Eight Mery engines line up for running at Roland Morrison’s
shop in Benton City, Wash. Ten Merys were on hand, but two were
still in process and didn’t run.
On May 15-18, 2003, a group of model engine builders flocked to
Benton City, Wash., to the home of Morrison & Martin Engine
Works, originators of castings for the quarter-scale 1895 Mery
Explosive model engine. With 10 Merys on display (eight running and
two under construction), the meet represented the largest number
ever of Mery models gathered for display at one time in one place.
The 18 model enthusiasts brought other engines as well, for a grand
total of 50 model engines on hand.
Modeling Tour
Roland Morrison, the driving force behind the creation of the
scale Mery, arranged a tour of Western Sintering, a powdered metal
stamping facility in Richland, Wash., on Friday morning.
Unfortunately, only eight of the 18 model builders arrived in time
to make the tour, and those who didn’t get there in time missed
a great opportunity to learn about current metal stamping
technology.
Western Sintering starts the process with a very fine powder of
sharp-edged particles, produced by spraying molten metal into a
water bath. This can be steel, stainless steel, brass or aluminum.
It is then mixed to product specifications with different alloying
agents and compressed in a steel die with up to 60 tons of pressure
to form completely finished parts.
Jeff Wood, vice president of Western Sintering, took the eight
model builders on a four-hour, detailed tour of the stamping, heat
treating and machining facilities while in full production. The
tour also included a viewing of full-size steam engines owned by
company president Mike Rector.
A dramatic demonstration of the process came when Jeff picked up
a freshly pressed part that looked like polished steel – and broke
it with his hands. It was a fascinating demonstration, and
certainly got everyone to listen attentively to the discussion of
the heat treatment used to bond the metal powder together after the
initial pressing.
The sintering furnace is in continuous operation, and the
operation is precisely controlled to bond the metal and fill with a
copper alloy if desired. It is all done under a cover of hydrogen
gas so the parts come out sparkling clean.
All sorts of high quality parts are made at this plant, from
bevel gears for weed eater heads to locking hubs used on
four-wheel-drive trucks. While small production runs can be done,
the quantity of pressings made needs to be great enough to amortize
the cost of the die or dies used for the process.
Following the tour of the stamping facility, the group went to
the Port of Hanford to view the Lamson 600-ton Ringer crane. This
is the largest crane in the Northwest and is used to unload heavy
reactor components from barges. They also viewed some of the heavy
trucks used to move the offloaded components. One trailer had 44
axles with eight wheels on each axle.
The model builders then went to Dale Petty’s shop near
Pasco, Wash., to see the 1916 Galloway tractor Dale has almost
completely restored. Dale started the Galloway, and the big inline
four-cylinder engine sounded great. Everyone ended up back at
Morrison Engine Shop, and that evening we went to Sean
McKenna’s blacksmith shop to watch a real demonstration of
metal spinning.
On Saturday, Orrin Iseminger gave an impressive demonstration of
rust removal using DC current, Marvin Hedberg gave a demonstration
on preparing ‘lost wax’ patterns (and another on proper use
of a Deckel ‘SO’ single-lip cutter/grinder) and Roland
displayed his 1913 Model T roadster and his 1915 Big Bull tractor.
Marvin and Roland are currently engaged in producing castings for a
quarter-scale Kansas City Hay Press Lightning engine model.
This was a private, by invitation only event to which a few
lucky people interested in engines and model making were invited.
It was a great treat, and a wonderful weekend for those lucky
enough to attend.
Contact engine enthusiast Carl Carlsen at:
kd7bfn@earthlink.net
More on Mery model engines can be found at:
www.morrisonandmartin.com
Mery Engines Down Under
Mery engines in Australia: It took Reg Ingold nine weeks to
build the two engines shown here, a testimony either to his
complete dedication or maybe just to having too much time on his
hands!
At least two scale Mery engines have gone international. Aussie
Reg Ingold has a particular fancy for scale engines, and he
recently completed two of the scale Mery engines, one of which will
make the trip back to the U.S. for delivery to its new owner when
Reg comes for this year’s Tri-State Gas Engine and Tractor
Association Show in Portland, lnd. Reg built the second engine as a
favor for a friend in the U.S.
Reg says it took him about nine weeks from the time the castings
arrived to produce what you see here. ‘It’s a good thing
I’m on a seven day weekend,’ Reg says of the project.
Anyone interested in scale engines would do well to check out
Reg’s Web site www.oldengine.org/members/randmingold and take a
look at some of the other excellent engines he’s built over the
last few years.
Contact engine enthusiast Reg Ingold at: 37 Seaham St.,
Holmesville 2286, NSW Australia, or e-mail:
randmingold@hotkey.net.au
