The Home Machinist!

I rather doubt silicone will stand up to silver soldering temperatures.

There are iron filled sintered bronze bearings that take the pounding better. I used them on my 10 Wheeler. No noticeable wear after 4 years. It was available from McMaster Carr. I set the up with around .003" clearance.

Rob

Last I knew A & K injectors are available.

Rob

Another way to make a gauge is to make from two pieces of metal clamped together with a couple screws, machine a step in one piece and fasten a flat sided piece against it.

Rob

I often make my nipples from 303 stainless hex stock.

Soft copper I push in a plug with a shoulder that is the minor diameter of the threading die. Helps make it thread straighter and keeps the soft copper from colapasing.

Rob

If you do 50% mix of that hard coal with soft coal it will work just fine. That's what I burn in my locomotives. Gives less smoke and less flue build up.

Rob

I haul my locomotives on a 3/4" thick peace of plywood. I mounted rails and brackets that clamp down the front coupler pocket and rear draw bar pocket. I strap the plywood down to the floor of the van with ratchet straps. You could make up a plywood sheet a head of time and trim it if necessary to f...

If you plan ahead when mounting and piping the axle pump you can make it easier to remove and maintain by having the mounting bolts straight up from the bottom. The other thing is put in enough unions in the piping so they can be disconnected in acessable space. An other helpfully thing is to put an...

Measuring bore diameters accurately is what I consider to be one the biggest challenge for hobby machinist. Accurate bore gauges are very pricey. Sets of round gage pins are also costly. Afordable bore gages are not very accurate. Using telloscoping gages is probably the lowest cost method, but is v...

I also often buy stainless steel nipples, because they are stronger than bronze or brass. And I never connect brass nipples to boilers, always stainless steel or bronze.

Zinc will leach out of brass at the boiler making it porous and weakens with time.

I tap a jam nut and tap a piece if hex stock not to full depth put on the jam nut and hexpeice tighten the two together on one end of nipple and screw it to the place I want it to go. Then take simple back off the hex from the jam nut.

I have no issues with the super scale injector I piped with the 5/16"OD copper tubing.