Brian builds a Corliss

[Tundra Twin Track]

Very Nice Brian, the Brass on the Blue looks real classy the Maple Leaf is a nice touch.

[brian Rupnow]

Okay Guys---We're all finished here. The paint turned out really pretty, my Canadian maple leaf shows up just fine, and the engine runs well. It is mounted in the old wooden base that was built for the Rupnow Engine about ten years ago. There is a degree of "Wonkiness" going on with the flywheel hub, but sometimes that happens with a built up flywheel. I want to take the summer off now, I've built three engines over the past winter, and I'm burned out on machining things. Have a really great summer!!!---Brian

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o71EAsvTeQc

[PStechPaul]

The colors remind me of Superman's costume.

https://www.cbr.com/superman-reason-behind-costume/

[brian Rupnow]

You're right Paul---I never thought of that. I was thinking of the red white and blue of the old Canadian flag before it got changed to just red and white.---Brian

[brian Rupnow]

Thank you for following my posts and for the comments. I am going to try to do something different now.----Staying out of my machine shop for a few months until fall. I have built so many engines over the last ten years, and spent so much time in my shop, that a few months away from my shop might be a good thing for me. I've sat around the house doing nothing for the last few days, and I said to my wife that I don't know what the heck I did with my life before getting into building small engines. I'm not really sure that I can do this, but I'm going to try.----Brian

[ammcoman2]

Brian, your plan to step back for a while is a good one.

I did the same starting last June until about January this year. I think I got “Covid burnout” after completing 3 models in record time (for me).

Then I got worried that I couldn’t get going again. My solution was to get a casting kit (Cringle) of an old style generator that wasn’t too involved and I slowly got my “MoJo” back. Rust had started to set in but, after covering up (literally) my errors, I completed it and am quite pleased with the results.

Now I’m back working on some of the engines that await the final touches.

Geoff

[rdfeil]

brian Rupnow , With the spring and summer ahead I understand the want to get out and enjoy life. Idea... Ask the wife for ideas on how to enjoy the summer while spoiling the grandkids rotten. I have no idea what you like and have available, but some time doing something different with family can be nice.

[PStechPaul]

I would suggest perhaps getting a simple electronics or electrical training kit and taking your time to learn a bit more about this facet of engineering where I think you admit to being somewhat deficient. You can concentrate on low voltage projects for 12 to 48 volts or so, which are much safer than mains powered stuff, although of course nothing is absolutely safe. You might also enjoy playing around with an Arduino to learn about microcontroller programming and interfacing, perhaps with the idea of making a tachometer for your engines, or an electronic ignition. I greatly enjoyed learning about machining and making things on my lathe and mill, but at some point I felt that I had learned enough, and now mostly use machine tools just to fix things or make things for other projects.

I do admit to delving into projects that interest me at the moment, and spending time working on them up to a point, but then losing interest once I've achieved some level of success, and then abandoning them short of completion. I am bogged down now on my VFD project, and finding myself getting distracted by going outside as the weather improves, doing various household and outdoor projects, and even watching TV, movies, YouTube, reading, doing crosswords, and of course spending hours on forums such as this. Perhaps this is being process-oriented rather than goal-oriented, and there are valid arguments for both, but I think a reasonable balance is healthiest for mind, body, and spirit.

[aostling]

. . . I've sat around the house doing nothing for the last few days.

You have told us that you are a reader. Your local public library is a good one -- currently they have hundreds of nonfiction books published in the last two years, and presumably a lot more fiction. Check it out!

https://www.sudburylibraries.ca/en/

[reggie_obe]

You have told us that you are a reader. Your local public library is a good one -- currently they have hundreds of nonfiction books published in the last two years, and presumably a lot more fiction. Check it out!

https://www.sudburylibraries.ca/en/

Now he can sit around the house or library.....
I think it's key to not take up another sedentary, solitary hobby or pastime like electronics, but dive into something that lets you enjoy the outside while the weather is good.

[brian Rupnow]

Guys, I belong to two public libraries and have an e-reader that lets me read books from both. I average about two hardcover books a week. This is reading for fun and entertainment, not educational reading.---Brian

[aostling]

I think it's key to not take up another sedentary, solitary hobby . . .

Agreed. But books are transportable. I found this new field guide in my library -- now I am on the lookout for wasps during my desert hikes. Amazon lets you "Look Inside" it.

https://www.amazon.com/Wasps-Astonis...s%2C126&sr=8-1