How big are those holes anyway?

Before I go easing out the holes in the connecting rods, wouldn’t it be nice to know which one is the tightest, and ease that one first? To my eye, the fit of each crankpin is indistinguishable. So, in an attempt to get scientific about the question, I’ve created some pin gauges. Now after a […]

Magic Box Discoveries

The Boy and I had to drive down to Kerrisdale today on an errand. As we were in the neighbourhood, and I needed more 1/8″ brass rod, we stopped in at Magic Box Hobbies. Magic Box mostly cater to the plastic and R/C modelling crowds, and so this was only my second time in the […]

Stroke to Path could save me hours!

Over a year ago, when I was working on the patterns for 622, I found that drawings imported from OnShape into InkScape consisted of many individual line segments. There had to be a better way, and Craig Townsend has found it. Here for future reference, is a YouTube video that makes it dead easy. Thanks […]

Plan for quartering jig

While I have the excellent GW Models wheel press and used it on #10, it has two failings from my point of view. First, it assumes a press fit for the wheels; that’s one thing with a plastic centre, but another for steel centres and axles where the two parts need to be machined to […]

Experiments with molten lead

If you ever want to involve your teenaged son in this hobby, just tell him he gets to use the blow torch! In fact, I think you could convince a teenaged boy to do just about anything if it involved a blow torch. It’s unfortunate that they can’t use one to clean their room without […]

3D CAD Clinic

Four modellers from the North Van NMRA group came by to enjoy a dry run of my clinic for the Railway Modellers’ Meet. It was a bit of an eye-opener! I had thought that I would offer the clinic in both OnShape and SketchUp, but fortunately, everyone chose OnShape; two hours is not enough time […]

Drill sharpener

Work is so much easier when your tools are sharp. Sharp tools cut faster and cooler. The lesser effort makes it easier to be precise. I’ve always known this, and yet, it has taken me several years to get around to installing a drill bit sharpener. I think this jig came from Lee Valley Tools, […]

A dark day

It was as I was reaching for the family Optivisor, a device hitherto used only for checking the kids’ hair for lice, merely to verify if I had put a jeweller’s saw blade in the right way around that I finally conceded defeat. It was time to finally admit the termination of youth. There was […]

Dispensing cut-off oil

When I started cutting steel with my lathe, I used a brush full of oil to lubricate the part. By the end of that first encounter, I was covered in so much oil I was almost drafted for Turkish wrestling. My T-shirt was ruined. Over time, I found that for cutting and facing operations, a […]

Lathe crisis averted

All I wanted was a hole! The next step for the drivers is to make an aluminum collet to hold them while I face their backs, and this was going to start with a hole. I was merrily drilling deep into that cylinder of aluminum, when the drill bit bound and ripped the tailstock spindle […]