at a reasonable price would involve a group purchase. What do you think ?
 
Hi Fred,

I've also been researching and thinking about making a rose engine for a couple of months now. I like your idea about using some of the self-lubricating plastics for the spindle bearings.

As for the spindle itself, I had been toying with the idea of using round steel bar stock. My thought was to get 1", thread it to accept my faceplates and chuck so that I could turn a piece on my lathe, remove it from the lathe with it still mounted, and attach it to the rose engine. Now, I'm not a machinist in any sense of the word, to know if this would work or not, or to even know what the pitfalls might be. I had also thought of looking to see if an old lathe headstock might not be converted in some way to serve the purpose.

Anyhow, if this approach won't work, or wouldn't serve the purpose, I'd be interested in hearing about the shortcomings of the idea, and about the spindle options you're suggesting. Maybe even the index plate as well, since mine needs a little tweaking at the moment.

I'm glad you brought the topic up.

Bob Way
 
Bob, I think you are in the right track.

I looked into using a headstock. Not very practical in my opinion, since the cam wheels need to fit inside. I think the "U" type arrangement is the most practical, and can be made from hardwood or the good birch plywood.

My intention is to machine a good spindle with 1"-8 threads, and a set of bearings to match. Like I said, the index plate is no problem. There are more parts to it, but they are common hardware store items.

Maybe we can work on this together ?

Best regards,

Fred
 
Good point about the lathe headstock.

Working together would be nice. I'll need to dig out some of the notes and drawings I made after reviewing Jeff O'Laughlins ideas.

Bob Way
 
Bob: I talked to my machinist this morning, and arranged to make a test spindle and set of bearings. He will be able to work on it next weekend. I will try to post a pic.

If you can dig out any plans I would be interested to see them. I am trying to combine all the good features in the final design.

Best regards, Fred in NC
 
Ornimental turning

As an evolution of my bussiness I am building a 4 axis CNC mill/lathe to handle up to 20" by 12'. Though considerbly larger han needed for ornimental turning the principals are the same. No precesion/expensive machining of parts for the mill needed. In smaller mills ( under 4') accuracy of .001" is easly done. For those interested in ornimental turning look at the CNC route. One place to start is www.cnczone.com . I project a cost of $4K for my mill including PC and all software except the CAD package. I will be posting details of my mill in a few months.
www.turningaround.org
 
Good to see you posting again!

Hi Fred,

I was thinking of sending you an e-mail to see how things were going with you and, VOILA, there you are.

Welcome back, good to see you posting again.

Clem
 
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