Turning brass domes--what do I need??

Posted by Jim Courtney on
URL: http://c-sng-discussion-forum.254.s1.nabble.com/Turning-brass-domes-what-do-I-need-tp2591.html

OK, once a month the Micromark catalog shows up in the mailbox, and I always end up turning to the pages with the lathe and milling machine and all the extra little devices and attachments that seem to cost a lot of $$$s and probably aren't included with the machines but are essential to their function.

Here's the deal.  For year's I've wanted some fluted Cooke domes in S scale, for both the 2-6-0 and the 2-8-0 (they have different boiler diameters).  I keep hoping that cast domes will magically show up on The Leadville Shops webpage, if Bill Meredith is ever so moved.  There are rapid printed Cooke domes offered in On3 and HOn3 on Shapeways, but so far not in S scale, despite the occasional rumor.  I was fortunate in obtaining a pair of Rhode Island domes from Derrell when he turned a batch (beautiful little things, they are), and they are already installed on an Overland #60 B-4-C that I'm backdating to the Summer of 1909.

So, what is the minimal machinery that I would need to accurately turn 3-4 pair of fluted domes (the actual turning, plus milling out the bottom of the dome to fit the boiler?) Is the required skill set onerous (I don't believe that I have 4-5 years to practice)?. Would I be better off just getting on the schedule at The Seventh Street Shops in terms of time and money spent?

Turning in indecision,

Jim