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1: It's worth a drive to get a $2000 machine. 2: I live in Podunk -- er, Portland Oregon, and there's at least one used machine dealer, plus several auction houses that often have machine tools. 3: It can't be all that different in Ottawa. Probably better, because it's (a) bigger, and (b) a...

I started out with an Enco micro-lathe that uses 1/4" tool bits. When I moved to the Smithy, which has a holder for 1/2" bits, I made myself a couple of adapters for the 1/4" bits and just kept using them for small stuff. If I'm machining a small part and I need a custom cutter for it, I'll...

I have a Smithy combo machine, and mostly only use it as a lathe. When I get enough mad money, I'll be buying a milling machine. Everything I've seen and heard tells me that a good, old (like 80 years old) used professional tool is better than a brand new "hobby" tool -- but being able to tell...

You have absolute agreement from me on that point. But... I do a lot of coding (it's probably responsible for 50-70% of the money I've made in my career so far) and a lot of writing, including three or four book-length works (maybe 20-30% of the money), and a smattering of video production...

@Catpro Deiner English ist viel besser als mine Deutch. Sagt es nicht unt wir werde es nich sehen. Unless I've mangled that, because I wasn't using machine translation...

Even if I know the exact thread dimensions I'm not a good enough machinist to hit them -- I just get close, then shave & try, shave & try.

You could find a different output transistor for your TIM-6. It's getting hard to find good high-voltage bipolar transistors out there (but there's probably some). There's plenty of FETs that are good up to 600V, though.

At least among British car people, "earthed" seems to mean the same thing as "grounded" means to an American. Could just be a regional dialect thing going on here. What matters most is what you do, not whether folks in your part of the world describe it differently than they do here.

I can't help but think that starting with an oil fill cup cap would be a good idea. http://www.abmtools.com/product/spring-lid-oil-cups-and-elbow-oilers/

My paranoia says: if the lathe came with an adapter, there's a chance that the actual taper is a Rockwell WTF. There's no rule that says the manufacturer has to cleave to any standard; if no one was going to use the un-adapted taper but them, there's little impetus for them to use a standard.

@stevehuckss396 : those look like good drawings if you already know what's going on (you did say they were crude). I think the only thing missing for most people is how the compressor works -- if anyone's wondering, take apart some air tools and look at how they're done. Having maintained...

Woo hoo! Looking at the carburetor on that engine, the throat looks undersized. That would explain why I was saying that the last one sounded slow (assuming you're using the same carb). If that's the carb that the designer intended, then you may want to stick with it -- small-bore carburetors...

Welcome! I can't help you with Canadian supplies, except to say that for stuff where the precise alloy doesn't matter, I buy from a local surplus yard. Every yard is different, but my local place has a bunch of aluminum cut-offs that have the alloy marked, which is good luck. If you find...

Excellent job for a first-time PCB layout. In fact, it's pretty good leaving out the fact it's your first. I have two nits for you, if you ever do a board turn. First: While you did good with nice generous trace widths on the power path, it wouldn't hurt to bump up the default tracewidth for...

I don't think it's such an odd thread, for that matter. If you're making both parts, and they're never meant to interchange with anything but stuff you make, why does it have to be "normal"?

Learning how to thread on a lathe is a good way to build your skills. The apprentice way is to just cut and try until it finally fits -- I still haven't gotten to the point where I can just cut a thread, say "it's done!" and have it fit nicely without being sloppy. So I do a lot of itty bitty...

On a two stroke it's probably more accurate to call that pump on the intake "forced scavenging". Basically, on a typical little two-stroke, there's a pump that uses the changing crankcase volume to generate primary compression and force crankcase air into the cylinder through the transfer...

Just a comment on model airplane style carbs, from someone who's used them but not built them (I fly control line, so I mostly take them off and replace them with venturies): First, the air bleed type looks to me to be really easy to build, If you can make even a 1-cylinder 4-stroke work, you...

I would try to find some talented person who's built a lot of engines and put them up to inventing such a thing. Someone like that Brian Rupnow guy on Home Model Engine Machinist, for example. :) It's gonna take lots of little fiddly bits, especially because you'll need to tune it to the...

There's a good chance that cleaning up your circuit will make it less susceptible to the VFD. Not a guarantee, but a good chance. You don't show the Hall sensor, so I can't tell, but running the wires to that in a bundle (there's 3, if it's like the Hall sensors I know) that's twisted together...