Monday, February 7, 2011

TOY STEAM

I only know what I have seen on their website, but MiniSteam has me totally enthralled: more tabletop steam (and everything from Stirling to internal combustion) engines than I have ever seen in one storefront, from a huge variety of makers. Even steam robots -- see for yourself.

There and elsewhere, my dream toy for the summer, a Stirling-engine fan.

Prices on many of them are not for the faint of heart -- but it's wonderful stuff to see.

5 comments:

  1. You can make a decent little steam engine that will run on compressed air with nothing more than a drill press and a couple hand tools. Kits all over the place. Cool stuff. I was lobbying for making a steam engine at IMTS instead of a compass.

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  2. Og, some of the steam engines offered are "kits:" castings, bar and rod stock and a set of plans!

    I want to start small, with one of the little baseboard boiler-and-engine setups in (fully-machined) kit form.

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  3. this is what I was talking about.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dI3X3ghgzjw

    A drill press, or even a decent power drill- is all you need.

    I've built the "bigger" kits. See if you can find an old table lathe and you'll be all set.

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