CT129 / CT129N - Mini-Mill Mod Blog: Replacement Gib lock knobs on X-Axis.

CT129 / CT129N - Mini-Mill Mod Blog: Replacement Gib lock knobs on X-Axis.: "I hated the levers that were stock on all the gib locks."

This is a great mod since those levers often get in the way for y axis travel.

Tapping for a 3/4 inch pipe

After boring a hole to about 0.935 inch, I tapped it using the minimill head as a guide to ensure a straight tap.

Making a Water Tank For the Listeroid

Boring a hole for one of the pipe fittings on a mini mill.

Modified Cooling System

I've decided the 30 gal water tank is way too much cooling capacity for my needs. I made a new water tank using 0.25 inch thick steel tube that's 4 inches square. I drilled, bored and tapped some pipe fittings into it and had a 6 inch plate welded onto the bottom. The finished product is shown here and work fine for engine runs up to 4 hours with minor loads applied.

Engine Run of 5/12/2005

The fuel system was finally fixed. The tank was drained, cleaned and treated with POR-15, a urethane coating that is rock hard. The tank is now perfectly clean. I also replaced the plastic tank fitting with a brass one, replaced the fuel line and fuel filter and made a new gasket for the filter holder. She now leaks not a drop! Changed the oil and ran her about 2 hours for some friends. We varied loads up to about 35oo watts at which point she just begins to smoke.

Generator Light Setup

Power Transmission Closeup

The Generator Light set with light load

Lancaster Power Station

Pramac 5 kw generator was hooked up via belt drive and worked perfectly
Generator is mounted on an electric motor base which is adjustable for belt tension
I’m using a 4.2" OD double Sheave with an H Bushing (mounted on the shaft in reverse)
Belts are 5/8" and 83 inches in length
I bolted 2" x 6" lumber to the engine dolly and covered it with ¾" plywood.
The motor base is bolted to that with ½" bolts
I could simultaneously run the circular saw (10 amp - 120 V, 1200 watts) and the space heater (1500 watts) and a halogen lamp (100 watts) and the engine would just start to smoke.
Little water leakage at the water barrel bottom fitting, but minor
Fuel leak continues - next project is to find a good replacement tank

Metro Run 2/5/2005

Gate Valve - a manual thermostat

Gate Valve

Test Run #5

Valve clearance was adjusted according to specifications. It took a few minutes to do this. Both valves were not adjusted to specs as received. I checked the valve timing against the timing chart supplied with the engine and it is timed quite well.

The gate valve works great. Engine gets to operating temperature in about 20 min using it. I ran about 1 hr with it closed (last 20 min). Basically, you can run the engine hopper cooled without a load on it. A few times I’d open the valve, let it siphon and you could feel the temp of the engine head drop.

Most water and fuel leaks are minor. Probably lost a gallon of water in 2 hr from a small leak on the lower pipe fitting on the barrel. Two wire cables with turnbuckles keep the barrel in place.

Two screws on the fuel tank bracket nearest the cooling tank had loosened, so I tightened them. I tightened the mounting bolts and fuel tank bracket screws after shutting down.

I inspected the lower pipe fitting on the inside of the water tank and found it had pulled away a few mm so I recaulked with DAP.

Schematic for the cooling system. Red drum is 30 gal. Blue X's are shutoff or drain valves. Water pipes enter drum 6" from top and bottom effectively using about 20 gal for cooling.