Tired of it all…

batjac Sun Apr 28, 2024 3:06 am

A member of our control line club recently passed away. I’ve been cleaning up and rebuilding a bunch of Cox engines that were in his stash so that they can be sold by another member at the Control Line World’s. So far I’ve cleaned and rebuilt 24 engines, with probably five more when another member gets me some glow heads he’s been sitting on. But, I got tired of pulling out the table and setting up the test stand after every few engines are ready for a test run. I thought about just mounting them onto a coroplast trainer and just holding that while doing the test run. But that seemed a pain also. So I just whipped up a quick and easy fixture I can hold in my hand to test these things with.

I suppose I could have just glued a ply plate on the end of the stick to screw the engines to, but I have an unhealthy addiction to Brodak 1/2A engine mounts.

The Handy Mark

roddie Sun Apr 28, 2024 5:38 am

Hi Mark, Sorry about the loss of your club member. Good of you to be helping with their estate. My heart sunk a little.. when I read your post title. I should know your humor by now.

You'll want to have both hands free.. so I suggest drilling a small hole through the opposite end for a drywall screw. This would allow you to screw your mount to a wooden post.. or even a tree-trunk. Why not mount it permanently to a 1" X 1" X 4' long pointed landscape-stake which you can drive into the ground outdoors? Maybe clamp/mount a short length of pipe somewhere convenient to hold the stake vertically.

The Free-Handy Roddie

rsv1cox Sun Apr 28, 2024 7:04 am

An engine on a stick, I like it. Reminds me of Kim's paint an airplane on a stick. Same principle just stick an airplane where your Golden Bee is and spray away.

But.........but... how in the heck are you attaching the apparatus to the nicely knotted 2/4? friction? Seems like there should be a pin (nail) in there.

The skeptical Bob.... Wink

Kim Sun Apr 28, 2024 8:02 am

MAN!!!!!

CLAMP THAT SUCKER DOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Avoiding Trips to the Emergency Room Kim

Ken Cook Sun Apr 28, 2024 8:04 am

I have a piece of 3/16" 3x3 aluminum angle I clamp into my test stand. I've drilled and tapped it for multiple bolt patterns, Cox, Atwood, Cubs etc. I hate it with a passion. I have pretty large hands and holding small screws outside is not good. I should just throw them in the grass first because they end up there anyway. I want to try and do something that would lock it on using a pin and would hold it just to run on the bench. Screwing and unscrewing is a major PITA. It takes a lot to properly freshen one up correctly and in the event something isn't still 100%, it takes me ten more minutes to get it bolted on and off.

On a side note I was running one on my back step one day. My son still laughs about it. It was a Black Widow and I was holding it in my hand while running. The exhaust burnt my thumb and I let it go while it was on full song. It flew all the way across the back yard into the hedges and got dirt all over it. My son was cracking up. That was the last time I did that.

getback Sun Apr 28, 2024 2:32 pm

Me TOO ! //////////////////...........,,,,.......... Sad

**Admin** Sun Apr 28, 2024 8:36 pm

I often do this when I run my .049s. I mount them to the end of a 2x4, get them started on one of those portable folding clamp worktables, then unclamp the 2x4 and walk around the yard with it. I can only imagine what the neighbors think.

706jim Sun Apr 28, 2024 10:03 pm

Many years ago we clamped an OK Cub 0.049 into a bench vise. Started it up and it flew across the basement we were in.

Thinking about this after all this time, I just have to wonder.....

balogh Sun Apr 28, 2024 11:55 pm

Ken,

Have that angle motor bench made of steel, and allow a strong magnet to sit in it while screwing and unscrewing your mount bolts. You will not lose one .

Coxfledgling Mon Apr 29, 2024 7:23 am

I wonder how many 049's with the same sized tanks you could get running before the first one ran out of fuel....

10 bb's all screaming thier heads off at the same time, music...

cstatman Mon Apr 29, 2024 1:39 pm

i use a workmate(tm) folding workbench as base
https://www.homedepot.com/p/BLACK-DECKER-Workmate-125-30-in-Folding-Portable-Workbench-and-Vise-WM125/100671605

I use it to clamp a 4x4 scrap block in place

where I mounted the anodized test stands from Cox International
https://coxengines.ca/tooling/engine-test-stand-for-cox-010-020-049-51.html

then I use 2-56 screws, nylon washers, and 2-56 lock nuts, to mount motor to stand.
this part is the "lot of work" part

where I NOW want to use your mounting idea to quickly be able to attach/detach the motor to the stand, without unscrewing and re-screwing all 4 into the stand

I want to adapt it to use some sort of "quicker" clamp
and I really like your idea.

on the OTHER end of the workmate, I have a vintage aluminum Tatone style clamp stand, that works great for TDs and bigger motors.

rsv1cox Mon Apr 29, 2024 3:01 pm

cstatman wrote:i use a workmate(tm) folding workbench as base
https://www.homedepot.com/p/BLACK-DECKER-Workmate-125-30-in-Folding-Portable-Workbench-and-Vise-WM125/100671605

I use it to clamp a 4x4 scrap block in place

where I mounted the anodized test stands from Cox International
https://coxengines.ca/tooling/engine-test-stand-for-cox-010-020-049-51.html

then I use 2-56 screws, nylon washers, and 2-56 lock nuts, to mount motor to stand.
this part is the "lot of work" part

where I NOW want to use your mounting idea to quickly be able to attach/detach the motor to the stand, without unscrewing and re-screwing all 4 into the stand

I want to adapt it to use some sort of "quicker" clamp
and I really like your idea.

Duplicate Marks example, drill a 1/8" (+) hole and use a duplex nail to secure it.

mike_phoenix Sat May 04, 2024 6:43 am

I'm new to the forum. What are people doing with the Cox 049 engines these days?
I have like 3 of them from my childhood.

I also have a banged up Cox 020 helicopter.

GallopingGhostler Sun May 05, 2024 5:39 pm

mike_phoenix wrote:I'm new to the forum. What are people doing with the Cox 049 engines these days? I have like 3 of them from my childhood. I also have a banged up Cox 020 helicopter.

@mike_phoenix to the forum!

Best thing to do is browse around, stick around, just about everything is happening to one extend or another by the members here.

Don't have anything from my childhood, but 56 years ago, I got a Cox .049 Supermarine Spitfire for Christmas. Had the Silver Bee (predecessor to the Black Widow) engine from it until we moved back in the mid 1980's to Sacramento, CA. One of the boxes that had my engines and some kits never made it. Wife lost some stuff, too.

There are even threads about helicopters, too. Some have been using the Cox .020 helicopter engine to power R/C sport planes.

roddie Sun May 05, 2024 11:09 pm

I designed a quick-release bench-mount for the "Horseshoe (product-engine) backplate" quite a while back.. Laughing

... but will share here. This could be done with tank-mount (Bee) engines as well.

This requires designing a mount that works as a "slot" which the engine's backplate keys "UP" into. It then just becomes a matter of holding it in there. I utilized a "bail" made of spring-steel/music-wire that cradles the bottom...... and spring-latches over a screw-head with a clamping force.