Got my neat little Bernard W10 out today. I've been meaning to solve its silencer problem for months and having invested a whole fifteen quid in eight "mower and stationary engine exhausts" off Ebay a few months ago, I've been steadily using them up and had earmarked a 4" cylindrical exhaust box for the Bernard.
It needed a bit of modification - holes opening out etc and the stub end of the exhaust pipe welding into it. No problem there and I wondered how to remove the tiddly little exhaust pipe the silencer came with - until I put a pair of pliers on it and it dropped right off!
Wire brushing the area to get clean metal naturally produced a fine piece of Brussels lace, so that needed patching first. It is a lot easier to say than it was to do, chasing hole after hole with the Oxy-acetylene popping and banging away as the nozzle overheated. I got it done in the end, finding a bit of steel tube for a down pipe and spraying the whole job matt black. It produces a dull thump, very much in keeping with its motorcycley appearance.
The tick over was very slow - too slow as it would pop in the air filter and stop occasionally. So I sussed out the governor and readjusted the tickover upwards. Now it is too rich (always was) but reliably eight strokes and I can't find a mixture screw - well, I thought I had, but it doesn't actually DO anything it appears. It is certainly not the maker's intent that it should run that rich as turning off the petrol causes it eventually to four stroke and the revs to rise.
Carb off next, I think
Off and on, I've been getting on with the unknown Canadian engine I bought at Enstone. This is the one with a petrol pump on the crankcase, allowing one to fit the tank at crankcase height and not have a tap that bloody leaks all the time! When you turn the engine off, spare petrol simply runs back down the pipe into the tank ready for next time. Three pulls of the rope will fill the carb from dry enough to make it go and after that it roars away like a good 'un. With petrol in the carb it starts first pull from cold.
I found it a tank and angle ground the ends of the sturdy steel frame it came on to accommodate its curvature, brazing it on to the frame. Now sprayed up, it looks like it was always there. There is a flat platform at the other end and this proved to be a perfect mounting for a compressor that I've been hoarding, requiring simply four holes to be drilled through the plate to allow the mounting bolts to pass through it. All I need now is a suitable pulley and a belt.
The air receiver will be free standing, as attaching it to the engine framing would make it unwieldy and unreasonably heavy. It will be a simple matter to attach an air line connection to both, enabling me to move them about easily.
It is rather fussy as it warms up and I've been experimenting with choke and throttle settings. I got further with it this evening as I've established that the choke spring is not strong enough to hold it where I set it and it slowly opens with the vibration and as the mixture weakens, it stops. I'm loath to do so, but I might yet change the carb for one with a throttle in it and remove the inlet manifold click throttle. It's tempting because I've got a Tillotson off a B&S that would go on without a lot of trouble, but I'm reluctant to stray too far from the bits that it came with. Adding things is one thing, but changing OME is quite another ;o))
I'm actually home this weekend with events and no SE rallies within easy striking distance, so I ought to get more stuff done - weather permitting, I might even have a look at the Parsons..............
Regards,
Kim Siddorn,