The Home Machinist!

I have a 1943 9" SB with the same spindle thread. You have to get a backing plate like the others have suggested and finish machine it to accept the new chuck. I prefer the way ccvstmr does it. You'll thread it on, face it, and then turn the step to tightly fit the new chuck. Then transfer punc...

If you want the ultimate in flexibility, press a spherical bearing into "C". Then drill a horizontal hole through the centers of "A" and install a bolt and a pair of ball bearings (or bushings) on each one. The idea here is that the trucks can pivot up and down independent of the...

There is a lot of different configurations manufactured by Lifan. Look for numbers on the engine, maybe on the top of the block under the fuel tank. Should be LF###-#XX or something along those lines.

SS will eventually rust. If a 300 series is selected (it normally is) it won't rust if it is passivated before being placed in service. That should happen after ALL work is done in fitting the jacket. Rusting of austenitic stainless is caused by free iron on the surface. Passivation removes the iro...

If you have power feed on your cross slide, and it looks like you have a good sized lathe, I wouldn't be afraid of the interrupted cut if running carbide. The only caveat is that with carbide you need a decent chip load to get a nice finish, and that will usually cause some vibration chatter around ...

I've done a lot of signal research and built some 3-color heads myself with a relay system to control them. As I'm modeling an area of SP that used semaphores, I considered building some. Ultimately I decided against them because my area is wet and cold and I was seeing endless potential problems wi...

That won't help with the mechanical clatter those engines make. You can minimize it by doing the following: -Set cold valve lash at zero. -A long, large diameter tube exhaust system with a packing filled muffler and several turns will deepen the exhaust tone and take ALOT of noise out of the equati...

If you go with the gas 5.5HP engine, you can perform custom work on the exhaust/muffler to get rid of 95% of the "lawn mower" noise.

Curtis, your progress looks good, keep going! I think the oak will serve you well. I would recommend a "polymerizing" product, then paint over it with an oil based paint. I recently acquired an extra tall steel bucket with a lid that a bunch of bolts came in, which will allow me to totally...

I like the simplicity of the ball bearings, and they can tolerate adequate thrust for this application. I would press them on the axles and let them float inside the axle boxes. If you're picky like me and wouldn't like the rattle, groove the axle box bore for an O-ring so it will grip the outer bea...

I'm with Steve (above). Also, companies like plastic mart offer a huge selection of sizes and shapes of various tanks for boats and RV's, so fitting a nice polymer tank into a steel shell is also an option.

I will +2 Glenn's response(but add a caveat), get as much welder as you can afford and have enough amps to power. Not sure what kind of welder the OP is talking about here. Personally I think a larger TIG machine can be the do-all for this hobby. AFTER you take a CC class on welding, hunt down a lar...