Collaborate Disseminate
When your steam engine build requires multiple microscopes, including those of the scanning electron variety, you know you’re building something really, really tiny. All of the usual tiny superlatives and …read more Continue reading This Tiny Steam Engine Takes a Watchmaker’s Skill to Build
[Rural Heritage TV] has video of a private tour of a working, two-story, steam-powered sawmill at Lake Itasca, Minnesota. This is believed to be one of the only working steam-powered …read more Continue reading Chugging Along: A Steam-Powered Sawmill Still Makes Its Mark
If Hero — the ancient Greek inventor — had been able to enjoy a beer after work, he might have pulled a trick like [BevCanTech] did: use it to create …read more Continue reading A Steam Engine for Empty Beer Cans
There’s no denying that while railroads have switched to diesel and electric as their primary power sources, there’s a certain allure to the age of steam. With that in mind, …read more Continue reading Bringing a Steam Train Back from Extinction
[Integza] never fails to amuse with his numerous (and sometimes really sketchy) attempts to create usable thrust, by pretty much all means possible and the latest video (embedded below) attempting …read more Continue reading A V2 Rocket Inspired Steam Turbine Skateboard Is Just Around The Corner
3D prints aren’t typically known for their heat resistance. However, [Integza] noted that using the right techniques, it was possible to 3D print parts that could handle steam heat without …read more Continue reading You Can 3D Print A Working Reciprocating Steam Engine
Sure, there are subtleties, but by and large it’s pretty easy to pick up soldering skills with a little practice. But wait! Not all soldering is created equal, and as …read more Continue reading Fail of the Week: Learning How Not to Silver Solder
Liquid nitrogen is fun stuff to play with, as long as you’re careful and avoid freezing your own fingers off and shattering them on the workbench. As the liquid turns …read more Continue reading Liquid Nitrogen Isn’t Suitable For Steam Engines
Before there were demolition derbies, there were train totalings. That’s right, somebody had the idea to take a couple of worn-out train engines that were ready for the scrap heap, point them at each other, and drive them full steam ahead. And their boss said capital idea, let’s do it. …read more
Continue reading Staged Train Wrecks: An Idea That Ran Out of Steam
Our most likely exposure to a steam engine these days will probably come courtesy of a railway locomotive. A machine capable of immense power and probably with significant complexity and engineering in its construction, something the majority of us will only ever be able to see at second-hand. But there was a period when steam engines were much more accessible, before internal combustion engines and electric motors took on the task of automating hard work you would have found small stationary steam engines in all corners of industry.
These engines are on a scale much more easily embraced by hackers …read more
Continue reading Converting a Lawnmower Engine To Run on Compressed Air