The Home Machinist!

I use a Master brand tongue lock. One that can't be beaten to death with a hammer. I also use a hitch pin lock that locks the tongue operating lever open. I have two chains I thread through the wheels and one or both springs on that side then locked. One on each side. I am totally aware that all of ...

Tom,

That one worked fine. Thank you for posting it for me.

Terry

Daris,

The link is not working for me. Thank you for looking up the info. Hopefully, I will be able to access it sometime.
Terry

Evidently not. He confided in me that he ended up homeless due to several circumstances seemingly beyond his control. One would think if there had been a family, they would have given some sort of assistance. As far as I know, he had only two sources of income: Social Security and book sales. So sad...

Bill, The reason these books are not being sold any longer is Doug published them himself. When he wrote the first volume, the publishing expense was way out of his reach, so he did it himself. As for volumes 2 & 3, they are very informative but highly technical for the most part. Doug went into gre...

Mr. Clemens, I just perused the books on the site linked to by Mr. Adams. Sorry to say, I did not find Doug's book on their list of books. If you have a specific question please ask as I worked with Doug proofreading his books for him. I have a copy of all his Civil Engineering for Riding Railroad b...

It has been my experience when a start cap dies, the motor will not turn but will hum. If you spin the motor, it will run until you shut it off as if nothing was wrong. Being as your motor is dead silent, and the wiring has been reworked, I would not venture any guess as to what the problem is witho...

Steve,

There is a great video on YouTube. You can look it up as I don't have the link for it. I was impressed as I didn't know HF sold anything like that. If my driveway was level, I think I would get one just for regular maintenance on vehicles.

Glenn, To answer your question, it depends on what you're planning to do when laying the rails. I recommend 12 lb. rail. I have an 18" gauge train and can use 8, 10, and/or 12 lb. rail and have it look in proportion. 20 lb, is going to look BIG. If you're planning on re-gauging your 12", then use th...

Steve,

Heat and rare earth magnets are NOT a good combination. Tack well away from the magnets and move them if needed.

Good Luck,

I agree with cbrew. If the damage is NOT affecting the operation, run it as it is. The only one who will know is you. If it IS affecting the operation, then I would machine the flange off as in cbrew's diagram and run it blind. Many locomotives had blind drivers for shorter radius curves. Good Luck,...

Steve, The quickest way to determine if it is the valve is leaking or not is to do what liveabroad did, put a good ball valve in the line to isolate the operating valve. If the bucket still bleeds down, you know it's the cylinders. Cranes use the same type of cylinders for boom lift and extension. B...