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There is a reason why the early automobile engines used selective assembly parts. Pistons were marked as oversize and undersize and the crank journal could vary on every throw.

I think that the main take away on this discussion is that there is a place for precision and a place where about that size is just fine. This is particularly true with those of us who are doing manual machining. We may be able to hold close tolerances but it is not required in many instances...

See the first sentence of my original post. I do not have an issue. I was expressing a thought. This in not really a complaint or a criticism of others but I wonder about the "precision" implied on many of the plans posted here and other places.

Where have you found the "rules of Thumb"? I have never heard of some of those.

In my working life I never used tolerances. The things that I built for the most part did not require precision. I designed and built custom material handling equipment. The overall size could be off by 1/8" and not be a problem. Obviously things like the bore of a sprocket had to be reasonably...

This in not really a complaint or a criticism of others but I wonder about the "precision" implied on many of the plans posted here and other places. To me when you list a dimension as 27/64 it implies a level of precision required. I have frequently looked at dimensions like that and realized...

It is not so much the yearly fee as the fact that if you drop the fee program you no longer have access to your work. Also most of the yearly fee programs operate in the cloud and that means that you are giving some outside organization access to your computer. With all of the data hacks we keep...

Just a little bit off topic but with folks talking about taking community college cad classes several times I did something similar about60 years ago. The community college ran an apprenticeship program and had a large machine shop with mostly WW II machines and a lot of raw material donated by...

The best way to get those tubes open is to cut the end off with the band saw. I have tried to get the end cap out but it is just not worth the 15 minutes required.

Just got this yesterday. 3/32 dia x 36" lg drillrod in an 8' long tube. I am sure that the shipping was more than the rod. Shipped FedEx.

My requirements for a cad program, and other software programs are: (1) The program must be user friendly and easy to learn for my limited hobby use. (2) The operation must be on my computer, not the cloud. I am not working on anything particularly secret but it is mine and I do not want it out...

It is interesting that the original poster has not made an appearance since the original post. I am sure that this discussion just made him more confused than enlightened. There are many cad programs which would work and they range from free to $1000+. Learning curve goes from short time frame...

Put it in your kiln and let it cool in the kiln. That will make uniform heating.

I think that many well meaning folks here are missing the point of the original poster. He has been designing and building models for 65 years using sketches on scrap paper. What he needs is something to document his designs and provide basic layout of parts and assembly. He does not need a...

Why not just make new flywheels from the blanks even if you had to bolt on the hubs?

You may want to watch Craigslist and FB Marketplace and post it here and get a reaction from the folks here as to price and usability. You will frequently find basically the same machine listed for $500 in one place and $2000 in another. Frequently things can be listed for close to new price or...

I would not think that the fact that it holds liquid would necessarily mean that it holds under pressure. What do you use for valve material? In the past I have used steel, 1018 or 12L14. Recently I have been using 303 stainless. I have also found that the problem can be the stem not sliding...

I would recommend giving Alibre Atom a try. It is relatively easy to learn and the price is reasonable. I tried Fusion360 and Free Cad and they do more but I found them harder to learn. My previous 2D experience was actually a disadvantage because the concept is entirely different. Alibre will...

I have not progressed much beyond what Jason has shown. He used the parts that I had drawn and basically cleaned up my assembly by doing it correctly. I am presently actually making the parts to give my mind a rest from the desk work. I am producing the 2D drawings from my 3D models as I need...

Most lathes also require a special gear in order to cut metric threads. Also cutting a thread on something that small is a lot of work. That is approximately 3/8 dia x 3/8 long.