Steam Engine Made of Pipestone (Jan, 1931)
Filed under: General — @ 12:35 am
Source: Modern Mechanix ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Jan, 1931
| Buy on Ebay
Source: Modern Mechanix ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Jan, 1931
| Buy on Ebay
Steam Engine Made of Pipestone
RECENTLY a model steam engine, made back in 1888 by L.O. Pease, who was then 20 years old, was resurrected from a dusty attic. This unique engine, which caused quite a sensation in its day, was made entirely of pipestone, a soft, close grained stone found on the Sioux reservation in Minnesota. The only tools used were common household knives and files, and a crude lathe made from an old sewing machine. The engine is of the U valve type, with a 1-1/4-inch bore and a 2-1/4-inch stroke. Even the piston is of pipestone with stone piston rings.
Now *this* is steampunk.
Comment by Blurgle — May 27, 2008 @ 8:23 am
Future archeologists will find this and attribute it to the Sioux.
Comment by jayessell — May 27, 2008 @ 12:51 pm
Nowhere in the article do they say if the engine ever worked. I wonder what weight of oil you would need for stone valves? It really is neat someone made this with whatever tools they had on hand.
Comment by mike brisendine — May 27, 2008 @ 6:07 pm