Project 038 – Repairing an antique toy steam engine

Casting a new flywheel

This upright toy steam engine is from around the year 1900.

It had been functioning well for almost 100 years.

Unfortunately, some of the metal spokes of the flywheel had become brittle with age and had cracked. Without repair, the flywheel was about to fall apart. I made an attempt to weld the broken spokes, but it was to no avail. To repair the steam engine, a new flywheel needed to be cast.

So I made a casting mold for a new flywheel with the same dimensions as the original. Then I cast a new flywheel using the material of the old flywheel (and a bit of new material) to keep the machine as original as possible.

The steam engine now again works as new.

The only downside of the repair is that the flywheel doesn't look as old as the rest of the machine. But that's just a matter of time. This steam engine now just needs some kids to play with it to give the flywheel a bit of wear and tear...