Recent content by gmaf

Phillips head screws on a steam engine are just wrong.

I have a few of my Dad's tools but I think he might be impressed with the tools and the shop I have. I wish he were here to see it. Maybe it would be kind of a role reversal, with me telling him to put tools back where he found them! :)

I try not to buy Chinese products. I take pride in my work and my tools. You tend to take better care of a quality tool that you've spent good money on and I've NEVER regretted spending the extra bucks. I've always liked the older Starrett 120 series calipers. They are well made and easy to...

G, I would buy a Unimat lathe and learn all you can using it. You don't need more than a desk to set it on and you can turn ,mill and drill from the get go. They are inexpensive and give decent results. You can always "graduate" to larger machines if needed. GM

When I said "turn a tube" I meant to actually make the tube from bar stock. It's just so easy to do and you can make washers easily to fit 00-90 screws and smaller. Another advantage is that the thickness of the washers you make is not limited to the thickness of sheet stock you have. Using the...

Much easier and quicker to just turn a tube with the proper inside and outside diameter and slice them off with a thin cut off tool.

Steam powered pizza cutter at the Cabin Fever show.

Brass slot car gears worked for me. There are many different ratios of bevel gears available.

My dad.

Thanks,Tony Haven't run mine in water yet. I need to build a boat! It runs fine except for some vibration. Haven't figured out how to balance the flywheel yet. Does yours vibrate much? George

Michael, Since your cutting brass you can use a method I've been using for years. First of all hand grind two thirds off the underside of your 1/2 " tool bit. You won't need that much thickness if your cutting brass.Plus it makes it A LOT easier grinding your radius. Just remove an area right...

Tony, Thought you might like to see my version of the Polly Wog engine. Regards, George

I've been a model maker for over 36 years and have lots of experience drilling and milling acrylic. The dull drill bit crap is just that. Use a sharp drill or else your just melting a hole into the acrylic. When drilling acrylic you never want the bit to get hot, thats why I recommend using...

Use a sharp drill bit and use soapy water as a coolant and lubricant.

Weeze, Nice job! I have one small critique which is minor but it always bugs me. Phillips head screws were first used around 1940 (correct me if I'm wrong) and just never looked correct on a steam engine. I'd like to know what others think about this. Respectfully, GM