TIRED IRON

By Staff
Published on September 1, 1968

3125 West Fisk Ave., Rt. 3 Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54901

Another short story and picture about ‘Tired Iron’. This
is one for ‘What is it?’ I mentioned an engine in G.E.M.
May-June 1968 on page 23. This engine laid in a farm yard for many
years and was in real bad shape. The owner didn’t know the make
or age. It has the letters B&EM Co. cast in each flywheel. The
crankshaft looks like it is made from a bent shaft not forged, and
then machined. The cam gear is mounted below the crank gear with an
eccentric on the inside of the gear to oper-a lever to run the gas
pump. On the outside of the cam gear is a pin and roller to operate
a lever that is hooked to a vertical rod that operates the igniter
and exhaust valve. In this linkage near the cam gear is where the
catch is to get the Hit and Miss effect. The vertical rod operates.
the igniter on the down stroke and the ex-valve at the bottom of
the down stroke. The gas tank is cast in the base. The gas pump is
mounted at the base, pumping the gas up to a small reservoir that
feeds a Lunkenheimer carburetor. The reservoir overflows back down
to the tank. The main bearings and crank have grease cups. The
cylinder has an oil cup and a priming cup. The gas pump, gas
reservoir, water tank and skids are not original. It has a four
inch bore and a four inch stroke, 18 inch flywheels, make and break
ignition, governor and hit and miss. I hope someone can tell me who
made it where and when?

I don’t know how some engine restorers solve their problems,
but when I need piston rings and can’t get them the exact size
I use two 5/32 inch in a 5/16 inch groove, two 1/8 inch rings in a
? inch groove, etc. These rings are all compression rings and can
be ordered from an auto parts store. When it comes to crack-ed
casting like heads and water jackets I grind a V in the break and
pre-heat the part with a gas burner from a water heater and weld it
with a torch and cast iron rod. You have to use plenty of heat and
flux. When it comes to a cracked water jacket it works good to V
the crack and solder it using a little preheat. All these repairs
can be ground or filed to size so they can’t show. After
welding they should be kept hot for an hour or so and then cooled
slowly.

When it comes to intake and exhaust valves I use valves from a
car, truck, or tractor. If the stem is too long, some can be cut
and drilled the way they are and some can be made softer by heating
the tip of the stem and cooling slowly. Some stems will get harder
if heated. The valve head can be ground down to any size.

To make some coil springs I use either piano wire or spring wire
purchased from a local spring factory. The use two small blocks of
wood in the jaws of a vise with a rod between the two blocks sawing
a slot in the end of the rod to put the end of the wire in. Then
turn the rod feeding the wire in at an angle to make either a push
or pull spring. To change the size use a different size rod.

I had a picture and story of a Simplicity and Termatt and
Monahan in G.E.M. It didn’t take long to get several letters
from the state of New York to the state of Washington asking about
these engines, especially, the T. & M.

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