http://www.buildingmodeltrains.com Examples and stories of building model trains. Wed, 16 Sep 2009 03:51:17 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Once of life's many mysteries is how keyways get cut inside axle holes.  Thanks to my Shay project, I got to learn this neat skill recently.  First, I had to order a broach, sleeve, and shim from www.mcmaster.com.  One of my favorite websites with a great interface for ordering one ... http://www.buildingmodeltrains.com/keyway-broaching/ One more wheel to final and one more faced, drilled, bored, and reamed.  I love having a lathe that will drill 1/2 inch holes like nothing.  A hole that size on my mini-lathe was a real ordeal.  Since the holes need to be reamed to .625 (5/8" inch), I drill ... http://www.buildingmodeltrains.com/round-and-round/ I tend to jump around a little bit as I am machining parts when I can get away with it.  Typically though you try to do things in bulk so you can be efficient and accurate by reusing the same setup and tool settings.  Tonight I felt like turning a ... http://www.buildingmodeltrains.com/one-wheel-done/ Some of you are probably confused about what I have been up to.  The last few posts have been out of context so I thought I would backup and explain what I am working on.  Most of the posts on this website were previously about an O Scale Logging Railroad ... http://www.buildingmodeltrains.com/mikes-shay/ This evening I created a template and spot faced the top of the bottom spring plank for one of the Shay trucks.  The plank itself was made by welding two 1 1/4" C-Channels together with a 1/2" x 3/16" spacer on the top and bottom.  The welding and grinding was ... http://www.buildingmodeltrains.com/bottom-spring-plank/ No, I didn't quit trains. I have actually made some great progress on a 1 1/2" scale, 7 1/2" gauge Shay.  I just haven't shared. I am also trying out publishing from my iPhone. http://www.buildingmodeltrains.com/checking-in/ I have been plugging along on the Shay albeit slowly.  Axles were machined for the wheels and the gears were obtained, machined, and attached to the right side wheels. This picture will make more sense once the rest of the trucks are built.  This pieces is the center of the truck.  ... http://www.buildingmodeltrains.com/shay-progress-as-of-january-2009/ After about six weeks of turning metal, silver soldering, and more turning I finally have 8 beautiful wheels for my Shay Locomotive.  In the course of that time I had to learn how to do things use the lathe accurately, silver solder, bore, and ream. Here is a profile picture.  Kozo's ... http://www.buildingmodeltrains.com/shay-wheels-completed/ Building a real live steam engine has been a dream of mine since reading a book on the subject at the local library when I was about 12.  Shortly after I was cutting up road signs, lawn chairs, and anything that seemed to have the right shape pieces of metal.  ... http://www.buildingmodeltrains.com/live-steam/ It has often been said that Nature reproduces herself on many scales.  I had been diligently searching for the miniature representation of large Pine trees during various hikes in the Rocky Mountains but nothing really had the right texture.  I kept looking for something similiar to the Red Cedar of ... http://www.buildingmodeltrains.com/logs-and-stumps/