The Home Machinist!

Anytime I have used a chemical etching solution on anything with holes/rivets/screws, a little of it always seems to remain and then the paint peels around those features. It's ever so slightly, even if you do a really good job cleaning up after it's been etched. The only success I've had is doing t...

There was a guy in Delaware with a railroad (http://www.islandpondrailroad.com/) that described some experiments he had done with this. I think he had a working engine. A quick search of his website didn't show it, but it might be buried in one of his links. You could reach out to him. Island pond ...

I've been through a bunch of technical drawings for various small diesel engines. Placed in a widebody style locomotive and having the frame more or less designed around the engine, it seems like the Kubota's could fit but it would be tight. For my 12" RR, I ended up using a gas powered GX390 with a...

Good find on the local shop. Outsourcing stuff to China is a **** show. I've had a fair amount of REWORK as a result and so has my uncle who works in the plastics and mold industry. They cheat and cut corners in unimaginable ways to get a few more cents profit on each part, with no remorse for the p...

There is 1 HSS tap set at horrible freight that is a good set... This photo isn't real clear, but they all look to be plug hand taps, which are not suitable for power-tapping. Caveat emptor! You only get what you pay for. The set I got contained 2-flute spiral tip taps up to 1/4", then the bigger o...

I'm going to go against the "grain" a bit here. There is 1 HSS tap set at horrible freight that is a good set. I think it goes from #4-40 up to 1/2" and metric to 12mm, and even has a few pipe taps and some dies in it for around $40. The larger taps are 3 and four flute, and I wouldn't power tap wit...

Glenn, you could use sprockets and chain and only one right angle gearbox per truck to keep things simpler and still have all wheels driven.
Surplus center has all that stuff it's fairly inexpensive.

These are 2.5" X-1 trucks, SBC valve springs if I remember correctly.

Small Block Chev valve springs work good for larger scales like 2.5" and 3", lots of different rates, and they are sometimes progressive so they will ride nice when your car is empty but stiffen up when loaded down.

Glenn, the "Athearn" HO scale trains come with a setup like that, they use a single electric motor mounted in the center with drive shafts extending out to worm gear boxes on each truck. Yes it's complicated but would let you put a big electric motor in the middle where there is a lot more room inst...

Glenn Brooks wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 28, 2020 11:22 pm

2400 rpm on the plate...

280 rpm at the axle with a 7" tire size is about 5.9mph. You're going to need about a 10:1 reduction between your motor and drive axles.

Glenn, I'm late to the party on this one, but my racing go kart has hubs that allow the rear track width to be set by sliding them in and out on the axle. They utilize a pinch bolt and 2-3 set screws on top of the key. I have never had one move except the one time I got put into the wall at ~50mph a...