The Home Machinist!

I'd like to add a bit and I know this is going to be argued but that's not what I am trying to do. Loctite does have its advantages and applications, but, If the truck unit is already out from underneath the locomotive, I would flip the truck over, take the wheelset out, true up the hole in the whee...

Hi Colby, First off, decide on a locomotive that you WANT to build. Your first locomotive is going to be a long term commitment. Building what you want will go a long way towards keeping the desire to finish it strong. You don't really need anything except the desire to learn. Some basic ideas on ho...

Most larger (real size) locomotives have the safety valves threaded directly into the boiler barrel. They often have a shield around them but not always. As far as priming is concerned, it really dosen't hurt anything if a lot of water comes out of the safety valve. If the water is that high in the ...

And this is why I always showed up 2 hours before my assigned call time. I would get out the kerosene and some waste and proceed to wipe down and poilish the entire locomotive before taking her out on the run for the day. She always ran good for me. Treat them nice and they will treat you nice. BTW,...

Firebox stays should always be perpendicular to the firebox sheet. "Radial" stays come into play with fireboxes with rounded sheets (crown sheet, upper side knuckles, curved sides of keyhole boxes) The tubes (fire and stay) do the work of "staying" front to back (longitudinally).

Multiple layers of fiberglass fabric (woven or non woven) sandwiched betweem 2 sheets of heavy duty aluminu foil, stapled together at the edges. The fiberglass acts at the insulation, the aluminum acts as a reflector and makes forming the blanket around the boiler easier. The staples keep the blanke...

52" long flues?? They should be more like 32" long to work effeciently. Those big articulateds had long combustion chambers and enormous smoke boxes to keep flue lengths to the optimal 21 foot length. Keeping the heat in the firebox as long as possible is desired. Tubes only provide a litt...

Chris, Are you sure you need more draft and not less? What is the color of your flame? If it's nice and blue, without yellow, you may be sucking the heat up to the smoke box too fast. You really want that firebox heat to remain in the box and tubes as long as you can. Also, check for leaks around th...

A few things that haven't been mentioned. Dirty solder can make soldering tough. Lead oxide will prevent solder from flowing. A torch played directly on the joint area introduces carbon to the solder and base metals which will in turn build up oxides. The proper flux prevents these oxide deposits. B...

A great contributer to the live steam hobby and to the art of the tomato pie. He will be missed and his shoes will be tough to fill.

On the real think, when the bell is vertical, the port is just starting to open. This gets the bell moving upward, typically slowish. Once the bell reaches a little speed the air is shut off, the bell continues a bit more, and then the bell swings downward, quickly, overcoming the slight bit of stea...

. I think if one has the drive, you can learn anything you want. It'll just come easier to some than to others. This is it in a nutshell. One needs to have the desire to learn and understand that it takes time to not only learn, but to make an build just about anything that is complicated with many ...