The Home Machinist!

I've been thinking of pushing the brakes aside and trying instead to complete the engine. This is what I had planned for and once the engine and drive shafts are done, I can run the thing on compressed air, even around the track if I can find someone with a gas powered air compressor I can borrow. T...

Brian, you're right. Across the flange, the bearings are 1.375", its the main body that's 1.125". So I now have a source of bronze.
Now for my second question, operating the brake cylinder. Either Steam-on-Steam-off like the full size shays or Steam-on-Spring-off like many use.

Spent today cutting blanks for various parts and ordering things needed to finish the trucks and brakes and start the engine. I've hit a snag though, the bearings in the engine. Both are square and made up of two halves. The crank bearings are 1" square and the engine base bearings are 1.125&qu...

I've decided to remake the beams. Turns out that the brake shoes I have are from a new pattern and the old drawings don't work with the new shoes. Unfortunately my local metal supply is out of the channel steel the beams are made from so I have to wait till Monday to get the steel. So I'm just going...

Dave, I rarely hear it called SAE. Everyone I know calls it Imperial. SAE it is then. Charlie, if an all metric locomotive is that bad... I can't imagine how confusing a model combining SAE and metric would be. Also, I agree with Lovesthedrive. Ace Hardware is an excelent source for single screws, b...

Thanks John! I'll keep them bookmarked.
Benjamin, I don't mean British. I guess I should use "imperial" here to avoid confusion.

I did forget about McMaster, but it was 11 at night.
Fender, I have the one made and tapped for 10-24, I can rethread it for 5mm but everything else is English, so I may just go with the 10-24 ones. Only the head will be visible.

Not much done recently, my grandparents have come into town from Florida so I've been visiting with them instead of hiding in the shop. They went and visited some friends today so I did get a few hours in the shop, enough time to make one brake shoe. Here's the first of eight brake shoes. image.jpg ...

I had to go with 1/2"x1/8" and am milling it to 3/16" wide. They should be done tomorrow and I'll be on to finishing the brake shoes and maybe the other levers for the brake linkages. I hope you mean 3/8" wide...... John B. Oops! Yes I did, I just fixed that. I was talking to my...

Started making the beam hangers today, slow goings making 16 at a time. Especially since I couldn't find any 3/16"x1/8" steel so I had to go with 1/2"x1/8" and am milling it to 3/8" wide. They should be done tomorrow and I'll be on to finishing the brake shoes and maybe the ...

I guess I'll use bronze wherever I can. I would hate for one of the fittings to have a catastrophic failure because of dezincification. Does anyone know of any suppliers of bronze fittings that would look scale in 2.5" scale on a small shay (like sight glass assemblies, check valves, and small ...

Soot, curious where you are in Ga.. I'm north of Atlanta and about 40 minutes from the Canton, St. Paul, and Pacific Railway. To answer your question - "Conditions favoring dezincification are contact with slightly acid or alkaline water. Not highly aerated, low rates of flow of the circulatin...