Graphite piston

Try these

Marc Would be interested in how you get on with obtaining graphite. I have nearly completed a stirling engine & have made a nylon piston but I believe graphite would be better. I wonder if a ferrite rod from an old radio would work?

You could ask on rec.models.rockets. They use suitably sized chunks of graphite for turning rocket nozzles, and I have seen some discussions about it there.

Unfortunately rocketeers in the UK don't often use it (the rockets would probably be illegal here).

Graphite stock is used in mould work for the electrodes on die sinking machines. Try tooling houses. These people stock 20mm x 300 mm for £48.00

-- Regards,

John Stevenson Nottingham, England.

stirling engines are a long time hobby of mine,if I can help,please let me know.I have some creative ways of making things used for stirling engine construction.I have a small web page with just a very few stirlings I have built.EDM graphite is different than the graphite in pencils,and the type used as a lubricant.They still work well,especially if they are lubed with graphite powder.

I got my graphite from the glassblower at my local university. He uses it for manipulating glass in the semi-molten state.

Regards, Ken Beardsell

As posted earlier, we get ours via CEVP, they will make your part or supply raw stock.

Depends what the propellant is, there are plenty of people building legal motors over here, not as many as in the US granted but the only real restriction over here is on solids.

Stephen

That's not true. It's illegal to manufacture solid rocket propellant in the UK but there are no restrictions on building liquid or hybrid motors.

Chris

I used to get big chunks of spectroscopically pure graphite from Johnson Matthey, Hatton Gardens, London.

Happy Christmas everyone!

They use large diameter (ten inch?) electrodes in sections screwed together with nipples in electric arc furnaces for melting steel. The originals are made by Union Carbide. Perhaps someone in the Sheffield area may be able to scrounge you a broken chunk.