The Home Machinist!

When it comes to piping, you have two common options for piping: Copper and Brass. (Yes you can also use steel pipe, bronze pipe, stainless tubing, etc. but these options are generally more expensive and often not needed for use on a steam engine. That is a separate topic for conversation.) For Copp...

Pipe threads for miniature trains have 2 common sizes, NPT (National Standard Pipe Taper Thread) and MPT (Model Pipe Taper). NPT is an industrial standard and includes sizes from 1/16" - 24". For miniature trains, the common sizes are 1/8", 1/4", 3/8" and 1/2", slightly...

Bill Shields wrote: ↑Wed Dec 06, 2023 8:02 pm And a gallon of water is 4#

A gallon of water is 4 lbs? Curious what that planet that would be on. On Earth, a gallon of water weights 8.34 lbs.

There are different types of compression fittings. A sleeve style, commonly found at hardware stores. They are relatively cheap but not reliable. Would only recommend to use in emergencies. McMaster Carr also sells this style which is more reliable at a higher cost. There is also a compression style...

I stand corrected, spring pins are used for applications like shafts (see the link below). There are multiple styles that are probably better suited for shafts and torsion applications. I was only thinking about the slotted spring type (which I still wouldn't recommend, there are far better choices ...

Newb question, but what about a roll pin to secure wheels or sprockets? No. Roll pins are basically springs. With the constant varying torque the pin will change shape and eventually fall out. I would choose welding on the wheel over using a roll pin as a last resort. A solid pin (a taper pin or do...

We have used up to 6" stainless braided flex hose to tie in mobile rental boilers to existing systems, up to about 100psi. The hoses typically come rated for 150psi. While rare (especially the smaller the line is) if the outside braid is compromised, the corregated hose inside will herniate ou...

If the tires are made thicker, the extra thickness is added to the outside of the driver so that in tight corners, the outside wheel will not fall into the rails. Adding material to the inside of the wheel will not help. This makes the back to back dimensions the same, regardless if the wheel has fl...

Reference the picture below. For mounting the turret cover, you can add angle brackets to the front of the cover that are welded to the boiler jacket (blue lines). Tabs would then weld to the turret cover (red lines) so when slide back on the jacket, they lock into place to prevent up/down and sidew...

For that pump, I wouldn't recommend a scale check valve as it will severely limit the flow and place excess back pressure on the pump. Look to get something 1/8" NPT or 1/4" NPT size. McMaster Carr has options for those sizes. You can hide the oversized check valve under a running board. H...

3> recycle loop with manual valve on pump discharge back to tender to control feed rate above and beyond an on/off switch. Don't do this. You are not running the pump constantly. Best practice it to wire it to a normally open push button that you need to hold to add water into the boiler. That way,...

Echo what others have said, there is some foreign material preventing the valve from seating again. When taking apart, you can setup your cell phone to video the disassembly to aid in putting it back together. After reassembly, when testing under steam, install a ball valve between the boiler and th...