The Home Machinist!

One thing to be noted is methanol will corrode bare aluminum.  Any aluminum parts that are to be in contact with methanol should be hard anodized.

The "green energy" scam of solar and wind power is going to fade away... Solar and wind are fine energy sources...as long as the sky is clear and there’s a breeze.  :D  In my area, depending on those two things is too much like playing the slots in Las Vegas to support one’s family. The b...

Harold_V wrote: ↑Tue Apr 16, 2024 1:39 amHere in Western Washington (Lewis County) there's an excursion train that runs on oil. The smell of that engine parallels the smell of a coal burning engine, which totally surprised me when I took the ride.

That’s because flaming dinosaurs all smell the same. 

liveaboard wrote: ↑Tue Apr 09, 2024 12:55 pmTailpipe emissions are still pretty bad; apparently these old things are just that way. there is some visible smoke when it's gunned.

The smoke comes out to let you know the thing is running. 

jscarmozza wrote: ↑Fri Apr 05, 2024 11:36 amSteggy, I have a question about the pivot link in your diagram labeled item #2. Does that link hang vertical when the brakes are off or is it at some angle to vertical?

See below for how I have it.  The angle isn’t critical.

jscarmozza wrote: ↑Fri Mar 29, 2024 6:36 pmBeautiful work Steggy, I’m going to try and do what you did but in 1” scale. 

Thanks!  How do you plan to do the propulsion in your F-unit?

Bones, the easiest way I have found to put photos in here is to use Flickr to store the images, rather than onsite. This is an old forum...with its own series of foolishness. (that's not to say it's bad, it's wonderful that we have a forum like this) The problem is social media sites such as Flickr...

And BMW used to specify that the flywheel bolts were "use once and throw away". Most of us did not...except maybe the racers... Any time I removed the clutch and flywheel from my race car’s engine, I replaced the fasteners.  Take it from me: there’s nothing quite as exciting as have the c...

At the bottom of each cylinder where it rests on the block, there is a thin steel shim or two as required to get the correct piston height. Well, cylinder height really. One is 0.5mm thick and I had to use another of 0.25mm on each. No sealant, no rubber, nada. How this keeps the oil inside is a my...

Greg_Lewis wrote: ↑Tue Mar 19, 2024 10:46 amA detour over to Virginia City will take you to the Virginia and Truckee railroad.

Aside from the railroad aspect, Virginia City (Nevada) is historically interesting from a Wild West perspective.

Nice job.  Looks as though it could almost support a full-sized Northern, or at least an EMD SW1000. 

On 3/19, you may notice the site up and down a bit. “Up and down a bit”—these days, that sounds a lot like me, but instead of “a bit,” it’s “a lot,” especially the “down” part.  :D It is time to update our security certificate. Yeah, now it’s an annual thing.  It used to be once you had acquired an...