The Home Machinist!

Looks fantastic my friend!!!!

Thanks for the replies. And thank you Jessie for the compliments.
Jack

Hi Jack,

Any new progress on the Hudson?

Brook

Hello My Friends
The Hudson is coming along and has been going back together as painting progresses. I'll have some photos soon.
Jack

Hello My Friends
Here are a few little teasers for you to look at. Things are being painted and assembled at this time. In the top photo here we have the crosshead. It has a new case hardened crank pin with the correct hair pin clips. A cotter pin just isn't correct in this application as the crank pin has an oil passage down the center and a cotter would partially block it. The big nut that holds the pin in place has a 1/2" 40 thread and the smaller nut is 3/8" 40. After the main casting is painted the rest is assembled and the small bolts that hold the slippers in place are clear coated so they won't rust. Then we have the freshly painted boiler and smokebox front. And then the bottom photo, the chassis.
See you in the funny pages…
Jack

Looks awesome! What kind of paint do you use on the smokebox?
Tim
PS did you get my PM about the butterfly doors?

Hello My Friends
Here are a couple more.
Happy Model Building
Jack

Hello Jack,

that looks awesome, thanks for sharing !!!

Power further so, amazing work.


Kind Regards
Christian

Jack,

Talk about 'awe inspiring' ...........
I have enjoyed watching this process from start to finish.

Hello My Friends
Thank you very much for the compliments Westie and Chris. There will be more soon, including some tips concerning painting and finishing.
See you in the funny pages…
Jack

Jack,

Great work as always.

What sort of clear coat material are you using for all of the custom castle nuts?

I have been tasked with the construction of a Bruno Platzer 2.5 scale Butterfly fire door casting set. Will need to make a pair of custom castle nuts for that and thought the clear coat on the nuts might be some nice eye candy instead of more black paint.

Will we be getting a good look at the Loco Valve Pilot cam box and related hardware?

Robert

Hello My Friends
For clear coating steel Krylon Krystal clear was used in this instance, mainly because that's what was on hand. Clear lacquer seems to be a bit brittle and doesn't seem to stick as well.
Here is a little on paint prep. A product called OSPHO was used. It comes in gallon jugs and is for prepping metal. That's the green stuff in the margarine container. If the parts are very oily or greasy use a de greaser first. OSPHO will remove small amounts of oil, but it is mainly to remove oxides and light rust. Scrub the parts with it and a fresh piece of Scotch Brite. Use a tooth brush or bottle brush to clean around rivets and small details. Here one of the brackets that hold down the skyline casing is being scrubbed around with a tooth brush. After everything has been well scrubbed rinse with water and dry with a clean towel. I have a bunch of old white bar towels that started out as kitchen towels. Once they get stained they go out to the shop. They get washed in the washing machine when needed. Use only clean towels for drying paint projects. These towels are not used as normal shop towels that might get greasy. I have red ones for that. After the are dried with a towel blow the parts off with compressed air and leave them in the sun for a while. Just before painting wipe them down with a tack cloth to remove dust and lint from the other towels. Then shoot em with your favorite primer. I like self etch primer in rattle cans . I used to use spray guns for painting but that isn't really needed anymore as there are some very good paints available in spray cans nowadays.
Next time some more tips on painting. Always remember, bad finish work can diminish a good model and good finish work can improve a poor one.
Have a great day.
Jack