The Home Machinist!

Long ago, many of the precision tool providers supplied many of their tools in elegant fabric lined boxes that would last for decades. Today many boxes are a crude plywood with some foam that is just enough to provide a shipping container from factory to the end purchaser. Plan is to make up a custo...

At one time I was looking into a set of the Commonwealth tender truck castings and related leaf spring sets from Klamath. The father had recently passed and the son was way to anxious to get my money even though all the castings were not in stock. This caused me to elect to not send money for parts ...

Some arch bar trucks were constructed with the top bar in a U shape or short leg channel. Same overall width as the other bars, but featured both sides on the top with ridges about 5/8 wide and 3/8 tall. Scaled down this is not much in 1.5 scale, but can add some interesting detail to a truck seldom...

Appears to be one of the old Mercer headlight kits assembled with the handle in the upside down position. Usually the handle was installed in the down position on most headlights I have seen.

Nice to see the rare detail of the house valves so seldom modeled in such detail. Nice little elbow on the top will finish up the appearance when that time arrives. The SP seemed to apply the house valves in many different methods and this design was one of the more elegant. Here is a rare close vie...

Long ago I used a Superscale stainless steel coupler pocket designed for the parts Barry was offering for the heavy USRA Mikado project. It was a bit on the modern side for my 1923 Mogul design, so I removed the more modern top and side support webs. A bit of milling and grinding soon had the pocket...

One could always find the correct diameter metric round stock and change the thread from the more difficult to cut 6-32 to a 6-40 thread. The dies are easy to find and make your own nuts from some hex stock tapping them with a 6-40 tap. The 6-40 threads are easy to cut compared to the 6-32 variety. ...

Several years ago I was tasked with machine work on a new old stock Baldwin blast nozzle casting. Had been in storage in the steam warehouse from well before the end of steam in 1955. The nozzle casting kept the exhaust steam bores separate all the way up to the nozzle where it looked like a double ...

Another fine job working copper to give proper detail to the firebox and backhead. Nothing like having a locomotive with such details, which are so often lacking. The extra effort is always worth the end result. Bigger question is did you fit the copper sheets to the boiler before the boiler was att...

Recently I was tasked with a complete set of new rod bushings for a full size steam locomotive. Lots of heavy 660 bronze tubes and a Bullard 42 inch diameter chuck on the vertical turret lathe. Made about 1954, the monster machine tool has not seen that much use, but is showing some age after almost...

Is that some hex stock being used to form the mud ring and give plenty of Vee groove for a suitable weld?

Much easier to do a complete inspection of the dry pipe this way.