Jasper

Inspired in form by the image (right) from a 19th century French book (below) and motivated by the arrival of my son Jasper, this engine is my take on the oscillating cylinder type steam engine. Invented by William Murdoch, this variety of engine had limited use in industry but has found favour in many toy and model engines due to its simplicity of construction. Bearing my son's name and being the first engine by Malpress Peake, Jasper is no model, neither would I call it a toy. Rather, it pays tribute to Murdoch not only by virtue of its oscillating cylinder, but by employing another of his ingenious inventions, the Sun & Planet Gear.

The oscillating steam engine that inspired Jasper, the first engine by Malpress Peake

Sun & Planet Gear

An intriguing mechanism whereby the 'sun' gear is fixed to the flywheel shaft, and the 'planet' gear is fixed to the connecting rod. The gears are held in mesh by a linkage and the planet travels around the sun. This allows the engineer to control how many times the flywheel would rotate for each cycle of the engine, providing greater kinetic energy storage potential than in the same engine built with a conventional crank. For a small scale engine, which would typically run much faster than its full sized counterpart, it slows down each stroke, rendering the moving parts less a blur of motion and more a mechanical marvel.

AU$1400

worldwide shipping included

Process

A reuasable mould is used in die casting, allowing for accurate and repeatable dimensions with high resolution Die casting which has been processed on a CNC mill Using a CNC machines, in combination with gravity die casting allows for small to medium production runs The sun & planet linkage after CNC processing Two components of the cylinder after silver soldering
Involute spur gears cut as one long gear on a 4-axis CNC mill as one long gear, then sliced to the final width Thread tapped into each end of the posts of the engine The flywheel mould in the furnace. When the mould reaches temperature, the charge is pulled into the mould by gravity Castings being assembled Castings being coated

Gallery

Peake Engines No. 6 Hypnocycle sold out

Peake Engines No. 5 Mercury sold out

Peake Engines No. 4 Powerhouse sold out

Peake Engines No. 3 Sun & Planet sold out

Commissions

Writing Instrument Gaboon Ebony shaft, stainless steel and a rare olivine & iron meteorite

Cufflinks etched stainless steel with silky oak box

Broach Argentium inlaid into Gaboon Ebony