The Home Machinist!

I was invited to view a pour by some of the local backyard foundry experts. They were pouring Aluminum antique cart parts in some rather large unweighted molds on a concrete walk. A soon as they hosed down the concrete walk, I smelled trouble. Rather than tell the experts how to do their work, I jus...

The transition piece seems to present the biggest problem in welding up the wagon top boiler. If your dimensions allow, there are many different sizes of eccentric 600 psi steam pipe reducers that come with the beveled ends ready for welding. These reducers can be modified in the lathe to the smalle...

Wood was one of the original insulation sources for steam boilers years ago. It was about the only thing they had before asbestos and that was not the best as it has turned out for those with asbestos related lung cancer. Most wood resin will begin to melt at about 360 degrees causing the wood to tu...

Congratulations on the lathe. Even us big kids still need new toys and a lathe is a tool that will keep on going and giving. Do yourself a great favor and while gaining much needed experience, spend a bit more for your steel and use 12L14 free machining. it is only slightly less strong than normal 1...

Dave,

Nice job as usual.

Are there any internal springs involved with this buffer design?

Robert

Greg,

My good friend has one ready for service off a shay his father ran years ago in the woods. I can get you photos of it this weekend.

Robert

Trainman, Nice to hear that you will be bringing back the top lift parts kit. The ductile iron coupler is also a welcome addition as in prototype practice, the coupler and knuckle are never allowed to be painted. This is to allow for crack inspection as per Federal Law. I will work on other things l...

At least 15 years ago Mercer offered a beautiful set of castings to convert a coupler to the prototypical top lift operation. This set of lost wax castings also contained a couple of small roll pins and simple directions. It was the best and only option like it on the market at the time and worked l...

This micro slotting business is starting to get very interesting. Small slots have always been a challenge unless one has an EDM machine. Years ago before EDM was even invented people were working magic with small slots. I saw the work of one builder now deceased that defies the laws of micro machin...

Maple is an excellent choice for small patterns and my first choice. It machines almost like metal and sands like a dream. Better yet, it does not have the pore structure of some other pattern woods making it very easy to finish smoothly. Hand sanded to 400 or 600 grit it will almost shine. It is al...

I have used the premium Starrett low carbon free machining ground flat stock for rods and valve gear parts. This material is a bit pricey but it can often be found on eBay for less than half the normal cost. It is a dream to machine and finish up real smooth. A friend broke down and used some of thi...

I can understand the frustration with TIG welders not working. Recently the machine I use (Syncrowave 300) frequently began to act up for no reason at all. It acted like a bad gas problem. We got a fresh cylinder of argon but with no improvement. Then the top welder in the shop went to use the machi...