The Home Machinist!

I have an Enco set of telescoping gauges that cost around $60. They do not operate smoothly and I have never been able to get accurate repeatable readings. I finally gave up and purchased a couple of Dial bore gauges which work extremely well. The telescoping gauges never repeated any closer than .0...

Before I proceed I thought I would check in and make sure that my plan to machine the drive wheels makes sense to those of you who have done this before. I'm planning to start the machining in the 12" 4 jaw chuck with the back side of the wheel getting the first cuts. 1) The counterbalance stic...

Howdy again, I'm ready to start machining my main drive wheels for the Northern and like most everything I'm doing on this project it's for the first time. In Joseph Nelson's book he shows one sequence for accomplishing the task. On this board I think I remember reading where some folks have bored t...

In Oregon the lathe had to be moved from a driveway down around an outbuilding and into the daylight basement shop. Therefore, we rented a construction boom lift that would allow a "cross country" move. We used the same setup to stabilize the lathe that was used in Montana. IMG_1767.jpg Fo...

I promised a followup on the movement of the lathe from Montana to Oregon. A machinist in Montana helped me move the lathe from it's location in the garage to the rented trailer and helped strap it down so it wouldn't move even with a sudden stop. We moved the lathe out of the garage using Hillman r...

Here is a photo of my little Myford lathe. You will note that the leadscrew has a micrometer dial that allows me to measure my longitudinal movement. IMG_1937.jpg The following is a photo of my recent acquisition. IMG_1936.jpg How does one measure the longitudinal movement of the carriage with this ...

Whoops! There is major egg on the face. I should have said 2 degrees and 50'. I'm so sorry for the confusion.

HJ

On the plans the angle is given as 2' and 50". My wife the math teacher figured out the 2.833333333...... degree part.

Hello Everyone, I'm sure the answer to this question is self evident to all except me. I'm trying to figure out how to to set my topslide at the correct angle to cut the 2.8333 degree taper on a set of locomotive wheels. I'm positive that the degree markings on my topslide base are not exactly accur...

Harold,

The wheel is cast iron. I don't know whether it's grey or ductile. Would a 1/4" square HSS blank be about the right size if I ground it like yours in those really great photos or should I order a 5/16"?

Thanks,

HJ

I'm currently working on my first lead truck wheel. I have to bore the through hole for the axle to .6875". The length of the axle hole is 15/16". So far I have drilled it out to .5625. I want to finish by boring. I know I'm going to need to grind some sort of a tiny custom boring bar out ...

Here is a further parts breakdown. It is part #85 and I am stymied. Is this one of those situations that requires a special tool?