The Home Machinist!

Had been building several 3 cylinder engines of different size. Harold is right, of course, suggesting nothing different to the optimal 120 ° between cranks! A different approach is setting the cylinders in a 3 x 120° circle and let them work on just one crank. As an advantage you need just one exce...

Thanks for that link! The movie made for propaganda purpose in 1944 still is a document of heavy industries at that time. Class 52 had been reconstructed in 1942 during WW 2 on the base of more civil class 50 of the 30s. Both were light decapods of about 1.500 hp. Welded fireboxes and tenders were p...

Jack,
Looking perfectly as always!
Asteamhead

Beginning to tackle the pilot truck, figured I'd start with the centring device. I had a local company CNC the ramps to ensure accuracy and the gears were done by wire EDM. All went together with no troubles. I'm getting about 3/8" of horizontal travel and 1/8" of lift either side of the ...

Hello Dan,
looks as it should, great!
Adding the working pumps inside should be possible much easier due to scale of 1.6 ". There are more photos and rough drawings.
Asteamhead

Wish a happy new year to all of us!
Perhaps these photos maybe of some help?
Inside looks of working Nathan lubricators - not of gauge 1 1/2 " but smaller (1 in 10).
A lost wax castng was used as housing combined with 2 pumping elements of 3 mm bore / 4 mm stroke.
Asteamhead

Both great job and location!
Nothing compares to real prototype size ...
Congratulations!
Asteamhead

Hello Chris, Let me post some more photos taken just recently at your shop. Admire your strong working on this subject! It wasn't a picnic after some 10 years of working that engine covered it with a mix of oil and all sorts of dirt, wasn't it? Please don't forget about the tender as soon it's beein...

Hello Sandiapaul, Please be careful to use high grade silver solder with adaequate flux! This will mostly work at less important parts. But you must not try silver soldering for (hot) steam tubes, boilers (whole as at any parts of them), superheaters and such!! Look, soldering will work and look fin...

Dedicated to all steam fans of the fameous N&W RR: While the new J is well under way in the Duisburg shop of my friends, I took the chance to take some actual photos of their Y6b (1 in 10 scale). That beauty got an overhaul including a complete painting, perfectly done during the last months. Th...

Hello Cbrew,
Here are some more photos of the car itself with the scale on board.
The scale which is used here damps most of the peaks sufficiently. Maybe that's due to the very short travel of the leverage.

Best regards and good luck!
Asteamhead

Hallo Gerry, this maybe of some help to you? Several years ago I constructed a very simple solution using a flat car. It got a handbrake working on all wheels, combined with a simple but yet precise meter for the drawbar force (up to 150 pounds). A bycicle tacho was adapted and calibrated to model s...