Review - Ford's First Engine

[June 7, 2019 - start of page]

[June 16, 2019 - updates]

[June 22, 2019 - first draft completed]

NOTE: Click on any of the photos on this page to see a larger version of the photo.

The two photos above show the engine as it is currently displayed at the museum. Note that the engine is mounted over the sink opening (as shown in a famous related painting) and not on the sink board (as shown on the museum web site). This was fortunate for me as I was able to view some of the underside of the Mounting Board.

Comments

Some discussion on this web page is posted to the forum below. If you have additional comments or questions on the content of this page, add them to the forum post below and I will respond if possible.

https://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/threads/a-visit-to-fords-first-1893-kitchen-sink-engine.31333/

Related Links

For links to information on the original engine on display at the Henry Ford Museum, see the references at the bottom of this page:

https://sites.google.com/site/lagadoacademy/machining---lathes-mills-etc/build---ford-s-first-engine-1893

If you are reading this page, you probably already know the story of Ford’s First Engine (also known as the Kitchen Sink Engine”). If you don't know, you can read a brief history here:

https://www.thehenryford.org/explore/blog/everything-but-the-kitchen-sink-engine/

A very brief history of the engine (possibly incorrect);

1893 – engine completed by Henry Ford

1930s – engine donated to Henry Ford Museum

1930s and later – engine loaned out to various World’s Fairs and expositions

2019 – engine on display at Henry Ford Museum

Clearly there are some very large gaps in the above history, and very little detail. How was the engine stored after Henry built it? How many times was it moved? How many well meaning caretakers made efforts to “restore” the engine? Likely these questions will never be answered, but in spite of that there is good reason to believe that the engine is mostly (if not completely) original, even though it has suffered from some neglect in the last 126 years.

On June 4, 2019 I took advantage of the Ford Museum “special access” program to get a very close look at the first internal combustion engine built by Henry Ford. The engine was built in 1893 and is sometimes known as the “Kitchen Sink engine” because Ford clamped the engine to his kitchen sink with a c-clamp so that he could use an overhead electrical light socket for the ignition.

The museum special access program made it possible for me to get very close access to the engine exhibit (under supervision, of course). I was able to spend 2-1/2 hours photographing, examining (sometimes with a magnifying glass), making notes, and even using a magnet to see which parts were iron or steel. I even went so far as to smell the wood base to see if I could determine what kind of wood it was (my guess is that it is Michigan pine, but I could not detect any kind of pine aroma – not surprising for wood over a hundred years old).

Before going to the museum, I spent a fair amount of time making plans to make the visit as productive as possible. Among other things, I created several documents to use during the visit.

1. First, I went over in my mind what I planned to do, and prepared a check-list of items to take with me.
2. Second, I prepared a list of the photographs I wanted to take, to make sure I did not miss anything. Of course I was also prepared to take additional photos if I found anything of interst that was not on my list.
3. Third, I prepared a parts list with check boxes for the type of material (brass, iron, etc.) and a box to check if it was ferrous (attracted to a magnet).

Finally, I prepared a parts list with space for notes, so I could easily make notes of observations of particular interest.

A few things to keep in mind as you read this article, and look at the photos: The engine is 126 years old, and has not always been given the best of care. There is no guarantee that all of the original parts are there (in fact, I am sure they are not, as I will explain later), or that they are in their original condition (age aside). The assistant from the museum who was supervising my visit also noted that in earlier times some museum people had different ideas on how to care for exhibits, and in some cases this included “fixing them up” to make them look more presentable. Finally, I should note that I could obviously not see any of the parts that are internal to the engine (such as the piston and spark mechanism).

After having spent considerable time photographing and inspecting the engine, my general impression is as follows: Time has not been good to the engine; many of the metal parts show considerable corrosion and pitting. The wooden base of the engine shows numerous c-clamp marks and I doubt all of them are “original.” The exhaust valve push rod was rotated 90 degrees out of position, and the flywheel was not fully on it’s shaft.

My process of inspection of the engine was as follows: First a quick overall inspection of the engine just to get a feel for the layout. This was followed by a lengthy photography session as I went through my photo checklist. For the most part I made macro shots of every part of the engine, from several angles. In all, I ended up with 161 photos (and now I wish I had taken a few more).

After taking the photos, I used my parts checklist to note the type of material for every part I could access, and check each part with a magnet.

For my check lists, I used the materials list from the original drawing. To avoid confusion, I will use the terminology in that list to reference parts of the engine in this write-up. The list is shown below – refer to the included drawing for reference, or view the original drawing on the Ford museum website.

Materials list (based on the list from the engine drawing):

1 Mounting Board

2 Main bearing frame

3 Flywheel

4 Main shaft

5 Crank arm

6 Crank pin

7 Cam drive gear

8 Cam driven gear

9 Cam

10 Driven gear bearing pin

11 Connecting Rod

12 Piston pin

13 Piston Assembly

14 Cylinder

15 Combustion chamber

16 Cylinder mounting plug

17 Cylinder foot

18 Cylinder head plug

19 Intake valve assembly

20 Intake mixer pipe

21 Gasoline feed cup

22 Exhaust nipple

23 Exhaust valve assembly

24 Exhaust valve push rod

[Note: I have labeled the push rod guides A, B, C starting from the left end, so I can discuss each one individually.]

25 A - Push rod guide

25 B - Push rod guide

25 C - Push rod guide

26 Ignition plug

27 Contact spring assembly

The drawing below is a partial re-drawing of the "original" engine plan drawing. I used the original drawing with included parts list as a reference; the copy below is included here as I refer to the various components in my write-up. For the purposes of my visit, I identified the top of the drawing as "back", the bottom as "front", the flywheel end as "left" and the cylinder end as "right."

This document is organized by component name as given in the official drawing. I will list each part in order, together with my observations and other information.

1. Mounting Board

2. Main Bearing Frame

The main bearing frame is a U-shaped piece of steel, of slightly irregular shape. It suffered from rust and pitting at some point. It is also possible that this was a fairly rough piece of metal to begin with (note that the front end of the Frame is not exactly square, unlike the back end). I looked for tool marks such as hammer marks or marks from clamping in a vise, but I did not see any. It is pure speculation on my part, but I would guess that the metal was heated in a forge and then bent into shape when hot. I say this because in 1893 Henry Ford would have had ready access to blacksmith services; this would have been a simple task for any competent blacksmith (or maybe even for Henry himself).

Based on comparisons with the included photo-scale, I estimate the metal thickness to be about 0.25".

3 Flywheel

The flywheel is clearly cast iron, as evidenced by casting mold lines. The flywheel is likely a valve handwheel adapted to the purpose. It is likely the handwheel had a square hole to fit a valve stem, and that the center was bored out to make a round hole. Either that, or an existing round hole was adapted to fit the smaller diameter Main Shaft using a bushing.

It's difficult to see in the above right hand picture, but the flywheel on the museum exhibit is not fully seated on the shaft; another example of the rough handling the engine has gotten over the years.

4 Main shaft

The Main Shaft is either iron or steel, and is heavily pitted. There are circular scratches on the circumference

There are center holes on both ends of the Main Shaft, possibly indicating that it was turned between centers.

5 Crank Arm

I had hoped I would be able to see tool marks on the Crank Arm (perhaps evidence of filing) but it was too heavily corroded to make out any such detail. Note that there is a "step" between the Crank Arm and the Main Bearing Frame; I believe this is a washer although it also appears to be part of the arm (the corrosion is too heavy to see if there is a separation line on the outer part of the end). It could have been machined in on a lathe, or it may also be that a washer was soldered onto the main part of the Crank Arm. The Crank Arm is clearly ferrous (either iron or steel).

I did not see any evidence that the Crank Arm is pinned to the Main Shaft, although a pin could have been hidden under the heavy corrosion. It seems to me that press fit or shrink fit is likely here.

7 Cam Drive Gear

The Cam Drive Gear (the smaller of the two gears) is brass, and appears to have been either soldered or press fit onto the Main Shaft. It's also possible that it was a shrink fit onto the Main Shaft; this would have been a trickier but not impossible. Note that the gear is trapped between the two side of the Main Bearing Frame, so the Main Shaft would have to have been fitted into one side of the frame first (presumably the Flywheel side). It would have been fairly easy to insert the Main Shaft into the frame, and then press it into the gear.

The gear teeth appear to be well formed and very regular. I presume the gear was purchased by Ford, and not made by him. It may also have been taken from some other piece of machinery (my pet theory is that the gears were taken from a phonograph machine). The gears are about 1/4" (about 6mm) thick which I would think are too thick to be clock gears (although they could be part of a winding mechanism, I suppose).

8 Cam Driven Gear

The Cam Driven Gear (the larger of the two gears) is also brass. It has a curved spoke design which appears to have been "carved" out of a solid gear blank. There is evidence of circular tool marks on the face of the spokes, and what appear to be file marks on the inside surfaces. My guess is that the inner surface of the blank was turned on a lathe (but only on one side - note the spokes are not centered from front to back). Initially I thought the gear had been thinned from only one side, but a picture of the back of the gear (see Driven Gear Bearing Pin below) shows thinning on that side also, although it appears less than the front. Once the gear was thinned the spokes would have been cut by (I assume) some combination of filing, drilling, and sawing.

Finally, I think the name Cam Driven Gear is a bit of a misnomer; it should more properly be call the Cam Driving Gear, as will be seen in the next section.

11 Connecting Rod

The Connecting Rod was one of the bigger surprises I found on viewing the engine, as the rod is not round but square. The ends of the rod are also a bit "squarish" which raises the quesrtion of how they are attached to the rod. The rod itself is ferrous - either steel or possibly wrought iron.

The photos below show better views of each end of the Connecting Rod - note how the profile is roughly square, with rounded corners. My hypothesis is that the rod ends were forge-welded onto the rod, or that some other blacksmithing technique was used. However, I must also admit that I don't know enough about blacksmith methods to be absolutely certain about this.

If you look closely at the piston end picture, you will see small raised ridges near the square rod, which may be evidence of filing or hammering. Fortunately the piston was at the extreme end of travel, so I was able to get a reasonably good picture (the best possible, I think, short of removing the piston altogether.

12 Piston Pin

13 Piston Assembly

Unfortunately there is not much to be said about these components, as they are mostly hidden inside the Cylinder. I was not able to get a magnet inside the Cylinder, but from its appearance the pin is clearly steel or iron. If you look closely at the end of the cylinder, the inside corner of the piston (if you think of this part of the piston as a tube) looks slight rounded (like an internal rounded chamfer). Also

14 Cylinder

As expected, the cylinder is a pipe, threaded on one end to fit into the Combustion Chamber. I had expected a thicker walled tube, but it actually seems fairly thin-walled; using the photo scale as reference, I estimate the wall thickness as about 2mm (0.079"). From the very little bit of the inside of the Cylinder that is visible, it appears to be fairly smooth so it may be that the tube was internally bored and polished (honed?) and this reduced it's thickness. As a steam engineer, Henry Ford would have been quite familiar with methods to prepare a piston and cylinder.

15 Combustion Chamber

The Combustion Chamber was a component I was particularly interested in looking at closely, as I have a theory that it was adapted from a high pressure steam valve. The walls of the Combustion Chamber appear to fairly thick, but unfortunately I had no way to make an actual measurement. It's also possible that the Combustion Chamber was originally a Tee-fitting, with a size reduction on part of the Tee. The Combustion chamber is ferrous, and is likely cast iron; I could not find any manufacturer's marks or any other letters or numbers on the piece.

There is a feature located behind the ignition plug (below the ignition plug on the left-hand photo below) which looks a bit like a front gun-sight. My best guess is that is was some kind of bleeder on the original valve (if that is what it was). Another possibility is that the Ignition Plug was located there on an earlier version of the engine, and that the hole was plugged when it was found necessary to re-locate the plug. The projection appears to be part of whatever is filling the hole below it, and that hole appears to have the same diameter as the hole for the Ignition Plug; this would lend credence to the Ignition Plug relocation theory.

16 Cylinder Mounting Plug

19 Intake Valve Assembly

The intake valve (shown in the photos below with the hexagonal cap) is a brass swing check valve.

20 Intake Mixer Pipe

The Intake Mixer Pipe is a brass elbow. There is a small circular feature on the "corner"of the elbow (see white dot in photos below). Unfortunately I did not note this when I was taking the pictures, so I did not inspect it under my magnifying glass. Does this signify some sort of modification, or is it just a blemish? There is no corresponding mark on the reverse side, so if this is the result of a drilled hole, it is not a through hole. If it were some sort of modification, it is hard to see what it would be that could not have simply been inserted into the mouth of the elbow. At this point, I am concluding it is not significant.

21 Gasoline feed cup

The Gasoline Feed Cup is clearly a repurposed adjustable oil lubricator. If there were any doubts at all about this, these are quickly dispelled by the markings on the top:

MICHIGAN

LUBRICATOR

CO.

DETROIT

123

23 Exhaust Valve Assembly

The Exhaust Valve Assembly is a modified "stop and waste" globe valve (brass) of a type which is available today.

24 Exhaust Valve Push Rod

There were a couple of surprises with regard to the Exhaust Valve Push Rod. First, as can be seen in the photo below, the Push Rod is rotated 90 degrees out of proper position (sad testimony to the hard handling the engine has received in over a century). Second, the cam end of the Push Rod was clearly made by hammering flat the end of a round rod, and then bending it 90 degrees.

The two photos below show the cam end of the Push Rod in more detail. In the right hand photo below, the hammer marks are clearly visible, and it is easy to see how the rod was flatted and squared off (with a slight taper on the end). Of course, the end of the L shape should be pointing up to properly engage the cam. It is interesting to note that there is no special provision to keep the rod properly oriented in operation, except that it would naturally tend to lie flat against the cam and thus be held in an upright position.

25 A - Push Rod Guide

25 B - Push Rod Guide

25 C - Push Rod Guide

Each of the Push Rod Guides is a little bit different, so I have labeled them A (cam end), B (middle), and C (valve end) for reference. I looked for evidence of hammer marks or other tool marks which might have shown how these were bent into shape, but if there were any they were hidden by tarnish. All of the guides are brass, but of course they are of different heights to accommodate the angle of the Push Rod. I assume that Ford used brass for the guides in order to reduce sliding friction.

Push Rod Guide A (cam end) is bent up on the cam side. Looking that the middle photo below, you can see a "shadow" in the wood below the guide which seems to indicate that the guide is rotated slightly out of position (more evidence of rough handling over the years?). Each guide is held in place by a single screw, which is a disadvantage in that the guides can easily rotate, but also an advantage in that it allows for some fine adjustment of the guide position. Note also that the "foot" of this guide is longer than the other two; this would allow the guide to be bent upward for additional adjustment, which appears to have been the intent.

The middle Push Rod Guide is unremarkable, except that it gave me the best opportunity to examine the guide hole. As can be see, the hole is a good fit for the rod, but possibly just the slightest bit oversize to allow for the slight rod angle and to prevent binding. If there is any chamfering of the hole at all, it is very slight.

Push Rod Guide C (valve end) is interesting because it has a brass shim under it (apparently from the same brass stock the guides are made of). In the top view photo below, not that the guide is slightly angled. After a century of handling, it is impossible to know if this was done intentionally as an adjustment, or is due to rough handling.

26 Ignition Plug

I am almost certain that the Ignition Plug is another off the shelf item. I have not yet been able to find a specific reference, but I believe these were originally made as a way to electrically light gas flames. Of course I cannot say for certain that this part was not fabricated by Ford himself, but there is something about it that seems to indicate that it was commercially manufactured. It is primarily made of brass (including the central screw terminal and nut). There must obviously be some sort of insulating material between the body and the central terminal, but there is too much corrosion to make out what it might be (presumably some sort of ceramic). By the way, that bit of fluff you see in the picture below (on the top right of the plug) is cotton insulation from a bit of wire still connected to the plug.

27 Contact Spring Assembly

Unfortunately the really interesting parts of the Ignition Plug and Contact Spring Assembly are hidden inside the combustion chamber. The official drawing shows a little bit of detail, so refer to that drawing for more information.

?? Cam Electrical Contact

This component is shown on the drawing, but for some reason is not listed as a separate item in the materials list. This component is clearly shop made; it consists of a brass plate, and a wire torsion spring which makes contact with the back of the cam. The wire is soldered to the brass plate; not also that "clips" have been cut into the brass plate to hold the wire (two in the front corners, and one on either side folded over the wire). The wire may be either copper or brass; I suspect it is brass as this would be "springier" than copper.

The brass plate is held to the base with what I believe are two round head wood screws (unlike the machine screws used elsewhere). Note the bit of wire still connected to the left hand screw; this would have been the ground connection.

Album of All Photos

The photos above are a selection of all of the photos I took. The entire collection of 161 photos can be found at the link below (note that this includes some photos which are out of focus or otherwise just not very good). A few of the photos are copies which have been zoomed and/or enhanced (by adjusting color or contrast).

As of this writing (June 22, 2019) I have annotated some of the photos; I may make additional annotations in the future.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/oq2YA8TeuDsg3az87

Some technical background on the photos:

A forum discussion on HMEM has some interesting commentary, some of which is quoted below. Here is the link to the forum discussion.

https://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/threads/a-visit-to-fords-first-1893-kitchen-sink-engine.31333

The photographs were taken with a Canon EOS Rebel T31 camera in highest resolution mode, using a Canon auto-focus 50mm lens. Most of the photos were taken in macro mode using an LED ring-light mounted to the lens.

Commentary

Comment 1:

John W commented:

An excellent write up indeed! However, and this is just my opinion based upon my observations regarding your photos, I believe Mr. Ford modified his original ignition system to make it a more consistent and reliable concept engine at a later date y adding a spark plug. The protuberance on the combustion chamber that you mention appears to be nothing more that a plugged hole, probably the original location for the make and break ignition. Its position would be more conducive to ignition in an after top dead center make and break.

Additionally, the piece you refer to as a gas igniter is indeed a spark plug of the 1915ish (?) vintage and appears (if my theorizing is correct) to have been added later to support that more reliable ignition and running with a buzz coil or something similar.

Comment 4:

[Nov.5, 2019]

Thanks to "WH" for spotting this photo in the book Ford Methods and Ford Shops p.13 (see this link for more information on this book). In the book, the caption on the photo states:

Ford’s First Gas Engine—Piston I Inch Diameter by 5 Inches Stroke

It is lying on the drawing board in Edsel Bryant Ford's room, opening off Henry Ford's private office

Unfortunately the photo does not have a lot of detail. The photo was probably taken in the Ford Highland Park plant around 1914 (the book was published in 1915). Although the engine is not the centerpiece of the photo, a few interesting details can be seen: The board on which the engine is mounted is plain and unpainted, some parts are missing (the flywheel, the "oiler" for gas and the intake, etc.). The black object toward the center of the mounting board is a puzzle - could it be an ignition coil, or simply an unrelated item placed there temporarily? It appears that the room is being used for storage, or is perhaps still in the process of being set up.

It occurs to me that the photo tells two conflicting stories: First, why did Ford allow the engine to fall into such disrepair (or was it simple taken apart for moving)? Second, the engine must have meant a lot to Ford if he was taking the trouble to keep it close to himself.

[Click on the photo to enlarge.]

Now, below is just the combustion chamber, compared to a plumbing tee.

Fuel and "gas tank" (oiler)

None of the historical material I have seen with respect to the Ford engine states specifically what was used for fuel. Common fuels used at the time included naphtha, "gasolene," and petroleum ether. For example, if we look at a reference book from that era - Commercial Organic Analysis: A Treatise on the Properties, Modes ..., Volume 2 (By Alfred Henry Allen, 1887) we can see the following chart:

However, we don't know if Ford used naphtha, gasolene, or petroleum ether, and even if we knew, these terms were used to refer a variety of fuels and solvents. Here's a chart comparing the composition of petroleum fractions from the 1887 chart with modern fuels:

Here is the same piston, which I have re-drawn as best I could ("original" on the left, and my hypothetical "exploded view" on the right):

Note that in my proposed "dis-assembly" of the piston, the piston body is composed of two parts - the main piston body and a "cap" which serves to hold the ignitor contact and which also constrains the piston rings. This is different from a "conventional" piston composed of a single piece with a groove for the piston rings. The hypothesized "cap" explains the reason for the lower screw shown in the drawing, which otherwise would serve no purpose.

A further reason for believing that the original piston was made with a cap goes back to Henry Ford's engineering experience with steam engines. The cap design was not uncommon with steam engine pistons, as shown by this drawing from an 188 patent - note the two screws holding the cap onto the main piston body, with the piston packing ("rings") sandwiched in between. It is possible that Ford used steam engine piston packing to make his piston rings, as this type of material would have been readily available to him.

Piston Rings

[questions to research: what are the piston rings made of? What size are they?]

References

Builds

• Penn State : "In spring 2012, when Penn State Beaver engineering students built a working replica of Henry Ford’s first combustion engine. . ." This article includes some interesting discussion and historical background. (Video of the running engine.)

Drawings

• see Plans and Photographs

Gas

• see Fuel

Fittings

Fuel

• Commercial Organic Analysis: A Treatise on the Properties, Modes ..., Volume 2 (By Alfred Henry Allen, 1887) - Chart and discussion showing various petroleum distillates used for fuel for combustion engines.

Ignition

• The Gas Engine : The Gas Engine magazine, January 1904, p. 302.
• Gas Engine Igniters

Patents

• Patent No. 384,272, dated June 12, 1888 - Metallic Packing for Steam Cylinder Pistons : This patent show a typical steam engine piston design, with a "cap."

Photographs

• see Plans and Photographs

Plans and Photographs

• The Henry Ford - Plans (drawings) and photographs of "the kitchen sing engine" are available at this museum website.
  • Drawing and Explanation of Boyle's Law Applied to the 1893 Kitchen Sink Engine, Henry Ford's First Gasoline Engine
  • Drawing of the 1893 Kitchen Sink Engine, "Diagram of 4 Cycle Internal Combustion Engine"
  • Drawing of the 1893 Kitchen Sink Engine, "First Gasoline Engine by Mr. Henry Ford" - this drawing was created in 1944.
  • Drawing of the 1893 Kitchen Sink Engine, "Ignition System of First Ford Engine"
  • Everything but the Kitchen Sink… Engine - Photo of the engine on display in the museum, with a brief story about a replica built by Penn State students.
  • Henry and Clara Ford in 1893 with Kitchen Sink Gasoline Engine - painting ("The artist, Irving Bacon, made this painting in 1938 based on Henry Ford's verbal reminiscence about this pivotal career event."
  • Henry Ford's "Kitchen Sink" Engine, 1893 - photograph
• This article on the Ford Quadricyle says that Henry Ford consulted plans in the November 7, 1895 issue of American Machinist. Of course, this is after the 1893 engine, but if true, Henry Ford likely consulted other earlier articles with respect to his 1893 engine. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find early issues of American Machinist online.
  • http://jalopnik.com/what-its-like-to-drive-the-first-crappy-car-henry-ford-1738069254