Jerry Evans-South Africa-1928 Wolseley Type R

My questions are:

i) Does the "Boiled Linseed Oil" get less shiny with time (and how much time). Ultimately, I would prefer a "not so shiny" finish.

ii) The "Boiled Linseed Oil" takes 24 (or more) hours to dry which also means that every speck of dust and every insect south of the equator gets imbedded into it.
    Can I rub this down with a VERY FINE waterpaper (say something like 1000 grit) to break the shine AND flatten the insects and dust AND how long should I wait before doing this. ie. how long does this "Boiled Linseed Oil" actually take to attain full cure an harden enough to be sanded.

     I would appreciate any help, comments or info from the members of S.E.L and Oldengine lists. It's a beautiful piece of old iron and also runs beautifully.

   When viewing the pics please understand that this engine is still a "Work in Progress". I still have many things to "sort out" like the fuel tank (which is a Villiers tank and mounted in the wrong place). I do have the original fuel tank and, given time, will put the original tank in it's correct place. I'm getting there slowly but I am getting there!

    Please look at the pictures below (and above). <Here is a link to a video of the engine running a few years back.>

This was the first time I saw this engine in Pat Downing's store in Hofmeyer in the Karoo region of South Africa on the 21st August 2005. (I was born less than 100Km from here.)	It finally arrived at my home on the 18th December 2005. Those are the Lister flywheels that we were hoping to modify to work on the engine.	Here is the date of manufacture stamped on the barrel flange. The serial number on the barrel. It can also be found on the crankcase near the oil pump
The decal on the barrel has withstood weathering for 78 years in spite of the fact that there is no more of the original paint around it. There is just a little bit of green showing in the "W" and the tail of the "y". The earlier engines in this range had a silver decal (as this one has) - later models had the red and black decal.	This is the cast brass makers plate. The smaller engines had the Horsepower rating on this plate as well but the 6 H.P. was like this.	This is a pic of the original flywheel fitted to these engines. I think the spoked Lister flywheels on mine look much nicer and give the engine a lot more character.
My friend Justin Ludewig supervised the boring out of the Lister flywheels at my brothers engineering workshop. The turners were Jeffery (obscured) and Stephen (with the smile).	The first cut - the bore was damaged and had worn oval - the original Lister must have been a dangerous machine to stand close to - these flywheels must have had quite a wobble	Justin then made these bushes to "marry' the Lister flywheels to the Wolseley crankshaft. That Hex bolt is just temporary. I had new gib keys made by a specialist key manufacturer.
My first sighting of the engine with the Lister flywheels fitted. Justin brought this "sub-assembly" over to my place on the 10 th August 2006. I think that it looks stunning	Previously Reg Ingold in Australia had made a new magneto drive gear for me. Thanks Reg - it's an honour to be able to call you "mate". Reg sent this pic of it in production.	This is what the old phenolic magneto gear looked like.
Here is the engine after assembly by Justin. Don't those spoked (Lister) flywheels look great? They are the same diameter as the original Wolseley specs. for the 6 H.P. engine but I could not determine the weight of the originals. Luckily the counterbalance weights are in the right place and even the ignition mark lines up. We still had the original BTH mag on in this pic. (That is a Villiers fuel tank temporarily mounted on the head)	The first time it has run for many years - we estimate about 30 years. Not bad for a 78 year old ! That's Justin again - acting as a temporary governor. Notice those beautiful blurred spokes. We have replaced the Original BTH mag with a Lucas mag. The BTH was giving a good spark but seemed to be erratic (suggestions welcome) and was just too hard to start. The engine started "first time" with the Lucas	Another pic of it back at my house with temporary water tank.

Update 18th August 2010. Well it's been quite a few years since we got this engine running again and he's been to a few shows in that time but I've actually never finished his restoration. That is, he still does not have a trolley and has not been painted or "whatever" and a few more things. I made wheels for a trolley about 2 1/2 years ago and they went to my brothers factory for him to put polyurethane tyres on them and I got these back a few months ago. Although that took a long time I'm not complaining - my brother does them for me as a favour - I could not afford to pay what this actually costs. See pic below. The blue polyurethane is a bit disappointing, it should have been black but beggars cannot be choosers!. The reason for the polyurethane tyres is that they do not damage my workshop floor (painted with epoxy) as steel rims would do. Black tyres would have been less obvious but "what the heck !" The main holdup was that I could not decide how to finish this engine "paintwise". All my engines are painstakingly prepared and painted (mostly to original colours) but I could not help feeling that I did NOT want to paint this old chap to look "better than new". I was concerned that I would spoil his "character" and pondered long and hard about this. Bear in mind also that he bore no trace of his original "Lincoln Green" colour. He was just rusty. About 2 years ago I spent a day giving him a coat of "stove polish". In South Africa this is sold under the trade name of "Zebo". It's the polish that was applied to the old coal stoves we grew up with on our farm. I was happy with the result but stove polish needs to be applied regularly and buffed off again, it also makes your hands black when if you touch (a cold part) of the stove and it is not weather resistant - rust appears. I experimented with "Boiled Linseed Oil" on a rusty piece of sheet metal that I had polished with "Zebo" and was reasonably happy with the result so a few days ago I cleaned the engine and applied "Zebo" all over. It's terrible stuff to work with - filthy and black but after much buffing to get the loose stuff off I applied a 50/50 mix of boiled linseed oil/turpentine. This took a little more than 24 hours to dry and the result is "not too bad" but, to be honest, I'm not too happy with it, it is too shiny and too black. My questions are: i) Does the "Boiled Linseed Oil" get less shiny with time (and how much time). Ultimately, I would prefer a "not so shiny" finish. ii) The "Boiled Linseed Oil" takes 24 (or more) hours to dry which also means that every speck of dust and every insect south of the equator gets imbedded into it. Can I rub this down with a VERY FINE waterpaper (say something like 1000 grit) to break the shine AND flatten the insects and dust AND how long should I wait before doing this. ie. how long does this "Boiled Linseed Oil" actually take to attain full cure an harden enough to be sanded. I would appreciate any help, comments or info from the members of S.E.L and Oldengine lists. It's a beautiful piece of old iron and also runs beautifully. When viewing the pics please understand that this engine is still a "Work in Progress". I still have many things to "sort out" like the fuel tank (which is a Villiers tank and mounted in the wrong place). I do have the original fuel tank and, given time, will put the original tank in it's correct place. I'm getting there slowly but I am getting there! Please look at the pictures below (and above). <Here is a link to a video of the engine running a few years back.> Thanks for looking guys (and gals). Click on any pic for a larger view - Use your "Back" button to return.
Wheels with Polyurethane tyres. Unfortunately they are blue and not black but read the text above for an explanation. (Beggars cannot be choosers) :-)	The Wolseley Type "R" after being polished with "Zebo" cast iron stove polish and given a coat of "Boiled Linseed Oil". Ignore the temp water tank and base - that's the next project. (I'm not too happy with the result - too dark and shiny). (Also, ignore the "stand", "base", "cooling water tank" etc. I'm working on those :-))