Fire Wood Processor

[sasquatch]

Had one of those engines a number of years ago, and most of them i saw on hay balers all vibrated. I believe if i remember as both cylinders fired at the same time ??

[f350ca]

The pistons go up and down together, but fire 360 degrees apart. A massive counterweight on the crank.

[stevec]

So the crank only has one throw? was the only reason for economy of construction?

[f350ca]

It has two journals with a counter weight between them. With the pistons in phase you get a power stroke every 360 degrees of rotation. A later version had the pistons 180 degree out of phase to reduce vibration, but with that arrangement you get a power stroke at 540 and 180 degrees.

[f350ca]

Slowly getting back to this project. Wanted to start honing my skills on the plasma table so figured out how to nest parts.



Have a good bit of what I think is called Link Belt Chain, (someone give me the right name if you know) But can't find mating sprockets, so here's a sprocket in kit form. In the joys of CAD copying I ended up with twice as many spacers as required.



Welded up, with a section of the chain.



The chain came from an old sawmill, some links have bolt flanges to attach crossers to carry sawdust or trim ends up a wooden chute.
This chain is either REALLY worn or some odd size, the pitch came out as 2.709 inches measuring 40 links. The sizes in the machinist handbook are odd, 2.609 for a number 78 then jumps to 3.075 for a number 103.

[vtsteam]

Wow this is quite a project! Sorry I missed it before.

Coincidentally I just helped an old farmer friend here with his wood processor by making a part. Just a small bit -- he would stop getting bar oil to the chain periodically and couldn't figure out why. I pulled the hose from the oil reservoir off the bar block, and the mfr had used a split roll pin as a hose nipple!

I have no idea why -- I guess it was cheaper than machining a barbed nipple with a smooth end for a press fit in the block, or making a threaded nipple. I dunno, but anyway as the hose loosened and backed off when the bar dropped repeatedly to do the cutoffs, oil would leak out of the split in the roll pin. The pin was too smooth even with 2 hose clamps to hold the hose from moving eventually. My friend, who is getting old and a little less observant would see oil dripping down off the bar block and figure he had enough flow -- but didn't realize it wasn't getting to the chain. Well he realized it wasn't because of the heat. and going through bars, but didn't understand why.

Anyway I turned him up a barbed hose fitting from a piece of steel rod, added a flange for a stop and turned the rest for a nice interference fit in the hole. Drilled it out to the same ID as the roll pin and pressed it into his bar block. Now the hose stays put, and without the split pin, it can't leak.

I'd mentioned a couple months ago over coffee that I was looking for some culvert to use to move my driveway entrance. Last week I heard a truck pull up to my drive, and then a big bang. And then a truck revving up and tearing out of here. By the time I got out of my shop to see what was what, I saw Pete's old dump truck tooling away down the road, and a big piece of culvert sitting in my driveway. He didn't want any thanks.

[stevec]

(09-06-2014, 07:25 PM)f350ca Wrote: Slowly getting back to this project. Wanted to start honing my skills on the plasma table so figured out how to nest parts.

That plasma table sure is "the bees knees"!

Here's a couple of pics of the sprockets I had to cut (the old fashioned way) for that type of chain for my firewood conveyor.

   

   

I'm looking for another square bale elevator here in NS, I really need a conveyor here and I left that one to a friend in Ontario.

[Mayhem]

Nice work Steve. I'm still not 100% what I'm looking at though...

[stevec]

Darren, no worries, I never thought you were 100%.

It's a conversion of an old square hay bale conveyor into a firewood conveyor/elevator to pile the output of a buzzsaw or log splitter.

I searched for a pic but couldn't find one if I do come across one I'll post it.

[f350ca]

Plan on using this feed chain off an old sand truck to advance the log as its being cut up. The links are frozen with rust.


Managed to fold it up with a couple of bars and a lot of hammering. Now I'll let molasses do it magic.