Petter Handyman

Introduction

I acquired Engine No. 23345 in May 1999 from a Veteran Car Enthusiast who wanted the engine to go to a better home. The previous owner had acquired the engine 25 years ago after seeing it lying outside a disused railway station. The engine had been left outside for a short period during which the engine was recovered for preservation.

During the 25 year period the engine was stripped completely and carefully cleaned and stored in boxes and in a dry wooden shed. The previous owner was an aeronautical engineer who, naturally, was very skilled in engineering which I am sure has helped my engine survive in the excellent condition it is presently in.

Engine History

The story of this engine starts back in 1913 when the engine was manufactured by Petter of Yeovil and supplied new to the agricultural agents - Archibald & Robert Brown, Colingsburgh, Fife, Scotland. It is not known who the engine was sold to and what duties it performed. Unfortunately no further history is known until up to 25 years ago when the engine was discovered at the disused railway station as mentioned above. It is though the engine had been dragged out of a building and was left outside for a short period, possibly awaiting the scrapman. Luckily the engine was bought for preservation and carefully cleaned and dismantled until the engine was purchased in 1999 for restoration.

Further information has recently been acquired which will be posted soon. On Sunday 14th April 2002 I visited the original premises of A & R Brown in Collinsburgh and took some photos which will be posted soon. I am told A & R Brown were in operation up until the 1960's.

Due to lack of time, space, and other commitments progress has been very slow with the Handyman. I am slowly piecing together the parts I need and repairing the broken damaged parts.

**Latest update - trolley is progressing with the construction of the axles. Progress is again at a standstill until we finally build the shed to house the engine !!

Inspection

Upon inspection the main problems were a bent crankshaft, cracked piston, broken air valve assembly and missing piston rings. It appears that a careless owner had disconnected the con-rod from the big end and allowed it to drop cracking both the piston and cylinder liner. This doesn't present a huge problem, the crack in the piston will be drilled at the end to prevent spread and as the liner is is 'enclosed' by the water jacket this will prevent spread in the liner crack.

The following thumbnails show the engine when first viewed, half jammed under a bench but encouragingly near a stove which would have kept dampness at bay. Note the condition of the paintwork, lining and transfer.

Repairs & Solutions

• The main worry was the bent crankshaft, clearly if this was not given to a competent engineer to repair the engine could be rendered useless. We were not confident enough to attempt repair so utilised a local engineering comapny to undertake the repair. The crankshaft was set up on a mill table to assess the 'damage' and establish the correct point at which to apply heat and pressure. This was done and a few days later we got a call to collect. When we arrived the crankshaft was set up on a lathe running perfectly true. We have no guarantees that the crankshaft will not break in the future due to stress or fatigue, we will have to check the engine regularly for any signs of failure. I am quite confident the crankshaft will be good for another 100 years however it is always worth bearing in mind that heating, cooling and force will always potentially weaken mechanical components.

• Piston rings were obtained from the Clupert Piston Ring and Gauge Company, Cumbria. The bore is slightly worn and we felt to ensure good compression clupert rings would be the best solution. A new set was made and a spare obtained in case of accidents. I can fully reccommend the company for any piston rings. They have been featured in Stationary Engine Magazine and I can give the contact details to anyone who wishes. In order to fit the clupert rings I will have to file away the small ring pegs on the piston which located the original plain rings. I was given the option of cutting the rings to suit however this may affect the performance of the ring and also there is some risk that the ring may snap which has to be avoided.

• The broken air valve assembly is shown in Photo 1 below. I am told that the damage had occured when the engine was dragged out of it's original place of work. However I am unsure if this is true as there appears to be saw marks on one half of the valve, almost as if a portion was cut and then the rest was literally snapped off. Also, strangely enough the fuel pipe has been sawed through. It makes me think that the engine was rescued in the nick of time from the scrapman ? Hopefully as time goes on I will find out further details of the engine's original place of work. To repair the assembly we considered 'jigging' the assembly and silver soldering the parts together but to ensure an exact alignment would be very difficult as the assemble was not only snapped but distorted and not true. In the end I had a new assembly manufactured by a fellow enthusiast who reproduced the part in exact detail. Although more expensive than repairing the original it will be far better and I won't have to worry about correct alignment etc

1. 2.

A Detailed Inspection

Now that the engine was in my hands I carried out a detailled inspection of all the parts. One interesting point is the fact this engine is supplied with a plunger pumped cylinder oiler. Normally a drip feed oiler is screwed directly into the cylinder, this engine uses a plunger pump operated from the exhaust lever to supply the cylinder. The drip oiler is screwed into the plunger pump between the flywheel and crankcase and fills the pump chamber with oil which is then pumped to the cylinder. A theory for why this was done was to allow for longer running periods. Customers could have specifed that the engine was to be used for long periods, therefore the engine would get very hot and in turn the oil in the drip feed oiler attached to the cylinder would become thinner and the drip rate would increase. To solve this a pump was used to keep the oiler cool and maintain the drip rate. I have not seen such an assembly on any other small Handyman engines. (photo to be posted soon).

Click on the thumbnails below for a brief description of some of the engine parts.

A view of the governor assembly. The brass lever operates the sliding air curtain.

View of the piston & con-rod with large gun-metal big end.

A few of the smaller brass parts, including nameplate, water injection tap and drip oiler.

Two views of the cylinder showing the impressive transfer of which 90% remains intact.

The Trolley

The trolley will be a steerable unit based around a set of cast iron wheels recently acquired. The wheels were badly worn and required truing on a lathe using a special jig to hold the wheels to the faceplate. The stubs will be attached to box section to form the main axles and from here the trolley will be constructed from a mixture of wood and steel.

A turntable will be provided to allow the engine to be moved with ease, a separate water tank and frame will be provided for cooling. This will keep storage space to a minimum and will allow for a more compact trolley design. An exhaust silencer has been obtained however this may be slightly small for the Handyman but it is a start until either a proper cast iron pot is found or an exhaust is fabricated from steel.