Commentary and photos by Craig Libuse George Luhrs is shown in his booth at the 2001 N.A.M.E.S. show surrounded by some of his projects and his award plaques for winning both the contest and the Joe Martin Foundation Metalworking Craftsman of the Year award. The winning radial engine display is in the foreground. This year he added a cylinder and created a radial design that again topped the voting. George designs and builds his engines from scratch in sizes so small they leave most spectators just shaking their heads in wonder. The sparkplug fired four cycle engine has overhead valves with external pushrods.
Detailed photos are available below.
George may have won the top prize, but the biggest money winner was Robert Merva who finished both second and third with his two entries. The pendulum kept the clock running flawlessly throughout the entire competition. The top finishing Novice Division entry was 12 year old Scott Schwab of Fraser, Michigan. With double prize money for winning the Novice Division, he actually took home the fourth largest check. We were all very happy to see such a young entry and hope others will take this to heart and get their own kids and grandkids involved in building things for themselves, and not just watching.