The Home Machinist!

I thought of buying a tiny power as well.... It looks like a nice product. I know you experts are going to laugh...but...as I have no tooling at all in the house. For me I think it would be better to spend my budget on some basic tools and build those pipe and can engines for practice. (Though, not ...

Finally, I can answer a post with something I know!

Lots and lots of plans here...
http://npmccabe.tripod.com/steam.htm

Even plans for a simple boiler...but I kind of imagine screwing it up
it and having it spray boiling water/steam all over my face!

I will be building one of these.

-Mike

I have an opportunity to get a wood lathe, just for picking it up. It is small, so won't even turn big hunks of wood. What I am wondering is...as I have done nothing with any kind of lathe before, does it make sense to grab it to practice with a bit? Or is turning metal so different from wood that I...

Thanks!
Point well taken. It is interesting how there are always good reasons
for things...and even grownups need to be mature enough to be safe.

Thanks again.

-Mike
P.S. Are any of us really grownup? I guess that could be a topic
for another thread!

Thanks guys! Boy can one learn a lot from this forum. No, I had no intention of really running it without proper testing by somebody who knows about boilers. I kind of thought it would be fun though to see if it worked...and parhaps make adjustments. I had kind of thought of feeding the compressed a...

Many moons ago I posted my first messages about the little
0-4-0 I have in my garage. The first bit of advice I received was
to have it hydro tested before running it on air.

I was wondering why I would not run it on air before I hydro
test it?

Thanks,
Mike

Marty, You said: "In the CC&R's it says no machines except for the maintenance and construction of the home." I imagine then a lawn mower and a leaf blower are allowed as they are required for the maintenance of the home....so who is to say you don't use your machine tools for the main...

I know this question is going to be really basic..but..

How do I know which valve would fit my boiler?

Should I go to the hardware store and get some machined screws
the size and thread of some of the sizes available?

-Mike

Some of you may remember my posts about my little 1 inch scale
0-4-0.

It has two empty holes on top of the steam dome, that I assume are
for safety valves. Before I order from Coles a large collection of
different safety valves, is there an easy why to tell what size I need
to order?

Thanks,
Mike

My son has gotten into paintball recently and I noticed those little 9oz and 12oz CO2 tanks have a lot of pressure. What are the ramifications of running an engine on CO2? I know the evaporation process makes things very cold. Could you demo your engine using a small CO2 tank? Thanks, Mike

Spent some time with some q-tips, WD40, and rags.... Cleaned a lot...but there is still much more to go. Since cleaning, it roles freely! I did not force anything and did not hear any snap or ping so that must be a good sign right? Makes kind of a nice puffing sound while it roles... [img]/ubb/image...

Thanks to everybody for your help.
I understand that WD-40 will be important in the clean up.
Is there any other cleaner or lube that I should use?
Thanks, expect to be cleaning today!

Also, where can I find safety valves for this?
How about fittings for doing the hydro test?
Thanks,

-Mike