Thank-you for the notices.
Being a child that grew up in the 50s and 60s, I lived next store to and old gent who loved to tinker in his basement workshop, and as payment for shoveling snow out of his driveway, he gave me a stack of older "Popular Science" and "Popular Mechanics" books. I spent many months going through these books and was fascinated by all the things that men could build in their home workshops. It was a different era then. Men actually knew a wrench from a screwdriver, and wives usually stayed out of the shop. My dad had a wood shop in the basement, and I learned about tools, and what they could do, from him. I can still remember the scent of freshly cut, pine, and sweeping up the fluffy sawdust. I spent many hours converting an old "Shopsmith" table saw into various configurations...drill, sander, etc. A pain in the butt....but it did the job. I still have some of the furniture that he built. He passed away two weeks ago, at 92 years old...just 6 weeks after my mom passed on. She was 90 years old.
As a young teen, I built spark-coils, little electric motors, electro-magnets, solenoid engines...and took apart anything that I could get my hands on. As I got older, I would rather walk through junk yards rather than play ball. Those were the early days.
Fast forward. Over the years, my interests veered into model engines, steam, compressed-air, gas....anything that would make a crankshaft turn. Sadly, my complicated life did not allow me to get into a well equipped shop, and I have so far, made nothing! That will change. I have collected many plans over all these years, and, I ain't gettin' any younger. I better start makin' some chips.... tick-tock!
As a first engine build, I was thinking about the Jerry Howell, V-Twin...but, a compressed-air version. Ball valves...rotary valves? Just a block, crank, pistons, cylinders, and valving. A stripped-down version, for air. Or, maybe the "Hoglet", simplified, to run on compressed air? Yes...no...? I met a gent at a "Cabin Fever Expo", many years ago. We are still friends. He has a complete shop of tools, tooling, and tons of various scrap metals. He is also a very experienced, and accomplished, machinist. He is constructing a large-scale steam train, and is almost finished. Steam trains are not really my "thing", but I think it's a little larger than the famous, Cagney...or, about that scale.
I am also interested in Black-Powder guns, cannons, knives, etc. Living in NYC has put the kibosh on many of my hobbies...but the Pastrami-on-Rye, from Katz's Deli, on Grand Street, could make you plotz! So, I stay. (N.B. the term,"plotz": a little New Yawk-yiddish... " to die for...to drop dead, with pleasure").
Happy to be part of this coterie of machinists, and also look forward to learning many good thing from you, too. Be gentle...just a virgin.
Frank
