Jerry E. Howell
3980 Becket Drive - Colorado Springs -
Colorado 80906 - USA
(World Wide Supplier of Quality Model Project
Plans & Kits Since 1992)
About My Products
All of my plans projects are machined from metal bar stock
supplied by the builder and no castings are required. This is
the lowest cost way for you to build as the metals can usually
be purchased from metal salvage yards for around $2.00 per pound
or so for aluminum, brass and stainless steel. But as can be seen,
most of the model engines are designed to look like they were
in fact made from castings instead of rectangular blocks and round
bars of metal.
Suggested Skill/Experience Levels
As a general rule, if you are new to machining and have not
built any engines of any kind, you would be advised to build a
few bar stock steam (air pressure) engines to develope a 'feel'
for the accuracy of fit that engines require before attempting
a hot-air or internal combustion engine. From that point, here
is how I rate my hot-air engines from easiest to hardest to build:
(1) Sideshaft Vacuum Engine, (2) Mini Stirling Engine Fan, (3)
4-In-1 Vacuum Engine, (4) Super Stirling Engine Fan, (5) Ringbom
Stirling Pumping Engine, (6) Vintage Stirling Pumping Engine,
(7) Duplex Vacuum Stirling Engine, (8) Vickie Stirling Engine,
(9) Beamer Stirling Engine, (10) Miser Low Temp Stirling Engine,
(11) 1/2 Size Miser Low Temp Stirling Engine.
Do not let the above stop you though. Many Miser engines have
been successfully built as a first project! It all depends on
how particular and precise a builder each person is.
I rate my internal combustion engines as follows: (1) PowerHouse,
(2) Bill, (3) Plunket Jr., (4) Howell V-Twin, (5) Howell V-Four
Note - The V-Twin and the V-Four are for
builders who have previously built several successfuly running
I.C. engines. I do not
recommended these for the novice, although some first time builders
have completed very nice running engines.
Plans Sets
The Plans Set drawings are high quality computer generated
drawings using a professional CAD (Computer Aided Design) program
and printed on 8-1/2" x 11" sheets with a laser printer.
This permits you to insert them in plastic sheet protectors so
they won't get soiled as you use them in the shop. Dimensions
are in U.S. inch decimals - no fractions - which makes it easy
for you to change the scale of your model to suit your machine
tool capacity or the materials you have on hand or have access
to. Multiply dimensions by 25.4 to obtain millimeter dimensions.
All drawings are copyright protected and all rights to them are
reserved by me. Shop working copies may be made by the purchaser
for his own use only. It is a violation of copyright law to sell
or give copies away. I will make specific exceptions for educational
institutions, please contact me. I do not e-mail plans or distribute
the CAD files on disks - my CAD software is vintage 1992 running
on MS-DOS version 5.0 and the files wouldn't do you any good anyway!
Plan sets are not returnable unless I make a mistake and send
the wrong one - in that event I will do whatever it takes to make
a correction.
I make every effort to provide very high quality drawings.
Here are some comments I have received
from customers. You can look here at a sample
drawing.
"HTF" Hard To Find Material
Kits
These kits are available for some of the engine projects.
They save the builder from wasting time running down these items
that would be hard to find in many areas, not to mention the problem
of "minimum orders" with various suppliers, multiple
shipping costs, etc. These kits will save you time and money.
Plans sets are not part of the kits as some builders buy the plans
and then later on decide to get the kit. Others buy multiples
of the same kits because they are building several projects of
the same plan.
Required Machine
Tools
You will need a lathe and a milling machine with the usual
tooling items. You will need a horizontal/vertical rotary table
for your mill if you want to duplicate the visual design aspects
of some of the projects - spoked flywheels, fluted columns etc.
, but the engines will operate just as well without those features.
If you are using small equipment, most of my projects can be scaled
down to suit - but remember that as engines get smaller, they
are usually harder to build and don't run as well as larger ones.
If you intend to only build small models that can be held in one
hand (more or less), then table top machines with the proper accessory
items will be just fine for you and will save you money. All things
considered, if you do not have your machine tools yet, try to
aquire machines with greater capacity than the projects you intend
to build with them and of the highest quality you can afford.
Also remember there is absolutely NO SUBSTITUTE for mass in a
machine tool because it will dampen vibration and chatter. I use
a Maximat-7 (7 inch) lathe, a Maximat Super 11 ( 11 inch) lathe
and two Jet JVM-836 (8x36) knee mills, one of which I converted
to CNC in January 2007. Click here
if you would like to see them. These are quality machines, and
I am not claiming to have the best equipment out there, but they
serve me very well. The Maximat lathes by Emco-Maier had been
out of production for a number of years, but the Maximat Super-11
is now available again. In case you are wondering - NO, I do not
have connections or affiliations of any kind with Jet or Emco-Maier
or any other supplier on this web site - just a satisfied customer.
E-Mails
I answer every e-mail inquiry I get via my browser REPLY function,
every once in a while one will come back to me as "undeliverable"
by the internet system. I try a second time and if that comes
back, there is nothing I can do. E-mail viruses are everywhere.
I get several or more each day. There could be a virus in an e-mail
you send without you even knowing it. My anti-virus software deletes
all e-mails that contain a virus - if that happens, I never get
your message! If you don't get a reply from me within a few days
or so, please try again, or phone.
Other....
I often get requests to e-mail a sheet of a plan set so the
builder can get an early start while the hard copies are on the
way by postal. I have done this many times in the past. Now my
9 year old scanner has finally gave out and went to the junk yard.
I now use a digital camera and just directly upload new .jpg photos
to the web site instead of having to scan photo prints like I
used to, so I am not going to invest in another scanner - at least
not until I have a future need that would justify the cost. Until
and if that day ever comes, I won't be able to scan and e-mail
plan drawing sheets anymore.
Everything that I have for sale is listed on this web site - if
you don't see it here on one of the 70+ pages, then I just don't
have it and it is not available. I am always interested in knowing
what type project you would like me to make available. No promises,
but I will give all input serious consideration.
I sometimes get letters requesting a brouchure or catalog be sent.
I don't have any printed material to mail out. This web site is
my ALWAYS UP TO DATE catalog.
Every now and then I get asked if there are quantity purchase
discounts. The answer is yes if you want a fairly large number
of the same item(s) - contact me. I am already keeping prices
as low as possible for everyone - the retiree on a fixed income,
the vocational machine shop class with a limited budget - and
you! If you are a school or college shop instructor, please contact
me before placing an order.
Model Engineering Shows
As of 2006, I have vended at more than 45 shows. They are
fun, but also a lot of work. They take about a week to get things
ready and packed, another week on the road and close to a week
to unpack everything and clean up the display units, etc. It also
costs over $1,000 to do a show. I did 5 shows a year for several
years (Cabin Fever, Iron Fever, NAMES, PRIME/GEARS and Men, Metal
& Machines) which beside being way too much work, I put over
15,000 miles of wear and tear on my van. Now, with the increasing
cost of booth space, gas, motels etc., I am going to cut way down
and maybe do one of my two or three favorite shows a year and
try to make it to each one every several years. The show(s) I
will attend as a vendor will be posted on my home page a month
or so in advance.
At these shows you can see some of my project models in operation
and I will be happy to answer any questions you may have concerning
materials, construction or operation. I'll have plans and some
hard-to-find material kits on hand so you can take your favorites
home with you.
Thank you, Jerry E. Howell