Recent content by LSAGuy

When I was buying my tools 47 years ago I asked the guy who calibrated our stuff. He said, that from his experience, if I wanted to replace them every 10 to 15 years, B & S or Starrett are just fine, but if you wanted micrometers for a lifetime buy Etalon Alina. He said that the important...

Yamaha builds one. Here's a video; Do yourself a favor and turn off the crappy music for the first minute and a half or so.

If you're reaming for size, slow speed and high feed reams a smaller hole. Higher speed and low feed makes the hole larger. What do you do if you don't have the right size reamer for the hole you need. Take a whet stone and put a small radius on the edge of the drill. If you have jewelers...

Coming up through the shops I used shapers and planers a lot. Put a piece of steel in it, set the depth of cut and the rate of advance, start it up and go do something else while it takes care of itself. Take the cutting tool off put in a grinder and resurface the pads used in a hydroformer...

You might want to contact this company in New Zealand: http://thevintageaviator.co.nz/ They don't do models, they do the actual aircraft. Their scratch built D5 Albatross is incredible as are their Fokker DVIII and DVII. PBS was so impressed they did a Nova episode entitled First Air War. You...

Cogsy mentioned Loctite as a possible solution, essentially gluing your bearing in place. I've used their press fit assist, thread lockers of all types and porosity fixers to good effect on a variety of projects over the years. You might want to try to find one that suits your project. I've...

If you use a two part urethane paint be sure to have a good personal air supply. No mask will filter the isocyanates in the paint. More than one auto or airplane painter has died from cyanide poisoning.

When I set up my shop I knew I was going to be cutting a lot of stainless so HS tools were out. I didn't want to get caught needing a bunch of different kinds of carbide inserts so I looked at what insert would serve for lathe and mill and settled on TPG type. I have one small boring bar that...

Just for the record guys, air cooled aircraft engine cylinders are slightly choked at the top to compensate for the difference in expansion between the cylinder base and the head. Not tapered exactly but not straight either. Rick

I've had the same experience with LED's. Amazingly bright, especially when compared side by side with fluorescents. Costco has two LED bulbs for $14.99 so every time I go I pick up a couple of boxes (I have 10 hanging lights in the work section of my hangar). Really made my paint booth brighter...

I've been studying the Wright Brothers development of the airplane and become intrigued by the engine they used to power their shop. It was apparently homemade and ran off natural gas. I have the attached picture but little else to go on in recreating it. Any help or leads greatly appreciated...

A few things, One, I hate grinding threading tools so I bought insert tools about 20 years ago and never looked back. I was making lots of stainless steel pump shafts for the local Chevron refinery and they paid for themselves in no time. Put it on the top of your Christmas list. :-} Two, make...

I don't know how Grizzly quality is these days, but be very careful. My friend bought a bandsaw from their Bellingham, WA store a few years back. The wheels were machined so out of round that he could not get a blade tension that would allow him to cut a straight line in wood. He wasn't the...