TheRailwire
General Discussion => Weathering, Detailing, and Scratchbuilding => Topic started by: Ed Kapuscinski on September 14, 2019, 11:42:22 AM
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Reading the BR&W thread and, of course, knowing the man's prowess when it comes to structures (and modeling of all types) and having recently created a spreadsheet of what plastic sheets and shapes I have in my stash got me to thinking.
@DKS , what tools and most especially, "stock" (like plastruct pieces and wire) do you keep around "on hand" that allows you to knock stuff out so quickly?
Basically, what have I not realized I need and what have I not realized I'm going to need when I get into more structure projects?
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OK, stock. Basically I maintain a supply of just about every size of Evergreen strip styrene they make, as well as most of the smaller sizes of angles, I- and H-beams, and tubing. Sheet stock, again I have about every thickness from 0.005 up to 0.125; I also have several thicknesses of black sheet styrene. Plus, I have sheet brass and nickel-silver, and K&S brass tubing, both regular and thin-wall, lots of shapes but mostly angles, and wire rod from 0.125" brass down to 0.005" stainless. I have a fair amount of wood, such as micro-ply and strip stock. Oh, and kits... I buy kits by the bushel (or used to--no need anymore), and sort all the parts by type--brick, stone, wood, etc.--into big boxes o' kitbashing parts.
Tools, well, I'm a tool junkie and have more tools than Carter has pills, but I do the vast majority of work with just a few stock items: X-Acto, straight edges/rulers, small steel triangles, various tweezers, nippers, flush cutters and small needle-noses, micro-files, nail buffers, K&S sanding film, and of course micro-drills down to #95. One of my most valuable power tools is a Micro-Mark mini table saw, plus of course a Dremel. Then, I have two thermostatically-controlled soldering irons, one with a big chisel tip and one with a fine tip. Among countless other tools, I have a Chopper, which is ideal for repetitive cutting of strip stock.
Other stuff... I compulsively collect LEDs of all shapes, sizes and colors; mini- and micro/pager-motors, micro-gears and assemblies, locomotive mechanisms, and mechanical parts scavenged from disc drives, motorized toys and other such tech junk.
Beyond that, I have several cabinets of drawers containing scraps left over from many hundreds of projects. I never throw anything out (well, within reason), and after five decades of modeling, I've accumulated quite a supply of all sorts of stuff--it's invaluable, and would be prohibitively costly--or, in many cases, impossible--to replace.
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Friggin' sweet inventory. Thanks for sharing.
DFF
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Almost forgot two critically important items: bright work lights, and magnification (my preference is drug store reading glasses). Also, a work surface: I have several cutting mats--they don't last forever, so I replace them regularly. But I've also found that a hard work surface is useful, too, and I use a large, smooth ceramic tile piece.
I'm sure I've forgotten plenty of other items, so I'll probably be adding to the list every so often.
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Yep, more...
Chemicals of choice: Acetone (paint thinner, brush cleaner, cyanoacrylate dissolver), MEK (bonding styrene), Heptane, a.k.a. Bestine (degreasing, degumming, general cleaning), and alcohol, both 70% (general cleaning, making washes/stains, ballasting) and 91% (paint stripping). Oh, and a bushel of brushes, from 1/2" flats down to #18/0 spotters.
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Just for reference, here's all of the tools and whatnot I used for the steel shop project:
(http://davidksmith.com/modeling/reading-central/images/IMG_5409.jpg)
Since I don't have a workshop yet--let alone a workbench--I kept things to a bare minimum.
(Not shown: mini-table saw, soldering iron.)
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So, you essentially have on hand one of these:
(https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1811/0745/products/56.jpg)
plus one of these:
(http://www.ksmetals.com/resources/_wsb_501x341_1005I+June+2014+$280-00-00-00$29.jpg)
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So, you essentially have on hand one of these:
Pretty much.
plus one of these:
Maybe half.
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A while back I searched ebay for Evergreen styrene lots and found a pretty big stash for a pretty low price.
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Instant "best of" :D
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Instant "best of" :D
Agreed.
Thanks @DKS!
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A better question would have been "what isn't in DKS's toolbox?"
I ask for a left-handed 3/16th micron widget with a wanginstine adapeter and he responds "do you want one with a red handle or a blue handle".
Or if I need a couple tiny screws, he'll have some, but in like seven different finishes.
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Looking at what DKS wrote, I'm pretty much a hoarder of materials, LEDs, and tools too. And probably couple hundreds of various paint bottles and sprays. No such thing as too many of any of them. :)
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Yeah, I've got probably got nearly all that stuff, but no Micro-Mark table saw, however. :D
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And now... the entire Railwire sets up eBay alerts for "plastruct lot", lol.
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...but no Micro-Mark table saw, however. :D
I cannot recommend this tool more highly. Much of what I do would simply not be possible without it.
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This one?
https://www.micromark.com/MicroLux-Miniature-Table-Saw_2?gclid=CjwKCAjw5fzrBRASEiwAD2OSV3L1ae2umo78RE0FW0cKnUGTcmbiDRDqbQAP1lNmzEwkx7lXYmPV2hoCE-AQAvD_BwE
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Yep.
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The question is, do I buy one for myself or buy stock in Micromark do to the increased sales caused by this thread? ;)
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Yep.
Oh *****. And only for $100? What a steal!
Anyone happen to have a micro-mark coupon floating around for even more savings?
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Or for $35 more, you can get blades too.
https://www.micromark.com/Multi-Saw-Super-Value-Package
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That's a better deal considering blades are near $35 each.
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The question is, do I buy one for myself or buy stock in Micromark do to the increased sales caused by this thread? ;)
No, wait for one of their special sales where they sell them at a "discount".
Also, since (like most other Micro-Mark offerings) it is simply another product, re-badged as Micro-Mark, you might be able to find it less expensive elsewhere. Looks like it is a Proxxon saw. Man, they have added lots of features to this since I bought mine.
https://www.amazon.com/Proxxon-37070-FET-Table-Saw/dp/B005FI3MKC (https://www.amazon.com/Proxxon-37070-FET-Table-Saw/dp/B005FI3MKC)
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The Micro Mark saw is a copy of this one:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Proxxon-Bench-Circular-Saw-KS-115-37006/203459864
2" blade vs. 4" and tilting.
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The Micro Mark saw is a copy of this one:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Proxxon-Bench-Circular-Saw-KS-115-37006/203459864
2" blade vs. 4" and tilting.
Actually Micro-Mark carries both models. I have the larger one.
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Oh I guess they. The original links were for the 2" saw :P
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Pics please of your workstation and on-hand supplies. I'm a foamer for bench shots.
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Pics please of your workstation and on-hand supplies. I'm a foamer for bench shots.
not my video, but this is clearly some form of fetish you might fancy:
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When did Peteski pickup that accent? :D
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Wow! That must have taken some time to build all those wooden shelves and tool holders! That by itself was a serious woodworking project.
I try to organize things, but I'm nowhere as neat as that guy.
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Pics please of your workstation and on-hand supplies. I'm a foamer for bench shots.
No bench yet. And I might not have one for some months to come. Right now my tools and supplies are all in storage cabinets, and I work at the kitchen counter.
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Eh, I've posted some before, I'll see if I can't take some new ones since I moved.
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Pics please of your workstation and on-hand supplies. I'm a foamer for bench shots.
Late to get these added for @chuck geiger but It's been a whirlwind lately.
(https://www.therailwire.net/forum/gallery/13/1158-191019214313.jpeg)
Train Storage and projects in the stack to the right.
(https://www.therailwire.net/forum/gallery/13/1158-191019214411.jpeg)
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Nice! So what is that white machine in the middle of the workbench?
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Well, now that this has been officially made a "Best Of" topic, perhaps it might be better suited for the "Weathering, Detailing, and Scratchbuilding" section. Also, I'd suggest re-titling it "What's In Your Toolbox?" since others are contributing worthwhile content.
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Nice! So what is that white machine in the middle of the workbench?
Ott-Lite - Dual light. They both flip up and tilt/rotate.
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Nice!
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A second for buying up random lots of Evergreen styrene at train shows or when a hobby shop has a box full of miscellaneous packages that they are unloading as a lot. I filled in a good number of holes in my Evergreen stash that way. I store mine in clear plastic tubes with rubber caps that I can label. They all fit nicely in plastic milk crates that stack and keep all the tubes organized.
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I should add some clarity to this image I suppose.
(https://www.therailwire.net/forum/gallery/13/1158-191019214313.jpeg)
The small top drawer on the left, left to right has brass sheet/shim stock in manageable sizes and thicknesses and a number of K&S structural shapes in tubes.
The slot to its right has a number of Sharpies in White, Silver and Black as well as some Floquil paint pens.
The larger position has Evergreen Sheet Stock from .050 in White and Clear through all thicknesses of Plain Sheet offered, only in White plus nearly all numbers of sheets like Passenger Car Siding, Car Siding, Clapboard, V Groove, etc. in a variety of widths or thicknesses.
The Center Drawer front to back is Details Associates Brass Wire and Tichy Phosphor Bronze Wire in most Diameters appropriate for N Scale, Builders in Scale corrugated metal siding strips in large quantities of a variety of widths.
Then going toward the back in each section is all widths of .010, .015. .020, .030 and on and on plus any number of Kappler and Northeast wood sizes.
There is also a slot or two for a variety of Evergreen Rod Diameters, Tubes, I Beam, H Beam, Angles...etc.
Another slot has the same for Plastruct.
The Drawer on the right has NWSL sanding sticks, belts for them, large steel files.
The plastic bin in front has most commonly used X-acto blades bought in 100 packs, a number of Carbide and Diamond burrs for use in my Dremel tools and large numbers of small drill bits and pin vises.
The plastic bin behind it has just about any combination of MT truck, couplers, springs, wheels, doors, ladders, crossover steps, running boards and so on.
The drawers below these have many, many small boxes of Intermountain underframes, ladders, running boards, doors and so on.
The one on the right is full of binders with alphabetized and organized MS Decals and CDS dry transfers.
The very bottom drawer on the left is full of packaged sandpaper in wet, dry and all variety of coarseness, popsicle sticks for resin casting, packages of single edged razor blades and boxes of Train Show purchased 1/8" shank drill bits.
The bottom drawer on the right has Digitrax throttles, Digital Calipers a Scale for weighing freight cars and resin volumes and other electronic miscellany.
Everything else above the desk level is pretty self explanatory.
Oh and the plywood above the desk with the drawings taped to the folds in accordion fashion to enclose the whole thing completely.
Stored in that area is my 2' long sacred stash of Holgate-Reynolds brick sheet and a number of RC plane rod-tube gizmos, long balsa and other goodies.
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I cannot recommend this tool more highly. Much of what I do would simply not be possible without it.
@DKS, would you please elaborate a bit?
Just what makes this little table saw so indispensable to you? What do you use it for? Structures? I’m truly curious as I was just contemplating buying one from MicroMark, but today stumbled on a $38 Mighty-Mite with a 4” blade at our neighborhood Harbor Freight and bought it, see pic below. Well, it’s a piece junk and it’s going back for a refund (I should have known better; you get what you pay for :facepalm:)
Other than the vacuum attachment and better apparent quality, what does the MicroMark saw offer that this one doesn’t? The 2’ blade for better precision?
Thanks, Otto K.
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OK, well, it's tough to elaborate because I use it so much, but here goes...
For starters, I use a ton of DPM kits, and anyone who has tried bashing them knows they're tough little buggers to cut down--the plastic is thick and hard. Consider this beastie, which involved dozens of cuts that must be straight and parallel:
(http://davidksmith.com/modeling/layouts/JerseyCityIndustrial/images/build_9d4.jpg)
Or these (note that nearly all of the corners are mitered):
(http://davidksmith.com/modeling/layouts/JerseyCityIndustrial/images/build_9f3.jpg)
(http://davidksmith.com/modeling/layouts/JerseyCityIndustrial/images/build_8b.jpg)
(http://davidksmith.com/modeling/layouts/JerseyCityIndustrial/images/build_8d.jpg)
(http://davidksmith.com/modeling/layouts/images/jersey/TTC_9001.jpg)
(http://davidksmith.com/modeling/layouts/TrentonTransportation/images/TTC_9005.jpg)
(http://davidksmith.com/modeling/layouts/PennCentralStockton/images/IMG_0724.jpg)
(http://davidksmith.com/modeling/layouts/PennCentralStockton/images/IMG_0414.jpg)
I use it for extra thick plastic, like Plexiglas. Or to make long cuts through irregularly-shaped parts, such as this kit base with lips and steps along the edges... Before:
(http://davidksmith.com/modeling/layouts/PostageStamp/images/4111-4.jpg)
After:
(http://davidksmith.com/modeling/layouts/PostageStamp/images/4110-4s.jpg)
Also wood--it does an excellent job of making very clean cuts with edges that are absolutely straight, square and true:
(http://davidksmith.com/modeling/layouts/BlackRiverWestern/images/builds/IMG_5418.jpg)
(http://davidksmith.com/modeling/layouts/Gorre&Daphetid/images/IMG_9266.jpg)
It's very useful for making clean, straight cuts on subassemblies that would otherwise be next to impossible to cut. For instance, I needed to shorten this enginehouse after I'd nearly finished the kit, so I just ran one end of the structure through the saw:
(http://davidksmith.com/modeling/layouts/GreystoneRockBottom/images/WRN_1012.jpg)
Some modelers complain about modifying cast resin parts, such as tunnel portals and retaining walls. I have no problem at all making very complex assemblies from dozens of precisely-cut parts. The stone arch bridge on my Z Scale Gorre & Daphetid is an example:
(http://davidksmith.com/modeling/layouts/Gorre&Daphetid/images/GND_1143.jpg)
I use it to make PC board ties, or any parts made from PC board, like my building light electrical connectors:
(http://davidksmith.com/modeling/layouts/BlackRiverWestern/images/builds/IMG_5399.jpg) (http://davidksmith.com/modeling/layouts/BlackRiverWestern/images/builds/IMG_5400.jpg)
It even works on Gatorfoam, which is not the easiest material to cut, as well as hard rubber, like Cripplebush Creek rock castings...
(http://davidksmith.com/modeling/layouts/OtherLayouts/images/IMG_4326.jpg)
As for what makes this particular model so good, it's hard to say because I've not used any other (although I could have told you the Harbor Freight tool was useless--they sell mostly junk). It's a Proxxon unit rebranded by Micro-Mark, and I was totally satisfied with the quality from day one. I've used it heavily for the last decade, and it's still got the original blade. It's an earlier model without a vacuum attachment, so it's a bit messy to use, but ask me if I care.
Well, that should be enough to get you started. I could go on all night, but I do need some sleep right now.
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Here is a sales video for a similar version of the DKS' saw.
I also highly recommend the larger model of the saw (which I own). It features tilting blade, and variable speed.
If you want to see what's inside see
Feel free to jump around this 1 hour + video. :D
If you want to see it in action, see
To me this saw is just better quality (and probably more precise) than the $40 Harbor Freight unit.
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Those videos are of the deluxe version with tilting blade, multiple guides, etc. I'd love to have one of them, but maybe someday.
I have the older version of its little baby brother--
(https://www.micromark.com/Web%20Store%20Images/87775_R-1.jpg)
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Those videos are of the deluxe version with tilting blade, multiple guides, etc. I'd love to have one of them, but maybe someday.
I have the older version of its little baby brother--
Oops! I got confused (again). I re-read this thread and I made the same mistake on page 2. I updated my post.
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@DKS, thank you for taking the time to show all these examples. Nice and clean.
Appreciated! I hope you did get your sleep :D
One more question though: how do you handle all those mitered edges without a tilting blade?
Pete, thanks for the videos as well.
Otto
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One more question though: how do you handle all those mitered edges without a tilting blade?
I built jigs that hold the work at the appropriate angle with respect to the blade. It requires two cuts: a 90-degree cut that's within a few thousandths of the final cut, and then the final angled cut. Yeah, an adjustable blade would be awesome, but necessity is the mother of, well, you know...
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Thanks DKS, I kind of figured as much but wanted to hear that from the master.
Regards, Otto
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I built jigs that hold the work at the appropriate angle with respect to the blade. It requires two cuts: a 90-degree cut that's within a few thousandths of the final cut, and then the final angled cut. Yeah, an adjustable blade would be awesome, but necessity is the mother of, well, you know...
How do you ensure you get the right angle on the jig then?
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How do you ensure you get the right angle on the jig then?
90% of the time the corner is 90 degrees, so I built a 45-degree jig. For the rest, I'd shim the jig to get the right angle.
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OK, well, it's tough to elaborate because I use it so much, but here goes...
For starters, I use a ton of DPM kits, and anyone who has tried bashing them knows they're tough little buggers to cut down--the plastic is thick and hard. Consider this beastie, which involved dozens of cuts that must be straight and parallel:
(http://davidksmith.com/modeling/JerseyCityIndustrial/images/build_9d4.jpg)
Or these (note that nearly all of the corners are mitered):
(http://davidksmith.com/modeling/JerseyCityIndustrial/images/build_9f3.jpg)
(http://davidksmith.com/modeling/JerseyCityIndustrial/images/build_8b.jpg)
(http://davidksmith.com/modeling/JerseyCityIndustrial/images/build_8d.jpg)
(http://davidksmith.com/modeling/images/jersey/TTC_9001.jpg)
(http://davidksmith.com/modeling/images/jersey/TTC_9005.jpg)
(http://davidksmith.com/modeling/images/penn-central/IMG_0724.jpg)
(http://davidksmith.com/modeling/images/penn-central/IMG_0414.jpg)
I use it for extra thick plastic, like Plexiglas. Or to make long cuts through irregularly-shaped parts, such as this kit base with lips and steps along the edges... Before:
(http://davidksmith.com/modeling/images/postage-stamp/4111-4.jpg)
After:
(http://davidksmith.com/modeling/images/postage-stamp/4110-4s.jpg)
Also wood--it does an excellent job of making very clean cuts with edges that are absolutely straight, square and true:
(http://davidksmith.com/modeling/reading-central/images/IMG_5418.jpg)
(http://davidksmith.com/modeling/images/gorre/IMG_9266.jpg)
It's very useful for making clean, straight cuts on subassemblies that would otherwise be next to impossible to cut. For instance, I needed to shorten this enginehouse after I'd nearly finished the kit, so I just ran one end of the structure through the saw:
(http://davidksmith.com/modeling/images/greystone/WRN_1012.jpg)
Some modelers complain about modifying cast resin parts, such as tunnel portals and retaining walls. I have no problem at all making very complex assemblies from dozens of precisely-cut parts. The stone arch bridge on my Z Scale Gorre & Daphetid is an example:
(http://davidksmith.com/modeling/images/gorre/GND_1143.jpg)
I use it to make PC board ties, or any parts made from PC board, like my building light electrical connectors:
(http://davidksmith.com/modeling/reading-central/images/IMG_5399.jpg) (http://davidksmith.com/modeling/reading-central/images/IMG_5400.jpg)
It even works on Gatorfoam, which is not the easiest material to cut, as well as hard rubber, like Cripplebush Creek rock castings...
(http://davidksmith.com/modeling/images/misc/IMG_4326.jpg)
As for what makes this particular model so good, it's hard to say because I've not used any other (although I could have told you the Harbor Freight tool was useless--they sell mostly junk). It's a Proxxon unit rebranded by Micro-Mark, and I was totally satisfied with the quality from day one. I've used it heavily for the last decade, and it's still got the original blade. It's an earlier model without a vacuum attachment, so it's a bit messy to use, but ask me if I care.
Well, that should be enough to get you started. I could go on all night, but I do need some sleep right now.
@DKS , what happened to all the images?
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@DKS , what happened to all the images?
Still there, just a victim of a reorganization. Give me a bit and I'll fix all of the paths.