Making the Crankshaft & Cutting Tapered Flywheel Keyways – PB Little Brother Episode 8

In episode 8 of the Paul Breisch Little Brother hit and miss engine build, I finish machining the crankshaft and begin working on the flywheel keyways. The crankshaft machining is completed on the Smithy lathe/mill combination machine using a 4-jaw chuck to accurately turn the crankshaft journals and finish the final dimensions. With the crankshaft complete, I move over to the Burke #4 horizontal milling machine to cut the straight keyways in the crankshaft. Next, I take a look at an interesting alternative for cutting the tapered keyways in the flywheels—a hand-crank metal planer that is well over 100 years old. While it would be capable of the job, I decide to go another route and make a tapered keyway bushing so I can cut the keyways using a broach in the arbor press. This episode shows several different machining approaches, from traditional milling to antique machine tools, while continuing progress on the Little Brother engine build. If you enjoy manual machining, vintage machine tools, and model engine builds, consider subscribing to follow the rest of the series.