Joe Martin Foundation "Metalworking Craftsman of the Year" award winner for 2004
Build from his own design, Roger's supercharged V-12 engine nears completion. (Click to enlarge photo.)
Known primarily as an engraver, Roger's talents extend into many other areas as well. This section focuses on his ventures into building internal combustion engines and other areas of artistic skill.
(Click photos for larger images.)
| Miniature Print Making | |
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Tiny intaglio prints on paper from engravings demonstrate Roger's printmaking skills as well as engraving skills. Images are of a cheetah, bighorn sheep and a Sitka mule deer from Alaska. Size of each image area is only 1-1/8" wide. |
| Merlin V-12 Engine—A Work in Progress | |
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Since his first Cushman scooter as a teenager, Roger has seen the surfaces of a Cushman as a canvas to demonstrate his artistic abilities. This black and gold Cushman "Golden Eagle" is lovingly adorned with delicate engraved designs. |
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This computer enhanced photo shows what a Cushman scooter would look like with a 1/3 scale Rolls Royce Merlin V-12 aircraft engine tucked under the gas tank. Roger plans to build just such a machine. |
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This wax mold
will be used to cast a metal block for the 1/3 scale Merlin V-12 using the
"lost wax" process. The upper photo shows the engine with the valve covers
removed. The lower photo shows the exhaust pipes attached to the manifold.
A soda can in the upper photo gives a size scale. Roger expects the
supercharged engine to produce up to 40-60 horsepower. Mounting the engine
in a scooter will require some redesign of the engine as far as original
location of components like the supercharger and ignition are concerned so
that it will better fit the scooter. Below the photos of the wax master is one of the first metal parts to be actually cast...an exhaust pipe. The left-hand one is the raw casting and at the right is a near-finished part. |
| Oilers and Spark Plugs in Miniature | |
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While recovering from some back problems, Roger thought a "small project" would keep his mind and hands occupied. This Lunkenheimer oiler is scaled down so small the total assembly fits on a dime. It consists of a number of tiny threaded parts and a glass sight window that is .062" in diameter. This type of oiler uses a gravity feed to drip oil onto moving parts of a steam engine at a regulated rate. The sight glass in the side is so the operator can see and adjust the drip rate of the oil. Being just over 1/2" high, this oiler is about 1:18.5 in scale compared to the 9-1/4" tall original. |
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The large spark Rentz plug is an original one that was often used in hit-and-miss engines in the 1920's. The smaller plug is a 1/3 scale fully functional model made by Roger. The second photo shows a detail of the model plug with a dime for size comparison. The original plug is about 4-1/2" long, while the model is about 1-1/2" long. |
| V-12 Engine Project | |
(Above) Supercharger impeller and gears with cover removed.
(Above) Manifolds completed and (Below) parts plated
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Shown among Roger's projects in the above
photos is a scale Rolls Royce Merlin engine he intends to build. As a way
to work out some of the functional problems of building a running engine
from scratch, Roger decided to start with a "practice" engine--a V12 of
his own design based on an existing engine design that he has extended
into a 12-cylinder version, making many modifications and adding a
supercharger. The supercharger impeller is from an existing engine, but
all the other parts are fabricated by hand from billet stock. Roger showed the partially completed engine at his display at the 2005 North American Model Engineering Society show in Southgate, MI in April. Some more photos of the components can be seen at www.sherline.com/names05.htm. As the motor progresses we will continue to add more photos. Photos #5 and #6 with intake system and exhaust pipes were added 10/5/05. Roger hopes to have the engine running by the end of the year and will show it at the 2006 NAMES show in Toledo, OH. The final group of photos also added 10/5/05 shows the intake and exhaust parts nickel plated. Progress on the engine slowed when Roger took an intense interest in the Bergmann Pistol and now the Lefever shotgun miniature gun projects. He hopes to be able to get back to work on the V12 and finish it up soon, but with only one set of hands and eyes he is like many craftsmen. He has more projects than he has time. |
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All engraved designs shown are copyrighted by Roger Ronnie and may not be
copied or reproduced in any form without written permission. RETURN TO ROGER RONNIE'S MAIN PAGE |
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If you have additional information on a project or builder shown on this site that your would like to contribute, please e-mail craig@CraftsmanshipMuseum.com. We also welcome new contributions. Please see our page at www.CraftsmanshipMuseum.com/newsubmit.htm for a submission form and guidelines for submitting descriptive copy and photos for a new project.
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