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. |
| Miniature Engraving | |
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As a practical joke, when Roger was asked to engrave the Harley Davidson logo on the air cleaner of the 1/8 scale motorcycle Jerry Kieffer is building, he duplicated Jerry's air cleaner exactly and engraved it with a perfect logo—except that underneath the logo instead of "Made in USA" it says "Made in China." (Jerry's real air cleaner had the proper credit on it, but when he first saw this air cleaner there was a moment of panic before the laughs. We now have the "Chinese" air cleaner on display in the museum in Vista, CA. It is still a lot of masterful work just for a joke. |
| 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, Gauges 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. |
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Roger engraved the number scale on this tiny 1/8 scale air pressure gauge. The functional pressure gauge was built to check air pressure in the tires of a 1/8 scale Harley Davidson Knucklehead being built by Jerry Kieffer. |
| 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. |
| Miniature Craftsman Socket and Wrench Set | |
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Roger is a long-time collector and restorer of Cushman scooters. He is currently building a running 1/4 scale Cushman engine. To work on the tiny fasteners more easily, he decided he needed an appropriately sized set of tools to assemble it. He disassembled a Sears Craftsman ratchet wrench and duplicated each of its parts at 1/4 scale. |
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The set even includes a miniature universal extension. The US penny gives size reference. |
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Roger's complete set includes the ratchet wrench, three different length extensions, the universal, seven sockets and seven box end/open end wrenches. Being an engraver also meant he could do that part of the job himself. The craftsman logo—with correctly shaped letter "S"—is on each wrench handle and sizes are engraved on each socket. |
| Wood Carving | |
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While recovering from surgery for torn rotator cuff, Roger carved this wall decor. This is one half, the other half is a mirror image of it, and they will flank a large mirror. It is carved from a basswood and stained red. To add to the challenge and because of his injury, Roger (who is right-handed) had to carve this using his left hand. |
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Roger's next carving project was this 8" diameter plate carved from basswood. The dark inlay in the outer ring is made from ground up basswood bark mixed with glue. The overall red tint is achieved with a wood stain. The design, while consistent, is actually not repetitive. If you look closely you will see that each element is unique or a variation of another. His many years of engraving detailed designs translate well into wood carving. |
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Following the 8" plate above, Roger carved a 10" plate. It is patterned after the type of designs that were carved in Norway in the 1880's. |
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Roger calls this 10” plate “1000 years of carving.” The edge has two different patterns as well as the outside ring on plate. These are designs that were used on the Viking-Oseburg ship that was originally carved about 850 AD. It was dug up somewhere around 1906. The white area around rim is a Viking ribbon animal. It is an inlay. The plate is basswood and the inlay is basswood bark. The outside ring is also a Viking ribbon animal, and on the ship these were on the fore and aft ends of the boat. The two inner rings were used in Norway about 1850. Hence, "1000 years of carving” title. The first photo shows the 10-inch plate, the second photo shows the inlay area. |
 
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Norwegian style knife |
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Smaller knife blade is 1- 3/4” - wood is buckeye burl - black is ebony, yellow dots and line behind bear head is 24 K gold inlay. |
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Hardanger fiddle 8 strings - hair on bow is Roger's hair! |
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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 mecm@craftsmanshipmuseum.com. We also welcome new contributions. Please see our page at newsubmit.htm for a submission form and guidelines for submitting descriptive copy and photos for a new project.
This section is sponsored by
Makers of precision miniature machine tools and accessories. Sherline tools are made in the USA.
Sherline is proud to confirm that Roger Ronnie uses Sherline tools in the production of some of his small projects.
To learn how your company or organization can sponsor a section in the Craftsmanship Museum, please contact mecm@craftsmanshipmuseum.com.
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