Information and links for suppliers, books, videos, and commercially available plans. It is currently under construction, so please bear with me.
Twin City Home Machinists Club.
There are a number of us in the Minnesota and western Wisconsin area that enjoy being hobby machinists. We have members that range in skill level from rank beginner to retired and well-seasoned machinists and engineers. We meet from time to time for good food, sharing our current projects, and to teach and learn various techniques in our shops. We communicate through a an email group and would love to have you join us if you are interested, no strings attached. Type your email address (which will NEVER be shared with anyone for other purposes) in the box and click the subscribe button. Once approved you will receive a welcome email from a REAL PERSON! You can then post messages and get to know us. If you decide that you don't really fit in, or that we are not quite what you were looking for, you can leave the group at any time. Visit us at https://groups.io/g/TCHM
Charlie Dockstader's Valvegear Simulator for Windows
Several years ago, Charlie Dockstader created a valvegear simulator for DOS, then created a new version for Windows and made it available to the public free of charge. There are other places where the files can be downloaded, and I am making them available here also. There are 15 files to download, including the README file, which provides installation instructions and is included here:
To download and install this program:
1.Download all of the zip files to a location on your computer where you can
find them by following steps a, b, c, & d.
a. Right click on the file you want to download
b. Select 'Save Target As...'
c. Save the file to your selected location, preferably with it's
original file name.
d. Repeat until you have all of the files downloaded
2. Create a folder on your computer called "Winvalve" (without the quotes).
3. Unzip all of the files that you downloaded, unzipping them to the Winvalve
folder
4. After you have unzipped all of the files, go to the Winvalve folder.
a. Locate the file named "VGStart.exe"
b. Right click on the file
c. Select "Send to..." then "Desktop (create shortcut).
After that you will be able to start the program from that shortcut on your
desktop, or by browsing to the Winvalve folder, then double clicking on the file
"VGStart.exe"
Machinist and Engine Forums - a listing of some of the more popular forums on the Internet
Machinists Gazette www.machinistgazette.com Small forum, fairly new and quite small yet. Very easy going and welcoming individuals, very few rules to follow. Just use a little common sense and treat people the way you want to be treated.
Metalworking Fun www.metalworkingfun.com Smaller forum dealing with hobby machining and ham radio topics, only 2300 members, but it is more like a small town environment.
Model Engine Maker www.modelenginemaker.com Private forum dedicated to designing, building, and running small model engines, both internal and external combustion.
Home Model Engine Machinist www.homemodelenginemachinist.com Commercial forum dedicated to building and running small model engines of all kinds.
Smokstak www.smokstak.com Forum dedicated to old iron and old engines, gas, diesel, and steam, not really to machining.
The Practical Machinist www.practicalmachinist.com Large site with many members, however this site is geared more toward professional machinists, not hobbyists. Be prepared for a bit of a cold shoulder in here if you are a hobbyist, especially if you are running the small Chinese lathes and mills that have become so popular.
The Hobby-Machinist www.hobby-machinist.com Forum dealing with all types of hobby machining. Large site with a ton of rules to follow, over 23,000 members. Most folks there are great, and very friendly. Just don't cross Nelson, the forum owner.
I will add more as I think of them.
Suppliers to Hobby Machinists - I am not saying good or bad about any of the vendors listed.
This also is not a complete list, but is a listing of some of the more popular vendors available.
Enco www.use-enco.com - Please note: Enco has become a part of MSC Direct, effective August of 2016.
Travers Tool www.travers.com
Precision Matthews www.precisionmatthews.com
Grizzly www.grizzly.com
CDCO Machinery Corp. www.cdcotool.com
McMaster-Carr www.mcmaster.com
Shars Tool www.shars.com
H. Gerstner and Sons www.gerstnerusa.com
Harbor Freight www.harborfreight.com
Northern Tool & Equipment www.northerntool.com
Speedy Metals www.speedymetals.com
Metal Supermarkets www.metalsupermarkets.com
Online Metals www.onlinemetals.com
Other Individual's Websites - Sites listed here are those of other individuals that have websites of their own and have projects, plans, tools, or techniques that you may find of interest. This is NOT an all-inclusive list, and it will change from time to time. I will try to keep the links current, but please keep in mind that I may not be able to keep them 100% up to date at all times. I will be adding links here as time goes on.
YouTube Channels - This area contains channels held by individuals that have put out some great videos for the hobby-steam, hobby-engineering, and hobby-machinist interest areas. I will be adding links here also as time goes by.