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Short Lady FWE Build!

Posted: Sun May 15, 2005 10:31 pm
by Jmitchell
Hi guys, I decided I'd build a short lady today.

I got the combustion cone and rear plate done, I'll have some pictures for you guys later tonight.

I had a question about the tailpipe, I bought some "1 & 1/4" conduit" and it's really 35mm ID and I'm wondering if this is going to cause problems?

Larry, got any advice? Steve?

I'm using 3/4" conduit for the intake.

re: Short Lady FWE Build!

Posted: Sun May 15, 2005 11:52 pm
by steve
another member had the same problem, he simply cut a srtip of the pipe out, squeezed the pipe back together and welded the seam. you could probably get it to run with the 35mm pipe though. (the original used 32mm)

re: Short Lady FWE Build!

Posted: Mon May 16, 2005 12:45 am
by Jmitchell
Should I just make a coupler then to fit the cone to the pipe?

re: Short Lady FWE Build!

Posted: Mon May 16, 2005 1:46 am
by Jmitchell
Pics!

The spark plug nut I made a bit more complicated than it needed to be. I took a nut with an unknown size and thread pitch, turned off the threads, tapped it for the plug, then turned the nut so that it was half it's original thickness (just so the plug would protrude a bit into the CC) and welded it on.

Everything's hand formed with a slip roll and hammering.

re: Short Lady FWE Build!

Posted: Mon May 16, 2005 1:49 am
by Jmitchell
ARGH I CAN'T UPLOAD THE REST OF THE PICTURES

Image

Image

Image

re: Short Lady FWE Build!

Posted: Mon May 16, 2005 12:48 pm
by larry cottrill
Looks like a VERY nice build. I especially like your last shot, which looks like a hand mysteriously emerging through the tabletop from another dimension.

In my opinion, the slightly larger pipe should be no problem at all. Theoretically, it would shorten the overall length just a hair because of the "end correction", but we're talking a small fraction of an inch! In reality, it won't matter.

Be sure you put the fuel feed point right in the center of the intake, just inside the flare, not the lateral feed used in the original prototype. And, remember that Eric claims it is better NOT to put any pinch in the intake pipe - keep it a full circular section over its whole length for best results.

L Cottrill

re: Short Lady FWE Build!

Posted: Mon May 16, 2005 3:19 pm
by Bruno Ogorelec
Nice work! Keep us posted. make sure you have a camera (and a camera man) at hand when the thing roars first, too.

re: Short Lady FWE Build!

Posted: Mon May 16, 2005 11:52 pm
by Jmitchell
IT RUNS! But I fked it all up while welding :(

Oh well, better luck next time.

It started on the first try, to my amazement. It has very good throttleability too, to my amazement.

I'll take some better videos later, my memory stick was full so I had to use the crappy quality.

re: Short Lady FWE Build!

Posted: Tue May 17, 2005 12:23 am
by Jmitchell
Here's a MUCH BETTER video.


oops, I can't post it, it's too large, and my server will die if I try to host it there. It's 7mb can anyone host it for me?

re: Short Lady FWE Build!

Posted: Tue May 17, 2005 12:30 am
by steve
Yeah, welding that intake on is real tricky, and damn near impossible with a MIG welder. It's good to see that it runs though! have you tried using an oxy-torch to weld? I think you would appreciate the precision that it allows when compared to the MIG.

re: Short Lady FWE Build!

Posted: Tue May 17, 2005 12:56 am
by Jmitchell
I had an oxy propane, but I burned a hole thru the hose... I'm thinking of getting an oxy acetylene though. Oh well, I can always do better!

EDIT: Here's a video http://www.kc0udt.com/jim/pulse.mpg

re: Short Lady FWE Build!

Posted: Tue May 17, 2005 10:01 am
by Bruno Ogorelec
The video doesn't quite work for me -- I managed to see just the first part, but it's still nice. Congratulations!

The FWE is obviously a benign , easy machine to live with. Larry did a good job. It is likely to be a popular machine. There are already several in existence.

re: Short Lady FWE Build!

Posted: Tue May 17, 2005 1:39 pm
by larry cottrill
J, congratulations!

Yes, it looks a little rough, but it obviously runs just like a Short Lady should!

Thanks for trying it - good video of her running!

L Cottrill