tools, materials & knowledge for model makers
Sometimes there is no option but to make a tool yourself, sometimes it is just cheaper
Prometheus kiln handle designed and made by Alan at Woody’s Workshop. The Prometheus kilns are quite small and a reasonable weight at just under 6kg. But they can still be awkward to move around. In my small workshop I find myself keeping the kiln in it’s original packaging when not in use. Thus protecting it from knocks … Read more
Really simple mechanical Stops for the Sieg SX2.7 milling machine. Sometimes on a manual milling machine it is useful to travel to a hard stop on the main axis. This allows you to create a simple repeat of an operation such as machining a grill pattern where the grooves all start and stop at the … Read more
This might be the most perfectly balanced hammer. Let’s come back to this, I’ve been flicking through and reading sections of K. N. Harris’ book on boilers and boiler making. This is in response to me trying to develop the small vertical boiler. This is a great book and covers design, building and operating boilers. I … Read more
How hard can it be to turn rivets into bolts? The reason I need to do this is I want the bulkhead in the tender of the Burrell traction engine to be removable. At least removable for the moment. The issue is that this traction engine is 1/20th scale and the rivets are 1/16 inch … Read more
A graver handle is just a turned wooden handle with a brass ferule around the neck to stop it splitting. The high speed steel graver is then just tapped into a pre-drilled hole in the handle. Simple, but I wanted something a bit more elegant. Also, as I’m starting out I want to be able … Read more
In updating a DTI base, I bought a snug and I made a snug. A beautiful find at a car boot. I actually bought two snugs for a couple of pounds, then they just sat there. Snug: a universal adjustable joint you find with a magnetic base that allows the rods to be moved and … Read more
I had a major catastrophe with the original brackets when I tried to solder them using Durafix. The problem was just how was I going to recover from this situation. I’ve spent too much time on this poppet valve engine just to throw it all away. So, new brackets, a cleaned up crankcase and another … Read more
The poppet valve crankcase has been bugging me and I wanted to fix the brackets from inside the crankcase with countersunk caphead bolts. There just wasn’t room or the right angle to get a bit in to make the countersinks. The bit extension was made in two parts plus a grub screw. The shaft on … Read more
I saw a small homemade hammer on one of the engineering forums and it just made me wonder about making my own, especially as I have a collection of hammers arranged on the wall of my workshop and I would love a small planishing hammer. The head was turned and milled from a piece of … Read more
I’ve been using my Warco WM240B lathe for a number of years and although I’m not a great admirer or saddle stops I thought it was about time I made one. The starting point is a piece of square cast iron. I marked a line with a square and a pencil, as you can … Read more