I have a few niche sites. Many of them are dying slowly because, well us denizens are dying one by one. And there is very few that will replace us. The times have changed. Few care about old steam engines anymore. And 3D printing has supplanted machining metal in home work shops. And 3D CAD has replaced the drafting board.
That’s great! You are going to learn a lot about problem solving and how to think! What machine(s) do you have? I swapped out all the big industrial sized machines for a pair of benchtop sized lathe and mill. I decided when I retired that I wasn’t going to ever machine anything that needed a piece of metal that I couldn’t pickup and hold in my hand.
I bought the biggest column mill I could afford, a HM-48B and bench top lathe that had the features I wanted, an AL-320G. Given I intend to mainly make model steam engines they should be more than enough. What sort of things do machine?
Those are fine machines for the home shop! They should provide plenty of rigidity and accuracy for many years. And the prices aren’t bad either. My machines are now smaller, I have a basic change gear lathe, 8x12 (203x305) lathe and a 7x21 (178x530) mill. I made a conscious decision to not work on anything I couldn’t pickup and hold in one hand. ;)
I’ve been known to make a model steam engine or two at times. I’ve even designed a couple of simple steam engines from scratch. But I haven’t made one in a while. (I really should make one this winter) I’ve gotten more interested in doing more 3D printing, (I used to do a lot of design and prototyping as a toolmaker). I also occasionally make the odd part for antique farm machinery for old farmers that collect old tractors. I have repaired a lot of old bearing housings for them and even made some oddball bolts and nuts that you can’t buy anymore. And on rare occasions, people bring me a shaft that needs a keyway repaired.
I have a few niche sites. Many of them are dying slowly because, well us denizens are dying one by one. And there is very few that will replace us. The times have changed. Few care about old steam engines anymore. And 3D printing has supplanted machining metal in home work shops. And 3D CAD has replaced the drafting board.
[https://www.modelenginemaker.com/] is an example were us old machinists design and build model steam engines just because.
I only took up manual machining this year, there are a few of us young ones, but not heaps.
That’s great! You are going to learn a lot about problem solving and how to think! What machine(s) do you have? I swapped out all the big industrial sized machines for a pair of benchtop sized lathe and mill. I decided when I retired that I wasn’t going to ever machine anything that needed a piece of metal that I couldn’t pickup and hold in my hand.
I bought the biggest column mill I could afford, a HM-48B and bench top lathe that had the features I wanted, an AL-320G. Given I intend to mainly make model steam engines they should be more than enough. What sort of things do machine?
Those are fine machines for the home shop! They should provide plenty of rigidity and accuracy for many years. And the prices aren’t bad either. My machines are now smaller, I have a basic change gear lathe, 8x12 (203x305) lathe and a 7x21 (178x530) mill. I made a conscious decision to not work on anything I couldn’t pickup and hold in one hand. ;)
I’ve been known to make a model steam engine or two at times. I’ve even designed a couple of simple steam engines from scratch. But I haven’t made one in a while. (I really should make one this winter) I’ve gotten more interested in doing more 3D printing, (I used to do a lot of design and prototyping as a toolmaker). I also occasionally make the odd part for antique farm machinery for old farmers that collect old tractors. I have repaired a lot of old bearing housings for them and even made some oddball bolts and nuts that you can’t buy anymore. And on rare occasions, people bring me a shaft that needs a keyway repaired.