The Home Machinist!

The bottom in place with the angle iron edge frame. I made a tactical error: the bolts through the steel frame for the couplers are right under the vertical ends. Thus there is no way to replace a coupler without pulling off the bottom of the car and removing the entire steel frame. If I’d set this ...

Needing another riding car for the Triennial, I pulled out the article in the Nov/Dec 2001 Live Steam about the center bench cars used at the British Columbia Society of Model Engineers. These all-wood, drop-center cars looked to be well designed and easy to make. Putting the bottom line first, if t...

Be sure you get it in writing from an underwriter (not an agent) that you are covered.

... It'll be a bit hard but not impossible to measure the an pump at its top because it'll be too high on the running board, a museum won't allow anyone to get on it and i won't want 2 get on it either. Need to go over the fence and sneak a ladder in at night? NOoooo. Same applies to an turbo gener...

I vote for Dan's idea — cutting apart square tube. I've done something similar and it's rather painless. I also made some sharp bends by putting an angle block in the hydraulic press and forcing the metal into that with a wedge-shaped die. But if the square tube thing will give you what you want, th...

... What would you seal the pipe thread with? It's just a spiral, so it would leak. Steve I'd probably look at Key graphite paste. It's supposed to be good to 750°F. I've used it for other threads in other places and it works great. You can get it from McMaster, and one can is a lifetime supply.

Well not trains, but years ago the Model A Ford restorers were having a debate about the green used on the car's engines. Some insisted it was light green, others insisted it was a kelly green. And various factions conjured up original engine parts to support their position. In the end, it was deter...

Ah yes, caboose interior green is much like school bus puke green, while cab green is more like stoplight green or shamrock green. I wonder what it all would have looked like if they'd hired an interior designer?

I've also wondered about the specific shade of green. What I've seen most is a strong Irish green. I remember the insides of the school busses I rode in as a kid were painted a light puke green, which seems like what should have been used.

In those places where close is good enough, there are what's known as "radio nuts," or small pattern nuts, that are good enough when in the shadows and covered with black paint. They are cheap and I use them frequently. Here's a link: https://www.mcmaster.com/#hex-nuts/=1d3ys19 I haven't t...

What's interesting in every thread on this subject is that there is much discussion about boiler materials and construction but nothing about the reason for most failures: people. Clubs may be rigorous about boiler inspections but how many have any sort of qualifications for the person operating the...

Everything gets wiped down at the end of a work session. I just don't like coming out to a messy shop the next day. There is dust that blows in from the field behind my shop, so I cover my machines with canvas when not in use.