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I'd worry less about acetylene tanks then butane or propane, acetylene tanks have a plug that melts at 100 deg C, venting the tank to avoid a explosion, can't say the same for propane or butane. I remember one winter, it was so damn cold, my sister-in-law, the sparks apprentice, came in to...

Years ago, I decided to be done with second-rate wanna-be torches, went with air/acetylene swirlfire torch heads, and never looked back. No sodding about with preheat torches, firebrick and the like, just light the torch and get 'er done. Now, for those of you in the UK still buggering about...

I used to build firearms that way, bits of this and that off the hardware store nut and bolt bins. A good spring selection to go with, and I was all set for a weekend of building!

Had a chap ask how fast one can make a rifled barrel in a home machine shop. I walked over and picked up a 4" long piece of 7/16" DOM tubing that miked out at .310" ID, drove a 5/16"spiral reamer through it with a mallet, and handed it to him after driving it through. Job done in under 30...

A neat trick the antique camp stove guys do for gas jets is to drill a larger hole, and silver solder a section of hypodermic tubing into the hole, and cut it off flush with a cutting wheel

You know, a good night's sleep is long overdue! LOL

The actual Perkins spring winder off the pedestal is all of 11" long at its largest, but it is HEAVY! I use sections of 1/2" PVC pipe to store my spring wire, buy it in 4' lengths from McMaster-Carr, or 3' legnths from the K&S assortment at the local hardware store. I keep two sets of washers...

Blaner made these in six different sizes back in the 30's, nobody has made those in decades! I'm a locksmith by trade, have a Blaner, a Porter Advance, several of the Hjorth winders to be used with.a lathe, and a Perkins spring coiler-one of the first to not require a mandrel for.a pattern or...

If you search for the patent as "Blaner" and "Spring winder", you'll find all the drawings you'll need to make one. I bought one of the Blaner spring wonders a while ago, love it!

Another lightweight and effective displacer piston is using the two endcaps with stainless steel coarse scrubbing wool between them. Oh, and given that pumice is a volcanic rock, ergo, it IS ceramic. Murph

Dave, nice touch with the ceramic foam displacer piston! Why the sods in China filled the rolling pin is beyond me, the missus gets the hollow ones to fill them with cracked ice and water, keeps the dough cold so it doesn't overwork when she makes pies! I would have thought IKEA would have...

Jenny, the friend who taught me to silver solder did jewelery work, he showed me how to set up the work, use alcohol to thin my flux - never water! He also showed me how to use India ink as a flow containment for silver soldering and brazing, using Liquid Paper to spread over solder joints as a...

I've worked with those rods, and the big points are to watch your heat - you're working with a very narrow window to make these work. Propane/air works a treat, acetylene/air - not as well, gets too hot, too fast! The other thing is to use a clean stainless steel brush, if it's contaminated...

The best cylinders are made from matched graphite pistons and pyrex tubing, purchased as dashpot cylinders. Easiest thing to use is a pyrex syringe, cut to be used as a matched piston and cylinder - heat has no effect on it, and needs NO lubrication, as well. Murph

A hint on the "chicken sticks", drill holes in them so they will break at predetermined places, saving you and your meathooks in the process! Murph