- Joined
- Oct 19, 2020
- Messages
- 158
Thanks to Mr. Pete, I made his Mayonnaise Engine. This is the first moving project I have attempted. I have learned more about running my lathe from this project than from any other project I have attempted. There is nothing that will force you to learn your lathe more than attempting a project that challenges your skill level.
I learned simple things that I have wondered about for some time. Professionals take a lot of you knowledge for granted but some of us really have very little knowledge. For example, I didn't know what "one size under" meant. I learned how to center a 4 jaw chuck. I practiced my tool sharpening skills.
I also made a couple of improvements to my workspace. And I came up with some logical improvements for the future. For example, I will be moving my Jacobs chuck key storage to the right side of my lathe.
Since I do not have a mill, I learned how to better use my milling attachment too. It came in very handy for this engine build. Another area that I became better at was using my drill press and vice. And don't forget project layout. I found that magic markers and my trusty dial caliper does a fine job of simple scribing.
I learned how to drill and ream too. One nice tool that I picked up from this exercise was a set of reamers from 1/16 to 1/2. They came in very handy. I purchased a use set and replaced a few of the missing reamers with new ones. It was still not cheap but a good addition to my tools.
If you are thinking of making your first steam engine, I highly recommend this one. You can run it on compressed air as I did. There are no drawings so you will be forced to make your own drawings from listening to Mr. Pete who, by the way, is a gentleman and a scholar. And yes, it worked the first time. Ha. Ha.
View attachment IMG_5627.MOV
I learned simple things that I have wondered about for some time. Professionals take a lot of you knowledge for granted but some of us really have very little knowledge. For example, I didn't know what "one size under" meant. I learned how to center a 4 jaw chuck. I practiced my tool sharpening skills.
I also made a couple of improvements to my workspace. And I came up with some logical improvements for the future. For example, I will be moving my Jacobs chuck key storage to the right side of my lathe.
Since I do not have a mill, I learned how to better use my milling attachment too. It came in very handy for this engine build. Another area that I became better at was using my drill press and vice. And don't forget project layout. I found that magic markers and my trusty dial caliper does a fine job of simple scribing.
I learned how to drill and ream too. One nice tool that I picked up from this exercise was a set of reamers from 1/16 to 1/2. They came in very handy. I purchased a use set and replaced a few of the missing reamers with new ones. It was still not cheap but a good addition to my tools.
If you are thinking of making your first steam engine, I highly recommend this one. You can run it on compressed air as I did. There are no drawings so you will be forced to make your own drawings from listening to Mr. Pete who, by the way, is a gentleman and a scholar. And yes, it worked the first time. Ha. Ha.
View attachment IMG_5627.MOV