The Home Machinist!

Carl, I use a diluted solution of NaOH (lye) to boost the pH. Used with care, it does work. Same here. I put about a tablespoon of washing soda, sodium carbonate, directly into the boiler to buffer my ph. The soda will dissolve and form lye in the water and the excess creates a buffer that holds my...

A neutral pH value would be 7. Ideally the boiler water should be a higher pH, in the basic range. If you google "sodium sulfite anhydrous" you will find several mail-order suppliers that sell a one-pound jar for less than $10. I use just a few ounces dissolved in a pint of boiling hot water, which...

With all this talk of issues from excessive aeration, would it be worthwhile for us to add oxygen scavenger to our boiler treatment regimens? I use LSB already but from what I understand, there is nothing for oxygen in there. Just a pH buffer and some chemicals to keep solids in suspension.

American Model Engineering has grease cups like Jack has. I used them on the wrist pins and rod big ends on my shay, they do work really well. You can feel when the bearing is full as the caps get tight and hard to turn. I run the caps down till tight after each 2mi round trip on our railroad, doing...

Any idea how many of these Shays are operating right now? There is of course John's, and your's. Anybody else? Just wondering. Seems like a neat engine. Greg Glos at midsouth has one operating too. There’s several others that are close as well. Another year or two and there will be a whole gaggle o...

I would. I’ve seen the main pin work loose and begin rotating on a friends LE Atlantic

Correct. I did 2 layers so there’s 1/4in of insulation under the jacket. 1/8in May be more appropriate for a 3/4in scale locomotive, but I bet it would make quite a difference on a copper boiler

James, the insulation has made an amazing difference! I use noticeably less coal while running, and the biggest change is how long it takes to cool down now. Used to only take 2-3 hours, now it’s closer to 6-7 hours. I definitely recommend the insulation I used

One idea I've had is a safety valve on the tank plumbed to a pneumatic valve on the steam line. The safety would be plumbed to the pneumatic valve so the valve would close when the safety opens. A small leak between the safety and valve would allow the valve to open again when the safety resets. Thi...

The way I have mine set is full release is almost the far end of the guided from the cylinder. That leaves plenty of wear allowance. Plus the breaks really shouldnt have that much travel, I think my pistons move maybe 1/2in between full release and full application.

PM Research will have the fittings you need. To me, it looks like all you need is a 1/8in NPT to 1/4in MTP reducer bushing and a 1/4in MTP close nipple

Lagging and jacket are done for now! Got a few spots to touch up on the jacket paint from reassembly but nothing major or in a very noticeable spot. Now I’m working on ganging the cylinder cocks together. Hopefully can get out and run some soon but with our weather being in the low 90s everyday, it’...