Hello from Berkeley

[rogbo]

Hi my name is Roger and I am from Berkeley California. I just got a Jet Bridgeport clone, an Atlas 12 inch, and a car load of tooling from my buddy that retired. I took a machining class because I wanted to make parts for my Harley rebuild and don’t like to buy stuff. While researching lathe and mill options I stumbled on to the model engine sites, especially Stirlings and was hooked. By day I work on UNIX systems in a data center and at nights and weekends I like to work with my hands.

It took me a couple of months to haul all my equipment home from my lucky buy and get it setup. In this picture I am pulling 220 to the side of the garage with a flat floor. Now that everything is done except tramming the table and I am planning my first build, I thought it would be a good time to stop being a lurker on the site and introduce myself. My first build will be a Popping as laid out by Dr. J. R. Sentf in Live Steam. After that I am going to finish restoring my 1974 Harley with lots of custom parts.

Thanks for great site,

Roger

 

[ttrikalin]

welcome rogbo!

funny thing, was near Berkeley a few hours ago before returning to Boston. I could not see a photo in your post. Consider sending a photo of your mill and other machine tools...

take care,

tom in MA.

 

[dsquire]

Hi Roger

Welcome to HMEM. It looks like you have the two main ingredients for starting the shop. Now to start making the chips fly. You will find a varied lot here and a few with bike interest as well. We look forward to what you have to show us in the future. If you have any questions just ask as there is always someone around to answer or at least give an opinion. Good luck on your popping build. :bow: :bow:

Cheers

Don

 

[Foozer]

Welcome

Grew up near there Half Moon Bay, Last time I saw Bserkeley the campus was on fire

Will be watching for your poppin build

Robert

 

[steamer]

Welcom Rogbo!

Glad your here!

Dave

 

[Maryak]

Roger,

Welcome to our forum. wEc1

Best Regards
Bob

 

[ironman]

Glad to have you with us. Lots of good ideas here. Have fun and remember we talk pictures,

ironman (Ray)

 

[b.lindsey]

Welcome Roger,

Look like you have a well suited space for your machines and shop area. Looking forward to seeing more.

Bill

 

[krv3000]

HI from the uk jump in and have fun

 

[compspecial]

Hi, and welcome to the forum, Roger!
Stew.

 

[cl350rr]

Welcome aboard Roger. I have the same lathe, I highly recommend relocating the forward off reverse switch from down low like that. Mine is on a bracket over the headstock in easy reach if things go wrong.

Randel

 

[rogbo]

Thanks for all the hellos!

I should have asked this in my post, but can someone tell me where to find meehanite bars or a good alternative. It is the first ingredient in my popper build and so far I am at a loss as where to find it. Stainless steel was the recommended alternative and that is easy enough to come by. Also, I have a bunch of round cold roll that would work, if it worked.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Roger

 

[GailInNM]

Welcome to HMEM Roger and welcome to the ranks of the Poppin builders here.

There have been a number of them built by members. Some of them stock and some modified to suit individual desires. If you use the search function you will find quite a few.

True Meehanite is a little hard to find. It is a cast iron that is cast under controlled conditions in a foundry approved by the corporation that it is named after. Many (most?) of us just use standard continuous cast iron bar, most often listed as class 40 gray iron. It is available from MSC, Enco and many of the online metal suppliers such as Speedy Metals.

Gail in NM

 

[JorgensenSteam]

Roger-

Speedy Metals has a specification sheet with each metal type, and the things I look at are strength, machinability, corrosion resistance, and weldability.

I avoid any metal that has low machinability, since you just tear up bits and get nowhere.

Cold rolled steel has a smooth finish, high strength, and is very useful if you watch out for the spring for instance when making crankshafts from cold rolled.
You can weld cold rolled. Some of the specialty steels cannot be welded without cracking.

Brass is also a big favorite, and I silver solder it a lot.

And number one favorite metal is Class 40 gray cast iron.
Machines beautifully (I have had great luck with it from Speedy Metals, no bad cast iron yet from them), and it is easy to get a good surface finish.
Gray cast iron flakes off when machined, and does produce dust, but it is well worth the cleanup trouble. Is a workshop really suppost to look like a hospital operating room? I go to great lengths to keep my shop free of debris and chips, but clean it is not. You generally do not weld/silver solder gray cast iron.

I don't use aluminum because I want the feel of a high-mass metal, and I want some solid threads when I tap things.

Gray cast iron also wears very well, and is used a lot for cylinders, pistons, rings, etc.

 

[steamer]

Metal Express has served me very well...

http://www.metalexpress.net/cgi-bin...ast Iron&sid=8bcaa011ff76e5620232fe4ce5627b4d

It always machines nice...and its been very stable.

Dave

 

[rogbo]

Thanks all! I will get some of that gray bar ordered up and start making chips. I got a bunch of 1" OD cold roll i scrapped learning how to thread so I am going to start practicing cutting my cylinder on that. The reason I chose Dr. Senft's Poppin was the detailed machining instructions perfect for someone of my level. If I ever get good enough I have a dream of building David Kerzel's Hit & Miss.

Being new I am not sure what my next steps are on this forum. Is it OK to start a thread when I start my build to seek advice and post questions?

Roger

 

[GailInNM]

"Is it OK to start a thread when I start my build to seek advice and post questions?"

We will be disappointed if you don't. Remember that we like pictures.

Gail in NM

 

[Tin Falcon]

Welcome Roger.
Nice digs there, great shop to start out. and thanks for the intro. two paragraphs and a shop photo with your face in it fantastic!!
Tin