I've Never Tried This Before | Engels Coach Shop 

Dave is as talented as he is humble. The essence of a master craftsman is his resourcefulness and willingness to tackle any element of a project. A joy to watch.

Glad to hear that there will be a few more episodes on this wagon. The entire build has been great.

The variety of work that you are skilled in is one of the reasons why I like this channel so much. I fixed cars for 40 years. To see you go from beautiful upholstery work, to complex angles in carpentry, to blacksmith forging is just fun to watch.

Many years ago, the 1960s, I worked as a tool maker in a shop in Minnesota. They hired a guy who claimed to be a machinist and he came to work with his tools in a burlap bag. He took them out of his bag and lined his measuring tools up on a shop rag and was given the job of chasing threads on the lathe, similar to what you are doing here. I will never forget--he was into the work maybe 3 or 4 passes when he engaged the feed at the wrong mark. I tell you this is absolutely true. He started the next pass and the tool was eating the previous threads and I heard him, as did others in the shop, "Git back in the furrow!!!" as he whacked the tool holder with a wrench. The owner had a few words with this fellow and the next thing he was sweeping his measuring instruments into the burlap bag. I never saw him again.

As I've said before you are an American Treasure, with your knowledge, and your recording it for people to learn. Best wishes from the smokey North.

I am constantly amazed at your variety of skills. Trying to visualize which way the lathe had to turn to cut internal left hand threads made my brain hurt.

I'm always amazed that when you don't have a piece, your typical response is no problem. I'll just make one. Very cool!!!!

We enjoy how the coach building processes pushes the builder and the viewer into new and unpredicted areas of craft. From Machining to upholstery to wood turning to ….engineering is the only word to describe it.

Ya'll your are so into a treat to see the finished paint job. I'll tell you what there are auto painters that envy his paint jobs. They are jaw dropping beautiful. The Yellowstone Park wagons were magnificent when he finished them as was Arne's sleigh and the work he has done for us. He and his wife and family are the best bar none.

Many of us are Jack’s of Many Trades, and appreciate your diversity in many skills. Hence, why we are not tired of your ability to create / repairs wheels etc. It is all about the ingenuity journey and connect with.👍🇺🇸

I have no doubt that the finished product will be better than the original. Some people specialize in one trade, and that's fine for them. Some of us find that we are most comfortable doing a little of everything. That was far more common in times past. I, for one, am glad to see you keeping that tradition alive.

An real expert always knows how much he doesn't know.

Can't wait to see the final assembly of the mud wagon

If the thing you make works and looks good, then you're a good machinist. Thanks for showing us how you did it.

As always you have a answer and a solution for these problems , it’s no joke the work you do,is exceptional!

From what I've seen you complete, i believe the dictionary has Dave's picture as the first entry under proficient!

Ever since I started watching your videos, I now, when watching old westerns, look at the wagons differently looking for authenticness it that's a word but you know what I mean.

Looking forward to the finished wagon, going to be outstanding Dave!

fascinating! God Bless you and Mrs. Engels.

Hope you enjoyed the 4th and celebrated freedom with friends and loved ones. It will be interesting to learn owner choices for paint, upholstery, and horses of choice. 👍👍👍

Usually I am in a hurry to see a project finished. But this one is so fascinating I am most happy to see it continue. There is so much to learn. It seems that each episode brings a new skill. Thank you for sharing Dave. Have a good day and stay safe.🙂🙂

Man, I haven't seen one of those old Craftsman metal lathes in that nice of shape in MANY years.

Stay safe and we'll see you next week.

Brother Dave I am excited for this aspect of the build. I have been looking forward to this date all year. Looks like you are off to a great start duplicating missing parts. Good lick. Again, say hello to your greatest fan, Diane, the woman behind every good man, the wife. Pray you all had a great 4th of July and will receive a great blessed summer 2023.

I was consulting with a psychologist once, and I asked her why I was lazy. She said, You're not lazy, you're saving your energy to do things you like to do!" So now I'm not lazy, I'm just saving my energy!😅

Really glad that your last episode was NOT the last one , yippee ! , GREAT TO SEE , ❤ hope you're both doing well

I'm a lazy plumber so I would have cut a section from the square stock and welded it in the middle of the round stock but your idea is much more effective and is the reason you are the Wagon Builder and I'm a plumber... as always, Thank you for sharing your time with us, always looking forward to the next adventure.

Here's a little trick for threading... for RH threads the spindle (chuck) should rotate in the SAME direction as the leadscrew. For LH threads the spindle and the leadscrew should turn in OPPOSITE directions, works every time!!

You Sir are truly a Jack of All Trades and Master of them all. Thank you for sharing this with us

Dave, Jack of all trades and Master of ALL

Great video. My dad, who would be 98 right now, was a tool and die maker his whole life. Dad had an old Atlas lathe and drill press at home and he taught me many things. This brings back old memories. Thank you.

Every day is a learning day even as someone as consumate as yourself and as alway you have the humility to be honest about it. I salute you!

You can use a little bit of valve grinding compound to clean up those left hand threads.

On watches there is also a left threaded screw on the crown wheel (used to wind the main spring).

It is such a joy to come home on Friday night and watch a piece of history being rebuilt.

Not lazy. Efficient. Never mind that necessity jive, efficiency is the mother of invention

I knew you could do it, piece of cake as we say around here.

It is all interesting😮, but this week qualifies for FASCINATING.😲 I can't imagine ever doing any of this, but THANK YOU for showing us the details of HOW ITS MADE.😊 I believe you are providing a VALUABLE library for someone in the future to carry on your restoration and new builds. I look forward to every post.😁

Interesting project. When you trying to clean up the internal threads, those passes are called spring passes. They allow the tool to cut the material left from the cutting forces pushing the tool away (out) from the material being cut. Without changing the reading on the scale. Nice work.

Great job on that project Dave. I know what you mean about not being "Proficient on a lathe. years ago I worked for an Elevator company, and in our shop was a lathe similar to what you have there. and I never ran one before I went to work there.but the need to come up with parts that were not available to be purchased as in your case I too got to learn how to make left and rignt threads nujts etc. it took a lot of thinking. But mostly just learning how to operate the lathe Fun stuff and what's the old Saying" Necessity if the Mother of invention. and its also the Mother of learning how and what to do. Thanks for the reminders. great stuff. ECF

You Sir are amazing!!!!!!

I'd be happy to know Half of what You may have Forgotten over the last couple of Years... 😅 Watching, and Listening, to Your Thought Processes was Amazing, Sir !!

Enjoyable episode. I very seldom run into left hand threads, but when I do I’m grateful for left hand taps and dies.

When you were talking about your thought of making the wrench flats in the middle of the rod, I was right there with ya. I said to my wife, “build up the middle with weld”! So I guess it’s true what they say, great minds think a like! Awesome work Dave, awesome work!

McMaster-Carr has left hand 5/8 -11 general purpose tap and die for roughly $75 + shipping. They are very fast delivering.

Nice job thinking outside the box, that turned out nice, I can't wait to see the finished product.

It always looks funny to me to see the drill bit held still and the other piece turned

Curtiss over at cutting edge engineering calls those clean up cuts 'spring cuts' because you're taking out the material left due to the springiness in the tooling/workpiece. He also gives the threads a kiss with a small belt sander to take the burr like peaks off the thread form. It's been 38 years since I last machined a left hand thread. I think I'd need to go back to school now before attempting it!

Try valve grinding compound from the auto parts store.

Another great video sir. As I've said before I enjoy watching a true craftsman as yourself .

I have found that glass bead blasting provides incredible smoothness and anti-gall protection to metal threads. This is especially true with stainless steel which is always prone to galling.

Im not sure if the origins of the saying “half nuts” came from the lathe world or not but as a 40 plus year machinist/ toolmaker I must say that half nut on the lathe sure does come in handy for whipping up custom threads. The Hardinge HLV at work is perfect for this kind of work. I really like the welded up portion that you did, as that is an alternative but effective solution. Nice work once again!

I started to respond suggesting welding the centre to create the square section, but decided to continue watching, and see we both had the same idea. Its not cheating if it does the job it's intended to do. Excellent video. Thanks

I’m not a machinist by any stretch either but enjoyed learning all I could in my maintenance department. Sometimes it was stressful when the clock was ticking but fixing something and learning at the same time was satisfying. I wanted to beat my chest the first time I single pointed threads on the lathe.

first make the internal thread and then the external thread. It is easier to adjust the external thread. It doesn't have to conform to the norm as long as the screw and nut fit.

It is really relaxing to watch you figure it out then do it

Thanks for taking us through the journey

You may not be a journeyman machinist but to cut internal and external left hand threads is very impressive!!!!!!! Yes, I have been thinking about whether you were going paint or stain the Wagon and you have upholstery and the canvas top. Then mounting it on the running gear.

Great job turning those threads for the thorough brace. You had a well thought out plan. Looking forward to seeing the undercarriage installation. Stay safe

Never a doubt that he could do it!

Dave as usual you are doing a great job and thats from a retired Engineer you are a true Craftsman Regards from Liverpool England.

It is aways interesting to watch a craftsman with high standards ... thanks.

Good grief! A job started before 2016 and is still a work in progress!!! LOL this is a timeline consistent with the times when horses is all there was. Power on! I am looking forward to seeing the final result in 2040! Nice!!! Amazing you can have a profession that does not care how long it takes to get things done. Where I work, time travel is required to achieve unrealistic deadlines by idiots that call themselves "upper management" but consistently fall VERY short of what any rational person would consider "leadership". I REALLY need to find a new path LOL!!!!

Always a pleasure watching your "craft"

Dave, from a Brit, you know, the people that invented the english language? Well, you also have a superb command of that language that a true Brit should be proud of , let alone a Montanan !!

That was interesting Dave , watching you study first then doing was words of wisdom !! Thanks for sharing with us and we know you're not finishe till you take it outside to the customer. OLD DAWG DREAMING Fred.

Dave, you may not consider yourself an expert machinist, but you are pretty damn good at it. Excellent work.

such a beautiful and interesting profession. It's very old style and I assume there will only a view persons in the next generations doing this, if any. So grateful you document your work and profession beside the very nice and kind comments. Thanks Dave!

Your threads are fine (they work!). LIke lots of things, it's practice. A LH tap and die would have been quicker, but like you I don't usually spend that sort of money for something that might be used once. Keep up the good work.

Nice lathe work Dave, turned out great, very interesting 👍

Brilliant skill and workmanship - I love your videos

Nice work, got the most technically hardest part of the build out of the way first. Now it's just a lot of heating, beating, banging, welding and grinding.

A little metal polish on those threads run in and out will bed it in if it helps.

I've had a great deal of success with unbending threaded rods using wood. I used something i had on hand near the press, and that turned out to be the thing that i've been using for this ever since, IE some chunks of oak parquet flooring i'd recuperated from a rotten floor. The oak's hard enough not to crack, but still soft enough not to damage the threads.

Coulda fooled me about your machinist ability 👍👍

Fascinating as always , it's great when you have to work something out. Great stuff 👍🇬🇧

Thanks for the clarification. I was worried that someone else was going to take over and we'd miss the finish. The turnbuckle is off to a great start, I think your method makes sense, I'm guessing you will put flats on the nuts to weld the legs on. Another enjoyable few minutes, thanks for sharing.

Pure pleasure to watch .

After 2 hours, 7.6K views and 2.3K likes. That means 30% of the viewers leave a like. Not bad!

I'm happy to say, I thought of adding weld to the round shaft before Dave said it.

You do very well at all your work,nothing to be ashamed of.😀👍 Keep on doing it right.

I learned this kind of stuff at school to become a ships engineer. I never ever practiced this in real life, because the ships I worked on always had a skilled machinist / welder on board. I wonder if I still could do it if necessary. I imagine I would need a lot of stock 😂 😬

Amassing job done. Work smarter not harder!!!

Well done Dave, it keeps the old brain cells going.

I was all set to watch you cast some bits; figuring "alright! some new territory!". Well, kinda new; still going to be interesting to see how you tackle this turnbuckle.

The mighty Sears Craftsman lathe pulls through again.

For a fair weather machinist, that turned out (pun intended), pretty darn nice!

That turnbuckle style that was on the wagon is the same type of style you would find for chains in hauling but they have an addition of a ratcheting wrench mounted in the middle. Otherwise its like the common turnbuckle nowadays but just split and flipped. You take one and cut the casting in half and lop off the ends of each rod (the loop and hook parts) then flip them around and weld the threaded bar together.

How many of us would like to “just get by “ doing all or half the things this artisan can …brilliant work ..

Dave your video's are always fun to watch....Thanks 👍 Shoe🇺🇸

Dave you are doing a fine job on the lathe.

Good evening, it would be nice to see you do restoration, of antique furniture,

Dave I have learned so much from you Thank You Nothing wrong with your Machine skills

I too, yesterday just turned a 5/8' left hand , right hand shaft.

That machining looks good to me, turned out great.

You are a true craftsman and humble too your doing a great job and a great video see ya on the next one 😊

nice work can't wait to see the completed project

outstanding👌👌👌👌

Interesting metal working insight. I've tried reverse thread and messed up every single time, it was only ever for my Own learning it was my lathe skill that was making 😂 great video

I'd have liked to have watched you do the squaring off the bar, Dave, but I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of turnbuckle re produced 👍