If there’s one thing I appreciate, it’s people doing stupid things the hardest possible way, and then letting everyone watch. You could say that we’re currently in a golden age of just that, with video sharing sites like YouTube providing the means for people to do dumb, difficult things and share them with as many people as possible. That’s pretty much exactly what happened here, when YouTuber Camden Bowen built himself a two-stroke engine using pretty much nothing but what you could get from any hardware store. It was, as he stated, “hard.”
Really, it’s pretty incredible that this can be done at all; he didn’t use any unusually specialized tools or obscure skills; this was mostly cutting, grinding, lathing, welding, swearing, failing, trying again, welding, testing, and so on. I wouldn’t be surprised to find that most of our readers have the means to replicate such a build if they needed to, or were feeling particularly masochistic. But fun-mascochistic, because this whole thing seemed like a blast, in its own, determined way.
A two-stroke engine is a good choice, because a two-stroke engine really doesn’t have all that many moving parts. If you look at this animation of a simple single-cylinder two-stroke engine, you can see what I mean.
As you can see, there’s no valves or camshaft or anything like that, since the piston itself opens and closes the intake and exhaust valves. It’s really just the piston, crankshaft, connecting rod, and the various bearings. Two-stroke-loving DKW played up this fact in their ads, which noted that the DKW three-cylinder engine only had seven moving parts:
Only seven moving(s) parts! That’s extremely manageable, right?
This process still didn’t seem easy, despite the low number of parts. Making an internal combustion engine is no joke, but, incredibly, it is possible to do in a workshop, and, really, you should just watch the process happen here, because it’s quite entertaining and you’ll be rooting for him to win.
There’s so many factors to making an engine that runs even reasonably well: exhaust back pressure, carburation, lubrication, fuel delivery, spark firing, and on and on. It’s amazing any of these things work at all! And yet, this guy managed to make one from effectively scratch, and while I’m sure the power output is a bit sad and, as he noted, there’s zero provision for cooling whatsoever other than the fact that it exists in an atmosphere, it’s still a running two-stroke engine.
I love crap like this. And, sure you can buy a working 49cc engine from Amazon, but where’s the fun in that?
This Little Round Gearshift Knob Gear Indicator Display Is A Great And Only Slightly Silly DIY Project
The Joy Of Owning Two Old German Cars Is Having Both Of Them Crap Out On You In The Same Week
I Ruined My Scion xB And Then Abandoned It In An Automaker’s Parking Lot. Here’s How A Reader Miraculously Revived It
Kinda related is 2STROKESTUFFING on YouTube. Turns out putting a supercharger on a 50cc two stroke is hard. Nothing but admiration for the guys who do these things in their garage.
Henry Ford’s first engine was made with pipe fittings.
I guess the steering wheel, brakes, tires, and wipers are stationary on the ol’ DKW.
I didn’t see where he used any fertilizer, as stated in the title?
Where did the “crap” get incorporated?
Edit: Or did you perhaps mean:
This Guy Made A Working Two-Stroke Engine From (Items, Stuff, Things, Supplies, Materials, etc?) He Found At The Hardware Store
This is some amazing home crafting.
Compare with the first model airplane engines of the 1930s.
I think it’s kind of funny that a German automaker once bragged about how simple and basic their engineering was, something happened in the timeline between then and now.
Really funny and interesting video.
It’s weird how many comments on the video are mean. I know some machinists and welders and being a dick seems to be ingrained in the whole profession. Like in a professional environment with real world consequences maybe but uncalled for when it’s just some kid playing around in his shed.
I agree that he needs to wear hand protection while welding though.
Making something with as few parts as possible takes a lot of effort and ingenuity. I can’t recall what it was about, but a friend of mine was complaining that ‘They shouldn’t call it over-engineered. It’s actually under-engineered. If they actually spent any time engineering it, then it wouldn’t be this complicated.’
The engineering corollary to I would have written a shorter letter, but did not have the time.