Most interesting find at a thrift shop ever

    This machine was sitting at a thrift shop, a handwritten note suggested it was a steam engine.  Hmmm. two single action cylinders of different diameters, no valve gear at all. 

 It's almost certainly not a steam engine but possibly an homemade experimental heat engine of some sort? There is a propane burner in a rusty box (below) that fits around half of the larger cylinder, the other half of the cylinder is surrounded by a metal trough, maybe with cold water? 

We applied a few pounds of air through the valve on the small cylinder and the flywheel turned a few degrees but no joy...

 Any ideas?

 

Flywell Might

 

   The editor of the magazine came upon this homebuilt unit while out and about and thought it worthy of publishing. It is constructed of plywood over a hardwood frame, the rear end is from a small Villiers powered motorcycle and apparently travelled along nicely at 35 or 45 mph, adequate for English traffic in 1935.

Blackbeard's ghost's CB750

Weird. I believe the movie dates to 1968, the CB750 wasn’t introduced till a year later.
 

U.S. Royal Balloon Tires, 1935

 Short and to the point...

Sidecar Sunday

 Flying in formation...

Armaloy wrench

  Armaloy was a trademark introduced by the Armstrong Bros. Tool Company of Chicago in 1946 for their new chrome-vanadium steel alloy and so their new premium line of hand tools. The brand was known for its high quality tools. 

The Armstrong brothers had opened up in 1890 as a manufacturer of bicycle parts and wrenches. In 1895 they introduced a toolholder for the lathe which was a commercial success, allowing them to build a new factory. In 1909, they started manufacturing wrenches.

 The company was acquired by Danaher in 1994- which became part of the Apex Tool group in 2010.

 

Dymaxion

 

Arthur Train, Jr. illustrated by Chichi Lasley, The Story of Everyday Things, 1941

Uhhhm Not quite...

War bond parade float

Roger Bilstein and Jay Miller, Aviation in Texas, Texas Monthly Press, 1985

 

Crosley Roamio

Music in a car? Never happen!

 

Norvin!

 John and his dad Jack admiring a Vincent-engine Featherbed special outside of Jack's motorcycle business.