Commentary and photos by Craig Libuse
Craig Libuse presents Steven Peirce his award plaque, prize check and a signed book by Gerald Wingrove for collecting the most overall votes for his compressed air engine. Appropriately, it was a 1/3 size miniature model in tribute to Bob Shores' "Silver Bullet" engine called the ".22 Caliber Silver Bullet." Bob Shores, who died last May, was a popular figure in model IC engines and a friend of Steve's. (Click on photo for larger image.)
Fourteen fine entries made it a tougher choice than ever for the spectators to pick a winner in this year's contest. Many people commented how the level of quality of the projects has gone up over the past few years, and who will win is rarely a foregone conclusion these days. Until we count the votes Saturday night we can't be sure.
This year Steven Peirce of Uniontown, Ohio took home the top prize if not the largest single check. By entering two entries as is allowed under the rules, his combined total was the highest amount among the regular entrants. Only the winning youth entry by first time winner Zachary Brumberger of Macedon, NY totaled more, although that is because there is an additional $500 in a special prize for entrants under 21. Called the "Young C. Park Award" after the former 2002 Joe Martin Foundation Craftsman of the Year winner who initially donated $1000 to be used to encourage young entrants, the amount was divided among three entrants in that age category this year. In addition, because there were no entrants in the Novice Division, the winner of which gets his prize money doubled, Sherline applied the "double prize money" feature to the Youth Division instead. Finishing 6th overall, Zachary's fine set of miniature woodworking tools actually topped first place in winnings. By receiving double points and an additional $250.00 from the Young C. Park award, his sixth place overall finish became the top money winner.
Special Masters' Award for Craftsmanship
In addition to cash prizes, last year saw the first award of a new prize for superior craftsmanship among the Youth Division. Carrying no money but a lot of prestige, this award is selected by former winners of the Joe Martin Foundation Craftsman of the Year Award present at the contest. In order to mitigate the "cuteness factor" where some of the younger competitors receive a lot of votes when people judge the quality of their entry considering their age, this award was intended to reward pure craftsmanship within the Youth Division regardless of age. This year it was judged by former winners Jerry Kieffer, Wilhelm Huxhold and Roger Ronnie who also signed the award. As it turns out, the crowd's choice was also their choice, and Zachary Brumberger added that award to his sweep. The reason given by the judges was the quality of the hand work in his entry, although it was a tough choice because second place finisher Scott Schwab's steam engine was both cleverly designed and executed with very high quality finishes.
Top Youth Division winner Zachary Brumberger poses with his dad Jesse who made it a family affair by entering two of his own entries in the contest. (Click on photo for larger image.)
An entry all the way from India takes Second Place
Last Year Iqbal Ahmed from Nagpur, India sent a small brass lathe to the contest and took third place. This year his 4-cylinder internal combustion engine took a solid 2nd place and was much admired for its design. Brought to the contest by his nephew Aasim Ouraishi from Milwaukee, the engine took Iqbal four years to build. He does auto repair on full-size cars and this engine was built on a very old 6-foot bed lathe. Iqbal did not have a milling machine at the time, so he designed and built a milling attachment for his large lathe to mill small parts. Even the anodizing was done in his shop using a car generator driven by the lathe to make the DC current to anodize the block and manifold.
The award plaque and check that will be sent to Iqbal Ahmed in India are displayed by nephew Aasim Ouraishi and his girlfriend. Aasim is holding the 4-cylinder engine itself which he brought to the show for his uncle who could not attend from India. They also hold a copy of one of Gerald Wingrove's books on car modeling that were given as part of the prizes awards. The books were kindly donated by this year's Martin Foundation Craftsman of the Year award, Gerarld Wingrove of England who was not able to attend the show in person. See below for more on Mr. Wingrove. (Click on photo for larger image.)
The voting in this contest is done by the spectators at the North American Model Engineering Society's exposition in Southgate, Michigan. Each spectator who wishes to participate is given five tokens and asked to place them in cups next to his or her five favorite projects. They are asked to spread their votes over their top five choices. With a varied range on interests among the spectators, all projects won votes. Sherline puts up $100 in prize money for each entrant up to 25, so with 14 entries there was over $1400 in prize money available. In addition, we had another $500 for young entrants in an award initiall donated by Young C. Park of Hawaii and now carried on by the Foundation.
To read the most current copy of the complete contest rules and learn about entering next year's contest, CLICK HERE for a .pdf version of the rules/entry form sheet.
See the section below for photos of each entry.
OPEN DIVISION
1. Steven Peirce, Uniontown, OH—".22 Caliber Silver Bullet" engine. A 1/3
model of Bob Shores' "Silver Bullet" engine running on compressed air
2. Iqbal Ahmed, Nagpur, India—4-cylinder, 4-cycle engine of his own
design
3. Bert de Kat, Troy, Ontario, Canada—Scale model "Beam" steam engine
designed by E.T. Westbury of England
4. Steve Peirce, Uniontown, OH—Maxum Magnum 1/16 scale V-twin engine model powered by
compressed air, 1/4" bore and stroke
5.Brian Finlayson, Waterlou, Ontario, Canada—Combination lathe chuck for
turning on center, elliptical or eccentric shapes
YOUTH DIVISION
1. (6th place overall) Zachary Brumberger (13), Macedon, NY, Set of
classic miniature hand tools
2. Scott Schwab, (17), Fraser, MI—Steam engine modified from design in a
magazine made from scrap components
3. Trevor Katona (12), Rochester, MI—Small Huff 'N Puff engine with plexiglas
and metal parts (Late entry, did not get votes for full duration of contest)
YOUTH DIVISION "MASTER'S CHOICE" CRAFTSMANSHIP AWARD
Zachary Brumberger
OTHER CONTESTANTS (In alphabetical order)
Forrest Atkinson, Madison, WI—Solenoid engine of his own design
Karl T. Schwab, Warren, MI—Polished 2-cylinder "Bouy" engine made from
lawn mower castings*
Richard Saunders, Manchester, IO—Tiny steam engine on wearable badge
powered by compressed air and a partially finished Flame Licker engine
Jesse Brumberger, Macedon, NY—Micro steam engine with 1/16" bore and
3/32" stroke and a 4-cylinder engine with exposed crank
*NOTE: Plans for a single-cylinder version of this engine have been published in Machinist's Workshop magazine, Dec '04/Jan '05 issue. It is unique in that the main cast parts can be purchase over the counter at low cost from stores that sell replacement parts for Tecumseh lawn mowers.
Click on any photo to see a larger version. Use your browser's "back" button to return to this listing. A U.S. quarter dollar coin is used for size reference in many of the photos. It is 24 mm in diameter for those outside the USA.
| OPEN DIVISION | |
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1st Place--Steven Peirce, last year's second place finisher finally moved up to take the top spot. His tiny engine had beautiful polished finishes and was a tribute to the late Bob Shores. This is a 1/3 scale model of Bob's "Silver Bullet" engine and is called the "'Achilles' .22 Caliber Silver Bullet". That makes it a "model of a model." The 2-cylinder engine runs on compressed air and has a 3/16" bore and 1/4" stroke. The crank has been changed to fire the cylinders 180° apart and the valves have been redesigned to run on compressed air. The only parts left out are the water pump gears, carburetor spray bar, points and ignition coil. The spark plugs are present but do not fire. There are over 160 individual machined parts (not including fasteners) in the engine. Steve and Bob Shores were good friends and each was a big fan of the others' work. We are sure Bob would be happy with this win. |
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2nd Place--This entry by Iqbal Ahmed came all the way from Nagpur, India. It took over 4 years to design and build. It was built on a large (and very old) 6' bed lathe. Milled parts were done on the lathe using an attachment of Mr. Ahmed's own design. Even the anodizing was done on the lathe using a car generator to make the DC current needed. Last year Mr. Ahmed's brass lathe finished third, so he continues to move up in the standings. |
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3rd Place--Bert de Kat of Troy, Ontario, Canada built this beam type steam engine. The design by E.T. Westbury appeared in Model Engineer magazine. Bert has been a long-time entrant and this is also his best finish to date. |
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4th Place--Steven Pierce's second entry did well too. This is a 60° V-twin motorcycle engine done with the same level of excellent finish as his winning entry. This engine is run on CO2. The scale is about 1/16 and it is made from brass and aluminum. It has a 1/4" bore and 1/4" stroke and is called the "Maxum Magnum." |
 (Photo: Forrest Atkinson) |
5th Place--Brian Finlayson of Waterlou, Ontario, Canada had a lot of people asking, "What is it?" with this entry. It is a special chuck for ornamental turning that allows the operator to turn on center or off center to make elliptical or eccentric shapes. It uses commercial bearings and modified commercial gears. The bearings are preloaded and due to the number of moving parts, accuracy in building was critical for trueness and balance. |
| YOUTH DIVISION | |
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1st Place—Zachary Brumberger (13) of Macedon, NY finished 6th overall and is a first-time winner of the Youth Division. His handmade miniature classic tool set in 1/6 scale is made from steel with brass fittings and the handles are carved from cocobolo wood. This entry also received the "Masters Award" for youth craftsmanship. |
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2nd Place—Previous winner Scott Schwab (17) built this steam engine from a design he modified from a magazine article. The steam line was cut off a gas hot water heater found in the trash, and the base is made from an aluminum electrical box also from the trash. Finishes are highly polished and a fitted wooden box was also made. The engine can run forward or reverse. The flywheel is solid brass as is the cylinder columns and crankdisk. The cylinder is brass with an aluminum sleeve and the piston and connecting rod are aluminum. |
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3rd Place—Another previous winner, Trevor Katona (12) of Rochester, MI arrived late, limiting the votes on his nice little see-through Huff 'N Puff steam engine. The motor is run by breath power, as you blow into the white tube.. A photo near the entry showed Scott working on the project under the supervision of his father, Joe Katona. (Notice he is wearing the proper safety glasses too.) |
| Additional entries in alphabetical order | |
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Forrest Atkinson, Madison, WI—Solenoid engine of his own design. This engine ran beautifully both days of the show without a change of batteries. |
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Jesse Brumberger (Zachary's dad), Macedon, OH—Micro steam engine with 1/16" bore and 3/32" stroke |
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Jesse Brumberger, second entry—4 cylinder in-line engine |
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Richard Saunders, Manchester, OH—Tiny oscillating steam engine on badge. The badge is pinned to your shirt and a hidden air line to a compressed air tank runs the engine. Wearing this would be a real "conversation starter" just about anywhere. |
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Richard Saunders, second entry—"Flame Licker" engine (unfinished project in progress) |
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Karl T. Schwab (Scott's grandfather), Warren, MI—2-cylinder steam engine with parts made from castings from a Tecumseh lawn mower engine. Plans are available in Machinist's Workshop magazine, Dec '04/Jan '05 issue for a single-cylinder version of this engine. |
There is no entry fee. Sherline makes available $100 in prize money for each entrant up to the first 25, so a maximum of $2500 in prize money can be available. We hope next year to see at least 25 entries so that the full total of $2500 will be up for grabs. There is also a Youth Division for entrants under the age of 21 the day of the contest. An additional $500 is divided among the entrants in this group as part of the Joe Martin Foundation "Young C. Park Award" for youth. There is also a "Novice Division" for machinists with two years experience or less. (The top Novice finisher receives double prize money.). Start making plans to get a project together for next year's show. Call 1-800-541-0735 for details or watch this site. As far as we know at this time the contest rules will remain unchanged. Our goal is simply to show the interesting and fun things that can be built with a few cents worth of material, good miniature machine tools and a bit of skill and imagination. Don't let the quality of some of the entries intimidate you. In the past 14 years, no entrant has ever won less than $30 and some have one hundreds. Most of all, though, everybody has had a lot of fun. If you are just starting out, you can still build a good project. For '06, think big and build small! Check the links below to see results of past contests.
Jerry Kieffer was on hand once again to demonstrate the precision capabilities of the Sherline lathe by turning a 1/2" diameter bar of steel down to a .010" diameter hair and then drilling a .005" hole down the center of it. He also did a seminar on making miniature models completely to scale using his John Deere tractor (right) as an example. At the left he displays parts from the 1/8 scale Harley Davidson engine he is working on to interested spectators.
Sherline once again donated machine tools to be used for the raffle to raise some money so the NAMES organization can continue to put on this wonderful show each year. In addition to the machines, The Joe Martin Foundation donated a copy of Joe's book Tabletop Machining and a copy of Gerald Wingrove's book The Art of the Automobile in Miniature.
Here is what former Craftsman of the Year winner and three-time contest winner Wilhelm Huxhold has been up to. The first three photos show views of his new miniature milling machine. The last photo shows all the steam engines he has built lined up on his table.
The Miniature Arms Society had several displays of beautiful miniature guns. Yes, most of them fire.
Roger Ronnie (at right in first photo) displayed some of his work at the show. Last year's Joe Martin Foundation Metalworking Craftsman of the Year and a master engraver, he is also a talented engine builder and watchmaker. Photos 2 and 3 show the current progress on the V-12 engine he is building from a modified design. It is more or less a "proof of concept" on several items for the final engine he intends to build; a V-12 Merlin. The 4th photo shows the cam drive gears and supercharger impeller laid out on a fixture. Photo 5 shows an old chain belt driven watch mechanism featuring some of Roger's engraving. The final photo is a very old micrometer with an engraved dial given to him by a friend.
(Right) Sherline's long-time shop foreman Karl Rohlin attended his first model engineering show to demonstrate the CNC mill. (Center) Jim Clark and Karl contemplate the difference between California weather and "Spring" in Detroit before going to the show on Sunday morning. (Right) A show exhibitor packs up and heads out early. The late season snow on Saturday and Sunday was not particularly good for attendance. Here's hoping next year's show, which will be held in Bowling Green, Ohio will be blessed with better weather.
Gerald Wingrove of Lincoln, England (Right) was awarded a plaque and a check for $1000.00 from Joe Martin Foundation for being selected as the 2005 winner of the foundation's "Metalworking Craftsman of the Year." The award was presented by Joe Martin when Mr. Wingrove and his wife Phyllis visited the Foundation offices in California in February, 2005. Phyllis (Left) does the drawings used for constructing the models and was present for the award. From California they traveled to Hawaii to do some research on a ship which will be their next modeling and book project. There they met with 2002 award winner, Young C. Park. (Click on photo for a larger image.)
Gerald Wingrove of England was selected as this year's Metalworking Craftsman of the Year. Unfortunately due to previous commitments he was not able to attend the NAMES show, but a presentation of his work and a copy of the Award Plaque were displayed near the contest entries at the Sherline booth. Copies of his book were available for people to look through and were awarded to the contest division winners. An additional copy was donated to the NAMES organization for their raffle. Mr. Wingrove made primarily 1/15 scale models of famous automobiles by commission initially from Lord Montegue and then for private customers for the past 35 years before retiring this year. His work led to the award of the MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire), from the Queen of England. Examples of his work can be seen at the Joe Martin Foundation's on-line museum at www.craftsmanshipmuseum.com/Wingrove.htm. Before starting his model making career, Mr. Wingrove worked for many years as a lathe turner and designed models for Corgi and other toy companies.
Click this link to learn more about the Joe Martin Foundation's Metalworking Craftsman of the Year award. Visit the Foundation page for more details on Mr. Wingrove and all the previous winners and their work.