My Lil' Mule

June 14, 2026

Black Diamond Drill Grinder – Making the diamond nib holders

Finishing up the holders for the diamond nibs. Almost. I’m still undecided if I need to add a locking screw for the adjustable piece.

Anchorlube: https://amzn.to/3Y8LmLz
—-

Check out my blog: https://www.mylilmule.us
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mylilmule/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/my.lil.mule/

Join this channel to get access to perks:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVhu-MGVjs8i8SwyGUElJFg/join
Become a Patreon supporter: https://www.patreon.com/mylilmule
One time donation: https://paypal.me/MyLilMule
T Shirts and such: https://store.mylilmule.us
Etsy Shop: https://mylilmule.etsy.com
Buy me a Pizza: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mylilmule
Amazon wish list: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/MBO1LDMVXEWI?sort=priority

June 10, 2026

Union Pacific #4014 – Big Boy

Got to experience the worlds largest operating steam locomotive this past weekend as it passed by a friends property in NE Ohio. It was huge and loud! Quite the sight to see.

#bigboy #trainspotting #steamlocomotive #unionpacific #4014

June 7, 2026

King of the Way Alignment Tools – Part 1

I’ve been wanting to build my own version of a King Way Alignment tool for some time. I took inspiration from the original patented tool, as well as examples from several YouTube videos, and came up with my own.

Special thanks to PCBWay for helping sponsor part of this build: https://www.pcbway.com

Anchorlube: https://amzn.to/3Y8LmLz

—-

Check out my blog: https://www.mylilmule.us
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mylilmule/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/my.lil.mule/

May 31, 2026

Black Diamond Drill Grinder Repair – Making the holder for the diamond nib adjuster.

Working on the Black Diamond Drill Grinder this week. Getting the piece prepped that will eventually hold the diamond nib adjuster.

—-

Check out my blog: https://www.mylilmule.us
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mylilmule/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/my.lil.mule/

May 24, 2026

Black Diamond Drill Grinder – Progress on the Wheel Dresser

Making some slow but sure progress on the Black Diamond wheel dressing mechanism. I have some CRS that is perfect for the pivoting section of the dresser, and a surprise eBay find made a part of this build considerably easier!

Anchorlube: https://amzn.to/3Y8LmLz
—-

Check out my blog: https://www.mylilmule.us
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mylilmule/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/my.lil.mule/

May 17, 2026

I attended a Keith Rucker Hand Scraping Class!

I recently made the long drive from Ohio down to Tifton, Georgia to attend one of Keith Rucker’s hand scraping classes, and in this video I take you along for the entire experience. Over several days we covered spotting, sharpening, scraping technique, precision measurement, and machine rebuilding concepts while hand scraping cast iron straight edges using traditional methods. This wasn’t my first exposure to scraping, but spending several full days immersed in the process gave me a much greater appreciation for the skill, patience, and consistency required to do it well. Along the way you’ll see demonstrations of power scraping and flaking with a Biax scraper, discussions on rebuilding machine tools, plenty of cast iron chips being made, and even a visit to the Georgia Museum of Agriculture where many of Keith’s earlier videos were filmed.

—-

Check out my blog: https://www.mylilmule.us
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mylilmule/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/my.lil.mule/

May 10, 2026

Machining Cast Iron Straight Edges on the K&T Horizontal Mill

In this video I machine a pair of cast iron machinist straight edges from VintageMachinery.org
on my Kearney & Trecker 2HL horizontal mill in preparation for an upcoming hand scraping class with . These are the 9″ and 12″ Rucker Tool Co. straight edges that will eventually be hand scraped for precision work, but first they needed to be machined true and cleaned up from the raw castings.

Things did not go entirely according to plan.

Partway through the machining process I started fighting chatter problems that had me scratching my head, and I later discovered I had made a pretty significant setup mistake — the milling head wasn’t properly tightened. To make matters worse, after finishing the machining work, I managed to drop one of the straight edges and ding the freshly machined surface. Fortunately, everything is recoverable, but it definitely means more work when scraping begins.

—-

Check out my blog: https://www.mylilmule.us
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mylilmule/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/my.lil.mule/