Building a Kitsap Caboose

by Daris A Nevil

November 2015

Equipment

 * Kitsap Live Steamers caboose kit (check their website)
 * Couplers
 * Trucks
 * Detail parts (most of mine came from Precision Steel Car)

Tools and Supplies
I hope this list of tools and supplies won't discourage you from tackling this kit. If you don't have one of the tools listed below then think about other ways you can accomplish the same operation with a different tool, or ask a friend that has the required tool to help you with that operation.


 * Low-cost wire welder (110 Volt AC) from Harbor Freight
 * Lincoln "tombstone" AC-225 welder (220 Volt AC)
 * Lincoln Innershield NR-211-MP flux core welding wire, 0.035 inch
 * Welding rods
 * Harbor Freight drill press/mill
 * Milwaukee 6370 Metal Cutting Circular Saw
 * Self etching primer
 * Rustoleum ComfortGrip spray can handle and trigger
 * Red, White, Yellow and Black paint
 * Rivet driver
 * Bucking bar (for rivets)
 * 1/8 inch and 3/32 inch rivets
 * Harbor Freight 30 inch sheet metal brake
 * Bondo body filler
 * Harbor Freight 4 inch angle grinder

I started welding the kit using the Lincoln stick welder, which worked ok with the thick 1/8 inch steel floor. However, this could have been done with the wire welder as well, so you really don't need both welders. If you have to choose between the two then choose the wire welder.

I had no idea how to cut the 16 gauge roof steel (an operation step, see below). After doing some research and watching a YouTube video I decided to purchase a Milwuakee steel cutting circular saw. Wow, I'm so glad I did. This saw is such a joy to use. And the resulting cuts are so smooth and straight. It is as easy to use as a regular wood cutting circular saw. I know I will get many years of good use out of this tool.

Trucks and Brakes
See Balanced Air Brakes from Scratch.

Painting and Lettering
The free program Inkscape was used to create SVG files for all the vinyl lettering. The SVG files were then converted to EPS files used by the Vinyl Cutter. All graphics (SVG and EPS) are included in the following Zip file:


 * Vinyl_Decals.zip