tools, materials & knowledge for model makers
Plans for engines, motors and tools.
This is a tiny five cylinder rotary engine designed to run on compressed air/steam/CO2. This engine runs fabulously on around 10psi of compressed air and happily swings an 8.5 inch propeller. 9mm bore 9mm stroke 85mm overall engine diameter This engine can be made using a small 3.5″ centre lathe and a small milling machine. … Read more
Plans for the Oscillating Steam Engine, this is a large model at 240mm long x 80mm wide and 90mm high. At the same time it is easily built using a small lathe and milling machine. I designed and made this when I bought the Warco WM240B lathe. This was to be a simple larger scale … Read more
Plans for this small optical centre punch. The plans have all dimensions and instructions on how to make it this centre punch that will transform your life in terms of how accurate you can centre a hole. Place the base on the workpiece Put the optical centre into the base Align the cross-hairs / circle … Read more
These etching tank plans were based on my requirement to etch parts for my miniature traction engine. However, this tank works great etching parts up to 100 x 75mm (~4 x 3 inches). Notes along with hints and tips on etching are available on this site. The etching tank plans show the dimensions of the … Read more
These Lamppost Engine Plans are for a model steam engine that is built onto a lamp post and generates electricity to light the lantern. The download is a PDF of the plans and contains 17 pages of drawings, images and notes for you to use to construct your own model engine. Specifications: bore 16mm stroke … Read more
Plans for a watercolour paintbox that is just 85mm in diameter and 28mm thick. The perfect paintbox for days out. Designed to contain six standard half pans of your choice, a brush and a water container. This download is a pdf file of the plans so that you can make this small watercolour set. I … Read more
The DTi bracket plan is for a simple to make dial test indicator bracket that allows the Moore & Wright DTi to be held in the lathe tool post. The DTi bracket as designed fits into a tool post designed to take 12mm or 1/2 inch lathe tools. The main leg of the design can … Read more
A FREE excel workbook with lots of workshop calculations. The Workshop Calculator is an excel workbook that contains a number of themed worksheets. I often create a simple calculation on an excel spreadsheet, this allows me to check the numbers, compare results etc and I find this really useful. Therefore, I thought it was about … Read more
Here we have a pdf download of the plan for the Single Piston Solenoid Motor. An electric motor with a difference. The power output is low, but the action and the sound are fantastic. You can use this as a starting point for a more optimised design or for a multi-piston design. I built and … Read more