The Home Machinist!

It's something I can't get out of my mind. It's just a little challenge to my mind that can't be avoided. I suppose the only way to rid myself of the idea is to build it, it would be useful, although by far not the most important thing to do, so it'll have to be done on the side of the main jobs of ...

Too many young fellas addicted to video games, and all manner of other useless garbage time wasters. Someday they may come to regret it, but then they probably won't be smart enough to realize why they missed the boat in real education. I've heard rumors in the last 30 years how USA schools are grad...

I notice the videos of foundry work in India, the workers wearing sandals, sometimes shorts. Sparks flying, I'm sure they get their burns. man power is cheap and plentiful there. The only burn I got while wearing sandals was when the furnace blower kicked a hot coal out and landed on my foot. LOL! y...

Looks like a crack in the head. But cracks in cast iron can be brazed. Usually have to knock it out, grind the surface to fresh clean metal and fill the larger crack with brass. It would have to be far worse condition that that one to not be worth repairing. But even then, most anything is rebuildab...

That's wood gas. Or producer gas, anything that will burn good works, I built one several years ago, a down draft gasifier, ran my truck on it a little, but decided it wasn't what I wanted for reliable long term use. Although if I get a flywheel stationary engine going I just might put the thing bac...

I could use different engines for different jobs. One might be a portable to run things like log splitter and sorghum press, One might run a 4x4 big tired work truck. I sure could use a good one to get around our property to get work done, haul firewood and logs out of rough places, and mud season l...

Yup. Got a junk yard and a foundry in my shop, as well as two old lathes and 3 milling machines, a press for making keyways with a broach set and a large bandsaw, + a metal chop saw. I could go small commercial scale easily with the furnace size. up to maybe 500 lb melts someday if I want a casting ...

I'm sure it was a custom jig to hold something, I've made custom jigs to do jobs and if someone comes along later and finds it, without knowing what it was made for. They'd be mystified.

I've been thinking about what I wanna make for practical use around the place, probably in the next 2-3 years. I think a 10-20 Hp engine would be good. But I'd like it to be both hit n miss capable on gas (wood gas or hydroxy from water electrolysis) or liquid fuel, and easily switched over to steam...

I'm not a perfectionist on alloys, don't care if something is off a bit as long as it works for what I need it to do. Perfectionism has it's place in critical jobs. After foolin with it a number of times I get a feel for how much moisture the sand needs. Get too much moisture and it can't escape fas...

I do because it works, and I'm not making critical stuff. Just hubs and pulleys usually. Serves my purpose very well. But if in finer work or where exact alloys are critical, might not be so good. Why is green sand not so good for infrequent use? I've been fine with infrequent use. Just screen it an...

I hauled in my own sand with a dump truck from a sand quarry. several tons for less than $100. including fuel. I think it was $8 a ton, I'm sure it's a good bit more now. Mortar sand from a building supply works good. It should be mined sand from sandstone, not beach sand or wind blown sand. The gra...