The Home Machinist!

Hi, A couple of things come to mind. Of course, it doesn't mean it couldn't be something completely different. I expect that your problem is related to steam generation & a test with air will give a normal result. First, check & see that there isn't any restriction in the two gauge glass con...

The "outboard motor" is a shaping or slotting head that is usually used for cutting keyways. To use it, you simply swing the overarm/column top combination 180 degrees to bring the outboard motor to the front. The slotting head can be a bonus depending on what you want to do. The machine i...

One thing I haven't seen mentioned here yet when it comes to bearings. A number of years back Don corresponded with Charlie Purinton for a while and in the letters Charlie recommended using case hardened steel axles and crank pins running in cast iron axle boxes and bushings. He said that in his exp...

Just one caution before you all go rushing off into the sunset. Most of the time, the glass tubing that you will have will be Pyrex or another borosilicate glass with a coeficient of expansion about 35 or 40 times 10 to the minus seventh per degree C. Window glass, on the other hand is a "soda ...

Bill, I'm guessing that what you have may be heat treated and tempered to some degree and that affects the way it breaks. Just for the fun of it, try heating a section of tube up until its close to a red heat, or even just red in a dim light and then let it cool VERY slowly until its about half way ...

Haven't done this myself yet, but I will if I need to. Thanks to Harold for the idea. If you take Harold's stub arbor concept with the 3/4" shank and make the non shank end plain, thin and part of the arbor (no nut or plate) then put the saw holding nut on the 3/4" arbor end, you will wind...

Hi, Ordinarily, a small score in one spot is quite sufficient and would be all that's necessary for any kind of gauge glass we would be likely to use. Things get a little more interesting if you are trying to "cut" large diameter relatively thin wall glass tube, which we've also done at Co...

Hi, I spent 30 years working for a glass company (Corning Canada). If you want to cut glass rod or tube, the easy way is to use a 3 cornered file to "notch" it where you want the cut, wet the "notch" (saliva does very nicely) and then just apply a bending force with the "not...

Hi, In attempting to solve ypur problem, I guess the key question is "what are you using to heat the shop?" As has been said above, that is the most likely source of the humidity that is causing the condensation. Does the mill start to sweat right away, or does it take a while before it st...

HI, Been down that road; didn't really like the results. A long time ago I had my shop in a back woodshed at my parents home & I'd use a space heater to warm the place up on weekends when I wanted to use it. By the time I was ready to quit about 6 hours later, the machines still weren't complete...

Hi, For what it's worth, I started using the clear silicone bathtub seal for smokebox applications about 5 years ago & so far its worked just fine for me. Its soft, flexible, stands up to smokebox temperatures and if you want to remove it, just use a knife. I've used it in two 3 1/2" gauge ...

Steve, Cutting threads, both internal and external is much easier if you "cheat" a bit & cut a groove for the threading tool to run out into. That way you don't have to be exact in backing out the tool at the end of the cut. Neither I nor my nerves are good enough to use the "back...