The Home Machinist!

At the WF&P I have used WD-40 to clean our locomotives over the years. Some use a form of hand cleaner (non-gritty), I cannot remember the brand, but that is a practice taken from the ATT&NW, as we have members that cross between organizations. I like the WD40 for the stainless steel jacket on #534,...

Last time I was at TM I had one of the “loading helpers” telling me how I needed to load my train. I told him that was unsafe and would not do so. I reminded him this was my train, my truck, and my safety at stake. I never got mad. He told me load it his way or it “ain’t gonna happen”. I reminded h...

Hi Garrett, I think that this rocker has been a problem for many. I am not sure how I will address mine yet. I would like to pin it, but the shaft is so small that it may break also, due to the thin wall (another remedy that does fail from time to time). Looking forward to hearing potential fixes. M...

Good stuff! I want to build one someday... Waiting on some disposable funds to afford the castings. Meanwhile, I think I will start on the fabricated components. I already have the book

Interesting. They list the archbar trucks as being 6061 aluminum, but that is a wrought alloy designation... I am curious as to what alloy it is. Since it is still on the gating, I would suspect that they have not been heat treated - but it is possible that they put the full casting in the heat trea...

Bill Shields wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 16, 2020 11:29 am

kind of like the picture I provided?

I am no familiar with the LE 1" models at all

Yep. Sorry, didn't look close enough. Good example!

Given the content of this thread, I just reflected upon my memory of the construction method for the LE springs (at least, in 1" Scale for the pacific/0-6-0 variants)... There is a single leaf spring that gets this sort of block/pivot point silver soldered to it. But when assembled in the stack, the...

Glenn Brooks wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 14, 2020 2:50 pm

Last step will be to install in the fire box, hook up the new throttle intake plumbing and run tests to confirm optimum oriface diameter.

You're putting this in the firebox? Odd....

Gating and Risering should be left to the foundry's discretion. I have experienced core prints with a more severe draft angle. Say 10 degrees. This allows for more play when setting cores. The tighter the draft angle, the more accurate you must be in setting the cores. But if you go with a more gene...

Hi Mike, I should be in good shape on the core prints. They are 2" in height with a 1.5 deg taper down to the valve face and ample on the cylinder bore side Sure, but your cores will expand and contract. So if you are targeting a dimension with your 2" height, I would expect that dimension to be of...

Also something to take into consideration - the cores will expand and contract when they come in contact by the molten metal. You will need a core print, and that is another factor to take into consideration. You will experience the expansion/contraction and need some "give" for the core so it can m...

I would be interested in dome castings if you can split it up. .Sent you a PM