The Home Machinist!

If you purchase Pittsburgh PRO tools, the steel is very comparable to high quality supplier's tools. If you are buying for a single use or very limited uses, most of their stuff will work. For some of us who demand more of our tools, we need to evaluate the price vs. quality factors keeping safety f...

Go to the Grand Scale section and visit this link (if this works) http://www.chaski.org/homemachinist/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=107339&p=398865&hilit=crane#p398865 A little larger than you want but he found the plans somewhere and might be willing to share with you. This one is MASSIVE and TOTALLY AWESOM...

Kimball, You are correct. That and one other Pacific were built by George Reddington in L.A. The first was called the Oakland Acorn and the other the Melody Ranch Special. The Acorn train was scrapped after many years of use. The Special was donated to Griffith park. The Acorn boiler needed to be re...

Kimball, You may want to try a phone order or at least talk to them. Schrader has sold the business and his railroad if I remember correctly. I always loved getting his catalog and seeing all the great things they sold, but you couldn't find them anywhere else. You'll want to make sure you can still...

Does anyone know anything about the riding cars Doc Fixit used behind his train? I have the exact same cars, with the exact same trucks, and the exact same capacity. I see the same trucks under Doc's tender. I have had a hard time finding info on the train I own and have found traces here and there ...

This hobby is supposed to be fun! rkcarguy, do what makes YOU happy! If you like new and shiny, so be it. If you like the weather beat up look, so be it. They are your trains and you are wasting time worrying about how others see YOUR trains. I say WASTING because you will NEVER make them all happy....

The side frames are approximately 24" long with an approximate 18 1/2" center to center axle distance. The wheels are 8" tall overall with a 7" tread. Gauge is 18" but can be built at 15" to 18". Double tapered roller bearings on the axle ends makes for extremely low rolling resistance. Sprung and e...

If there was a way to grease things without getting grease all over the hands, that would be an advance in grease gun technology Livabroad, There is a way to keep your hands clean while greasing. NO, it's not wearing gloves. Find someone else to grease for you. Think Tom Sawyer whitewashing the fen...

Steve, Axes come with different length handles for different height users. This means, you get one that feels good to you. A single cutting edge axe is called a "single bit", a double edged axe is called a "double bit". I prefer a single bit axe. It seems easier to control. You also have a flat back...

Dianne, This is a link to ratcheting tubing wrenches. They are an open end, ratchet wrench. https://www.ebay.com/itm/8mm-to-19mm-Tubing-Ratchet-Spanner-Combination-Wrench-Set-of-Key-Ratchet/173361742604?hash=item285d2a430c:m:mPHzRqqC4wZQXKEMy7HRTmA I hope the link works. I don't know what size you n...

John, You are 100% correct. If a person was to engineer a super elevation for a specific curve (train loaded with passengers), he would have a lot to consider. The end result would be a perfect ride for the passengers under the exact design conditions. Under any other condition, the riders would not...

When in doubt, seek professional assistance. Doug VanVeelen was a Civil Engineer and authored books on building railroads, particularly hobby sized. A professional's perspective was mentioned above as the super elevation amount requires careful calculation based on Speed, radius, and weight of loads...