Office of Steam Forum for Model & Toy Steam Gas & Hot Air Engines
The Regular Stuff: Chat, Buy, Sell, Off Topic, etc. => General Discussion - Model & Toy Steam Engines – Stirling Cycle – Flame Lickers – Small Antique Originals => Topic started by: Jim on February 03, 2021, 07:37:53 pm
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Lately, the tightest thing I do while working on a steam engine is, when I'm doing a tear down.
You have the right wrench and it fits perfect but it's not coming loose. So I'll add a little
more force, and a little more, and all the time I'm thinking, please don't break, oh please don't
break. Every time I add a little more force, my butt gets tighter. I'm talking tight. It gets so
tight, that if I was setting in a coal bin that was half full, and you handed me a wrench and
a steam engine.
I'd be popping out diamonds left and right. I could probably put a big dent in DeBeers profit
margin that month.
Oh I'm sorry, was that too much information. ::)
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I did not know that. Nice engine
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Like I said, not condoning his behavior or "upholding his values", just a funny story of how tight my friend is. By the way, did you know "Hawkeye Hawkinson"? Lived in the Adirondacks and had a hoard of rare antique cars stashed away in barns there, not to mention a couple hot air engines. This one ended up in my garage: https://youtu.be/AWQCEppxRxk
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Har, har! I’ve actually had to quit the mountains for the city as I can no longer drive with my vision. But I happened to see a group of middle school kids get caught using cups they’d brought with them in their backpacks, refilling them with soda. The manager called the law, complaining he gets hit every day. It’s a shifty thing to do if you’re able to afford a lousy discount coffee. It stinks because no, a seventy year old pale face won’t get arrested, but a thirteen year old named Lamar might. I actually don’t think is funny at all when people who obviously can afford nice toys steal. It’s not the values I wanna uphold.
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I didn't even know they had ghettos in the Adirondacks.
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Around here we call that theft. Young ghetto kids do it, and end up in handcuffs.
pretty tuff cops you have there ,following young ghetto kids across a 3 state trek to arrest them for refilling a cup of coffee.
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Gil and Wayne, look for Viva brand paper towels and give them a try, I haven’t used Bounty in over 10 years.
I don’t know how to describe them any better than the package… they are far more “cloth-like”, absorbent and much more “re-useable” :D
(Attachment Link)
Thanks, Nick.
We will give Viva a try.
Gil
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This shrinkflation has been going on for quite a while. Mom's been gone for 2 1/2 years and I
can remember 4 years before that hearing about it from her. "Those dirty buggers, tuna, 5.5 oz.
per can. Used to be 6 oz. Recipes call for 6, now I have to open another can, bastards." ::)
Poor old mom couldn't deviate from what was written down.
Yes has been for a while. Coffee still comes in 1 pound sized cans that say 11 oz on them. They are only about 3/4 full right off the shelf.
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Goodness YES, shrinkflation is rampant in nearly everything we buy & use these days. my darling granddaughters are avid girl scout members & of course we are obligated (Mamaw & Papaw) to buy more than a few Girl scout cookie boxes....there's a lot less than there used to be in a box & the price is growing nearly every year, I figured out Samoas ,13 cookies @ $5.00 , Wow $038.44 ea.
Did somebody say Samoas?
By far my favorite of the GS line-up.
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Wasn't condoning his behavior, just telling the story.
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Around here we call that theft. Young ghetto kids do it, and end up in handcuffs.
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True story: myself and a few friends drove about 4 hours through 3 states to an engine show. One guy in particular (let's call him Jimmie which is his real name) was known for being 'tight'. We stopped often at McDonalds for breakfast, coffee, bathroom breaks, etc. At breakfast (1st stop) he bought a "senior coffee" which was $0.50 or half off regular price. Unknown to us at the time, he saved his cup. So at the next two stops he gets free coffee refills using the same cup--coffee in three states for fifty cents.
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You guys are killing me. Over on the petrol side of things, I’m running $40/gallon synthetic racing fuel in hit n miss engines, and $20/ liter 190 proof booze in stirling engines indoors.
But I did save the box with a handle on it my Dutch oven came in, just in case I need to pack away some engines.
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Gil and Wayne, look for Viva brand paper towels and give them a try, I haven’t used Bounty in over 10 years.
I don’t know how to describe them any better than the package… they are far more “cloth-like”, absorbent and much more “re-useable” :D
[attachimg=1]
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Gil and Wayne, look for Viva brand paper towels and give them a try, I haven’t used Bounty in over 10 years.
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I'm guilty of reusing old t-shirts and socks for rags.
Sometimes, checking the recycling bins in my neighborhood
yields items I can strip springs, nuts-n-bolts, any brass,
or anything that might be useful in a project. Clean boiler
water, for sure.
And....Bounty paper towels. With a 16year old Jack Russel
named Buster in the house I reuse dried paper towels to
clean up after him. I also reuse the plastic bags newspapers
are delivered in to help keep the cooties off. Same thing with the
other two dearly departed JRT's, Jackie his mom and Dixie his sister.
Litle quiet around here these days.
Gil, I agree, something changed with Bounty paper towels.
I think they are a bit stiffer and rougher than they used
to be. Still the best.
Wayne
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This shrinkflation has been going on for quite a while. Mom's been gone for 2 1/2 years and I
can remember 4 years before that hearing about it from her. "Those dirty buggers, tuna, 5.5 oz.
per can. Used to be 6 oz. Recipes call for 6, now I have to open another can, bastards." ::)
Poor old mom couldn't deviate from what was written down.
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Goodness YES, shrinkflation is rampant in nearly everything we buy & use these days. my darling granddaughters are avid girl scout members & of course we are obligated (Mamaw & Papaw) to buy more than a few Girl scout cookie boxes....there's a lot less than there used to be in a box & the price is growing nearly every year, I figured out Samoas ,13 cookies @ $5.00 , Wow $038.44 ea.
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I think it is a good time to resurrect this thread after about a year.
We are experiencing a combination of inflation and shrinkflation due to the wuhan flu and our governments trying to snuff out fossil fuel.
Shrinkflation occurs when you pay the same or more for the same product but it is now of lesser quality and/or there is less of it.
Has anyone else noticed that quality and strength of bounty paper towels seems to have deteriorated..?
Are you getting less product for more $ ?
Gil
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I have been known to use a single sheet of Bounty paper towel in my shop for up to a month or longer. Once it gets a little oil in it , it will continue to wipe oil and grease and does a great job picking up loose dust and dirt. The final wipe can lift a few fine metal chards of my lathe. Then... it is ready for the garbage bin!
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The tightest thing I do is, CLENCH MY TEETH! ;D
LOL !!!
Ditto ;D
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Last couple of days I've been using my Lyman cartridge case tumbler to polish up small parts, working like a dream. Don't know why it never occurred to me before to use it.
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The tightest thing I do is, CLENCH MY TEETH! ;D
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I do like my Scorpion2nz 'Cranko repro vertical' :)
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Dennis, you’re so cheap you build your replicas in miniature to save on material ;) 😂
LOL :)
I was thinking Jim . Who buys the miniatures ?
Cheers
Dennis
I was thinking they should come with a matching miniature price tag ;) 😂
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Dennis, you’re so cheap you build your replicas in miniature to save on material ;) 😂
LOL :)
I was thinking Jim . Who buys the miniatures ?
Cheers
Dennis
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Dennis, you’re so cheap you build your replicas in miniature to save on material ;) 😂
LOL :)
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Dennis, you’re so cheap you build your replicas in miniature to save on material ;) 😂
I think you might have got me there . Well done .
Cheers
Dennis
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Dennis, you’re so cheap you build your replicas in miniature to save on material ;) 😂
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How tight am I ????
Well no paper towels here .
I use old bed sheets for rags first on engines when running then when grubby use then for engineering.
I am guilty 0f using reduced voltage .
Constantly scan TM for started and butchered castings ( to cheap to buy new and no challange )
Buy brass off TM clearance lots that might be useful ?? ( yeah right )
Recently got 4 X 2 meter lengths of LG2 leaded bronze 1 1/2 inch OD by 3/4 inch ID
Buy crappy broken engine to rebuild .
Cheers
Dennis
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Jim, have you started saving your swarf to melt down and re-use?
There's a metal recycler in the town an hours drive North of me. About once a year I take it to them and all the little offcuts etc.....last time was about $300
I've watched countless YT vids of blokes building DIY furnaces to melt down there ali and brass. I'd really like to do it, but it looks pretty involved.
I have a little Lee electric lead melter that has a lever and you put the .44 cal round ball mould up to it and pull the lever up and fill the two cavities in the mould. That's about my experience with molten metal :)
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Jim, have you started saving your swarf to melt down and re-use?
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All of the above .... guilty as charged!!!
LOL Daniel :D
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All of the above .... guilty as charged!!!
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Oh yes, I’ve even saved old electric toothbrushes for cleaning in small/tight areas ;)
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I bet none of you guys throw out old toothbrushes either :D
I've even got some of the grandchildrens ones from when they were really little.....those little toothbrushes are really handy ;D ;D ;D ;D
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Some of us are sooooo tight, we even reduce the voltage to our electrically heated boilers ;)
Heck, lately I’ve gotten so cheap in the steam hobby that I started running hot air engines to save on using that valuable steam up ;)
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I'm getting a kick out of reading everything you guys are saying from drying out paper towels to saving boxes
and packing material. Now I'm looking around and thinking what's out in the garage and the one at the cabin
and thinking, do they have a camera in my house. I'm no different. Must be a guy steam thingy.
I used to put boxes inside of others for a while. Now I cut the tape and fold them flat before they go into
another box. I don't stop until it feels like a block of wood. They stack so nice too. Nine garbage bags of
packing, four of peanuts, four of that brown heavy paper(I like some of that down when deep frying), and one
of bubble wrap with two boxes of bubbles on the side. Lots of old tee shirts, socks, and underwear(washed one
more time). Toothbrushes, pill bottles for screws, little zip lock bags from items I bought.
I distill my own tap water and have one dozen gallon jugs. When I get down to two I fire it up and in two days
they're all filled up. It's either a guy thing or a sickness, not sure.
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When ever I would go into a plumbing shop to deliver , I would see if they had any drops (short nearly useless lengths of pipe) but usually long enough to make a boiler out of , I would explain my steam hobby & they usually showed keen interest , I would offer to buy those short pieces of copper/brass pipe and they would nearly always just give it to me...happy to help a modeler.
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Some of us are sooooo tight, we even reduce the voltage to our electrically heated boilers ;)
Gotta' pay that one !!!!!
;D :D ;D :D
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Some of us are sooooo tight, we even reduce the voltage to our electrically heated boilers ;)
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The majority of my brass and copper is from my sons (plumbing company) scrap pile.
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regarding esbit fuel , I probably have 10 lbs of it now (as I never use it !) , many sellers praise the amount of esbit they have to send along with the engine , I have actually sent them a message on occasion & told them to just keep it.
I use it in my Jensen 76 as it was my first engine found at my great-grandpa’s, so it brings back memories of running it... fun to use now and then, like adding coal or wood.
Also let the kids use it in some old beat up Wilescos and Mamod TE’s/SR’s outdoors.
That's a great idea for the grandkids...they would love the fire aspect 👍
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regarding esbit fuel , I probably have 10 lbs of it now (as I never use it !) , many sellers praise the amount of esbit they have to send along with the engine , I have actually sent them a message on occasion & told them to just keep it.
I use it in my Jensen 76 as it was my first engine found at my great-grandpa’s, so it brings back memories of running it... fun to use now and then, like adding coal or wood.
Also let the kids use it in some old beat up Wilescos and Mamod TE’s/SR’s outdoors.
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Yes I save & re-use paper towels until they're of absolutely no use any more , I also save the tinyiest piece a brass round stock , and my biggest issue is I'm a box hoarder, I get many more inbound than outbound...but you never know when your going to need "that box !".
regarding esbit fuel , I probably have 10 lbs of it now (as I never use it !) , many sellers praise the amount of esbit they have to send along with the engine , I have actually sent them a message on occasion & told them to just keep it.
Re:shipping peanuts, I have a supplier for that now , the Honda assembly plant on my route (massive place) has been saving these for me for a few years now & I have been hoarding them in 70-gallon bags upstairs in my garage for a while now as well, I use a lot of them as well 😉👌
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This one is a bit embarrassing.....when I have to spray multiple items on my turn table I place them so that the overspray falls onto surrounding items and ones at the back...done this for awhile now and it really makes a rattle can go a LOT further.
I do this with Ballistol
Love Ballistol!
I buy it now in the bulk size and put it into a stove atomizer pump cleaner bottle...so much cheaper than the aerosol cans.
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This one is a bit embarrassing.....when I have to spray multiple items on my turn table I place them so that the overspray falls onto surrounding items and ones at the back...done this for awhile now and it really makes a rattle can go a LOT further.
I do this with Ballistol
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I like to search the web for used/under priced/or slightly damaged engines I can repair...the bargain shopping is mostly so I have $ for the "NEXT" engine!
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How about saving peanuts and bubble wrap? I have a whole collection of that :D
Boxes too!
I CANNOT throw away a good box or bubble wrap! I only recently found out that those packing peanuts were made out of corn and instantly dissolve in water....went through a few testing that out ;D
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This one is a bit embarrassing.....when I have to spray multiple items on my turn table I place them so that the overspray falls onto surrounding items and ones at the back...done this for awhile now and it really makes a rattle can go a LOT further.
(My paternal side came out to Australia from Scotland in 1805 :) )
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How about saving peanuts and bubble wrap? I have a whole collection of that :D
Boxes too!
[attachimg=1]
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I know Jim is guilty of this one, but as the price of brass rises, it may not be considered cheap/tight... using empty cartridges/shells for wick tubes etc.
I'm always on the lookout for calibers I don't reload at the range so I have more varieties to repurpose for burners and other things.
I've used a heck of a lot of .32 S&W cases for Mamod burners :)
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I know Jim is guilty of this one, but as the price of brass rises, it may not be considered cheap/tight... using empty cartridges/shells for wick tubes etc.
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I keep my cleaning rags that have Brasso, Autosol etc in a zip lock bag so that they don't dry out. Cuts down massively on how much cleaning product you have to use.
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Boiler water is drained and ran through a coffee filter for re-use.
Clever!
The filter lives in a dedicated funnel and is always dry and ready for the next steam up ;)
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Boiler water is drained and ran through a coffee filter for re-use. Yes, I know it’s like 92 cents/gallon and no I do not recycle the water out of my chuff pot :D
I also recycle my paper towels, as they get dirtier, they get used more for oil cleanup. I have some of these magnetic clips bought off Amazon (best chip bag clips ever) and they work great for hanging up paper towels to dry.
Clever!
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I have bought cheap engines just for the boxes of Esbit that were included in the sale.
I also search ebay a good few dozen times a day on my phone looking for a cheap BIN
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Boiler water is drained and ran through a coffee filter for re-use. Yes, I know it’s like 92 cents/gallon and no I do not recycle the water out of my chuff pot :D
I also recycle my paper towels, as they get dirtier, they get used more for oil cleanup. I have some of these magnetic clips bought off Amazon (best chip bag clips ever) and they work great for hanging up paper towels to dry.
[attachimg=1]
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Don’t even get me started... This could get embarrassing 😂 😂
Lol I just broke the ice with one thing to test the waters ;D :D ;D :D ;D :D ;D :D
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Don’t even get me started... This could get embarrassing 😂 😂
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What's the tightest thing that you regularly do in your steam hobby?
I recycle paper towel, I use a lot for wiping up water and sometimes a little oil.....it dries out great (even scrumpled up :) ) and I can use it for ages till it goes in the bin.