The Home Machinist!

I'd be careful about relying solely upon a coupler to hold the engine. I used to do that and had a little hauling incident years ago during which the coupler broke right at the neck between the head of the coupler and the shank. I'd also avoid bungee cords. Ratchet straps would be more positive. I m...

Well your 4-6-2 is close to the 10-wheeler I'm working on. It's an Allen. The plans show .020 clearance total between the backs of the drivers and the journal boxes. (Someone might want to check me on this.) It doesn't seem to me that you'd want too much clearance there. If you are concerned about t...

Here is a place that sells Half Round Brass, but you would have to look thru the sizes they offer. And, of course, their price may be too much; https://www.riogrande.com/product/Jewelers-Brass-Half-Round-Wire-1-Lb-Spool-24-Ga-Dead-Soft/130449 I got some of that jeweler's brass off Ebay and it wasn'...

On the subject of finishing: Some of us like to build and finishing is of little consideration. I was a little sad when I finished the frame and running gear for my 10-wheeler. I had so much fun working on it and then it was over. I love making little parts from brass and, frankly, don't care if I e...

There have been threads on this here. Do a search and you'll come up with many suggestions.

Regardless of what you decide, you will not regret joining this hobby. These are a fine bunch of people; very sharing and generous. Here in America, at least, there are no competitions, so folks are eager to share their tricks and techniques. (Decades ago I was in another hobby and as soon as it sta...

i thread short pipe by starting with solid round and drilling a hole through the center. Close nipples are handled by: 1> thread one end of solid rod 2> cut to length 3> drill a 3/32 hole through 4> broach with a 1/8" hex broach (made from a 1/8" hex wrench 5 >hold 1/8" hex wrench in...

Welcome to the forum. You’ll get conflicting advice but the most important and consistent bit is to start slowly by visiting a number of clubs and looking at a number of locomotives and talking to many builders. Here are a couple of personal anecdotes: I love narrow gauge and wanted to build one of ...

Hey there boys and girls, if you think a wheel turning lathe for steam engine drivers is a big machine, put six bucks in an envelope and send it to Engineers & Engines magazine for the Feb/March ‘19 issue* and take a gander at what was used to make the triple expansion engines for WWII liberty s...

The only thing I am very regular about is the post-lunch nap. YES! It's part of my religion. As to slow progress, it's a hobby and thus comes last in the long list of priorities: family (including seven grandchildren on the other side of town), home repair, travel, home repair, other hobbies, home ...

Pipescs wrote: ↑Thu Mar 28, 2019 7:53 am ...
I am retiring in December and hoping to make this my full time job.

HA HA HA. Just you wait. Any of my fellow retired brethren care to enlighten this gentleman about the realities of retirement?

I use DOC machining. Dumb Operator Control. I can mangle metal and ruin tooling on any machine that ever existed. Monty Python could make a great documentary in my shop.