Palm-size miracle V12: see it built, watch it run

If you admire craftsmanship, watch this incredible video. You’ll be moved. Jose Manuel Hermo Barreiro, a 72 year-old retired naval technician in Spain, has constructed 11 of these miniature miracle engines. This one is a V12.

 

 

Barreiro, who goes by the nickname “Patelo,” takes an almost spiritual approach to machines and to his creations. “I have no patience,” he says, a bit astonishingly. “I am a very impatient person. What I have is passion.” The pocket-sized compressed-air engines he’s built to date include a radial, a  W-16, and the V12 shown in the video below, which took some 1200 hours to fabricate from scratch. His tools consist mainly of an 80 year-old lathe and a set of files. Take special note of the construction of the crankshaft, camshafts (above left) and bronze connecting rods. Says Patelo, “I make engineers believe they are hallucinating.”

 

 

4 thoughts on “Palm-size miracle V12: see it built, watch it run

  1. Incredible. What an amazing talent. I cannot imagine constructing such a project, let alone have it work. Great story.

  2. Well done Sir!!! I may do something similar down the road. I’ve been restoring and showing antique “hit n miss” engines from the early teens up to about 1925. I think I’d like it run on LP or petro though… Adds another level of complexity though. Again, Well Done Sir!!!!

  3. When the engine is running, turn off the music and let the engine sing….

Comments are closed.