I certainly would not want to discourage anyone from scratchbuilding a locomotive but, as Harry says, there is a cost in time--and not only in learning to use the machine tools.
As the extreme example, consider constructing a Mountain, Northern or Hudson from a complete kit of castings and parts, so that no scrounging is necessary. An 0 gauge or gauge 3 Little Engines (now Locomotive Works) kit runs about $1,000 to $1,200. Nice and cheap and as far as the functioning of the various parts of the mechanism at least as true to prototype as Aster. Even truer in some respects, such as springing. However, most moderately skilled home shop machinists will end up investing from 2,000 to 2,500 hours in the project. The quickest scratchbuilt I know of is (or was, I don't know if it's still available) a 1" scale 0-4-0 from Cole Power Models. The catalogue claimed a building time of only 600 hours. However, the kit was castings only so you need to add on the scrounge factor. If you love machining, it's great. But be aware that your highly skilled time is saving you something in the range of $1-$2 per hour, depending on what the competing RTR or screwdriver kit costs. Victor Lacy -----Original Message----- From: Harry Wade <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: Multiple recipients of sslivesteam <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Friday, October 26, 2001 11:28 AM Subject: Re: "Budget" live steam >At 11:29 AM 10/26/01 +0100, you wrote: >>Harry mentioned that "affordable" is a relative term. (big snip) >>I currently have 4 live steamers, >>the most expensive one . . . a $900 boiler and chassis kit. > > To illustrate the alternative . . . . for that amount of money you can >buy a reasonably well tooled Atlas 6" lathe and an 8" Delta Home Depot >drill press & bits, and a few files, and Viola! you're in the live steam >locomotive building business and the loco costs drop from $900 to $50 or >even less for the basic locomotive, depending upon your scrounging >abilities. There isn't a single part of a typical miniature steam >locomotive that cannot be made at home by the amateur, still there will be >some items (screws, fittings, gauges, etc) that are labor and skill >intensive enough that for most of us we're better off buying them out, >unless of course you just want the challenge and satisfaction (or >humiliation!) of making them yourself. But then there we go again paying >someone else to do the machine work. > >>I don't think I have more than $3000 invested in the whole lot. > > If you buy carefully, for that amount of money you can have a South >Bend or Logan 9" or 10" lathe, a small benchtop milling machine, and a >better drill press, and a few accessories for all of them and then who >needs Aster. Of course learning how to use these has to be factored in as >a cost (in time). > >Cheers, >Harry
