The Home Machinist!

Hello My Friends
Somebody up there likes me. I have been most fortunate in having the opportunity to finish and detail some of my favorite steam locos. A Pennsy K4s, two Nickel Plate Berkshires and now a New York Central J1e. The J1e is my most favorite J. Perhaps from drooling on the J1 in an old Lionel catalogue as a young lad. So here are a few snappies of progress so far. The chassis and boiler came finished which allowed proceeding directly to the fun detail bits that I find so enjoyable. Here is a shot of the backhead wrapper and fire door casting. The fire door is 2-1/2" scale as this one will be a coal burner and a scale 1-1/2" door would be a bit small. This door is just big enough to get your hand in, which can come in handy. That beautiful diamond tread cab floor is from Real Trains.

Here is another showing a close up of the turret festooned with Superscale union angle valves. Very cool!

Last one for now, you can see the mud ring rivets poking out from under the wrapper. Also one of Barry's Superscale blowdown valves. These valves are just too much! They actually have all the correct microscopic lettering on them that the prototype does. I don't know how he does it!!!
See you in the funny pages..
Jack

Very nice, Jack!

Andy Pullen

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Clausing 10x24, Sheldon 12" shaper, ProtoTrak AGE-2 control cnc on a BP clone, Reed Prentice 14" x 30"

awsome work mr bodenmann, can't wait to see more pics of when she is finished. keep up the good work.

Dan

Jack, EVERYONE likes you
Fred

Glad to see another example of your curved steam turret. Somewhere in the Chaski archives is a tutorial on how you did it.

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Allen Models Chloe, MEG Steam "Wendy", 3/4" scale "Anny"
Darjeeling B-Class project - sonadaworks.com
Photography and more - www.mikemassee.com

Jack
Very nice, the mud ring detail is great, who's Butterfly door casting are those?
Tim

Hello My Friends
I love you guys! Ha ha, too much fun. The fire door castings are from Karl Ulrich. The foundry he was using was the last one in his area and they said they weren't going to do any more small fussy stuff. Guess they only want to do sewer caps by the ton. He sold me what he says is the last casting set for the door so I don't know if there will be any more available. I hate it when that happens! If something is available today you better buy it today, because it may not be available tomorrow. Just like T section brass. I called to order some 1/4" T brass from the supplier I have been buying it from for years, (ASAP metal) and guess what, it's not available any more. Man, I hate it when that happens, didn't I just say that a minute ago. Oh well...if any of you know where you can still get 1/4" T section brass let me know. There will be more photos of John's Hudson as it comes together.
See you in the funny pages..
Jack

Hey Jack
Thanks for the info. on the door castings, check with Coles on the brass tee.
Its on page 36 in catalog #26

Good luck Tim

Jack,

Who is Karl Ulrich? The reason I ask is that I know of a foundry that may be interested in some of those smaller detailed iron castings. If he has match plate patterns (rather than odd side), we should get them together....

Bill C.

Just to throw this out to everyone: Sunset Foundry in Valley Springs, CA. has done iron castings from loose patterns for guys like us. Ken Schroeder was using them for his Shay castings. I don't know their current status, but they did great work for me.

Sunset Foundry
3474 Toyon Cir # 255
Valley Springs, CA 95252-8503
(209) 754-0601

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Greg Lewis
Eyeball Engineering — Home of non-interchangeable parts
Our motto: That looks about right.
Turning perfectly good metal into bits of useless scrap since 1983.