|
There are three
stainless cylinders which must be formed or rolled into
tubes... the combustion chamber (cc) inner, cc outer, and
the outer case. Each of these requires an overlap seam be
formed in the end of the sheet. Note the green plan print
which shows the overlap. This can be done with a lot of
beating with a hammer, or it can be done neatly and
elegantly with a die. I constructed a die from the crs
rectangles shown. This is a simple mill-drill job, with
the step being milled on both sides of the die, so the
steel is shaped into somewhat of a "z" shape
when pressed. A scrap with a successful seam is show.
When you make
your die, make it long enough to do all three parts. If
you size it for just the combustion chamber, it will be
too short for the case outer wrap!
|
|
With the seam in place,
the trusty (but crusty) grizzly roll came into play. This
was a lot easier than I thought it would be. Rather than
roll it in one pass, I slowly crept up to the correct
diameter through several passes. I was afraid that the
roll would press out the seam, but it doesn't hurt the
seam too badly. Here,
the cc inner is being rolled to the rather tight diameter
required.
|
|
Ahh, thank goodness for
cable ties! I was having a devil of a time wrapping up
(and holding) the tube to the correct diameter for spot
welding of the seam. The idea was to hold the tube
stationary and at the correct diameter, and then deliver
a couple of preliminary welds. A pair of cable ties did
the job perfectly. I was even able to cinch the cable tie
down rather tightly around the flange spun into the cc
front, shown to the left as the disk at the bottom. |
|
The first spot weld of
the seam. Note that I am delivering a single spot as
close to the cc front as I could get. Next, the cc inner
was tested for size with the nozzle guide vanes, a
portion of which grips this from the outer diameter of
the tube. After the
second spot, the cc inner seam was welded along through
its length.
|
|
The two larger sets of
holes in the cc inner must be swaged out to a larger
diameter. The main purpose of the swaging is to create a
"crater" in the steel which will inject the air
deep into the combustion chamber. Note that this is the
cc inner, which surrounds the shaft tunnel, and is open
through its middle to pressurized air from the compressor
output; hence, the holes must be swaged as shown so as to
inject the air into the combustion chamber. I turned a 1/4" square of CRS
into the required male 60 degree cone, and clamped it
into a big boring bar, which I then held in a bench vise.
The cc inner hole is positioned over the punch, and a
female die is used to swage the hole. Note the shape of
the resulting swage. Two rows of holes are completed in
this fashion in the cc inner tube.
|
|
Now, we can proceed with
welding the cc inner to the cc front. I had to modify my
spot welder a bit to get into the tight confines of this
joint. A couple of welds start the process, and then,
when alignment is verified, the entire seam is welded
tight. It is important to minimize air leaks in the
chamber seams, especially at the front. |
|
The cc outer is produced
in much the same way as the cc inner, including a set of
swaged holes. Once it was sized and seamed, it too is
welded to the cc front. Still required on the cc outer
are the swirl jets, and the two plug bosses. I plan on
using a 1/4 x 32 spark plug for ignition rather than a
glo-plug. Here is a
cool shot of the actual weld taking place. Each spot weld
takes exactly one second.
Overall, the chamber is
proceeding nicely, and is actually a lot easier than I
thought it would be.
|