Monday 10-23 How About a Tip, Buddy?

[TomPM]

We had another busy weekend. My son’s football team the Drexel Hill Raiders Pee Wee Varsity blanked West Philadelphia Tar Heels 20-0. This win assured DHR of a playoff spot. We also did the grocery shopping for the next two weeks. The killer on time, however, was getting a new gas clothing dryer.

My modeling was limited to finishing making rock outcroppings with Sculpta-mold and aluminum foil along the hillside. Since I have to get things ready for the new dryer I had to spend time straightening up around the layout and putting things away that could be damaged if I have to move the layout.

I thought we change it up a little and have a little tips and tricks talk and maybe we could do this every Monday or every other.

So without further ado Share some tip or trick you know and/or use in modeling railroading.

Since I have been working on rocks I thought I would share this one. I am not sure where I got it from but here goes. To make rock outcroppings I mix up a batch of Sculpta-mold. I then apply it the area where I want the rock outcropping. I shape it into the general shape I want. I thing take a piece of aluminum foil. Depending on how rough I want the rock I will cringle up the foil. I then place the foil over the Sculpta-mold and press it gentility into the Sculpta-mold. Depending on if I want depressions I can push in the foil at places. I let the foil sit for a few minutes and then I carefully peel it off. I now have a quick and easy and unique rock outcropping.

 

[ezdays]

Well, I had problems getting wires through about three layers of foam and a door slab, especially those fine ones on the turnouts. All-in-all, about five inches including the space in the hollow-core door. My solution was to drill at least a 1/4" hole, then feed a soda straw through first. It would feed through without catching on anything or wandering from side to side. After that, it was one heck of a lot easier to feed the wires through the straw then through everything else. Once the wires were through, I'd just pull the straw through from the back side.

 

[trainman4]

Wires

That really does work great .I've been there done that.

 

[N Gauger]

Then there are those of us that drill the 1/4' hole and attach the wire to a 1/16" wooden dowel with a bit of electrical tape.... When you put the dowel (10 - 12" long) through the layout, you can easily pull the wire up (or down) through the scenery and foam

It's like using a large needle and thread

 

[ezdays]

Then there are those of us that drill the 1/4' hole and attach the wire to a 1/16" wooden dowel with a bit of electrical tape.... When you put the dowel (10 - 12" long) through the layout, you can easily pull the wire up (or down) through the scenery and foam

It's like using a large needle and thread

Did that too except that I used a piece of wire coat hanger.fence1 Still, using straws takes about 1/4 the time and is a lot less frustrating.stooges8

 

[TrainNut]

You know when you need to paint something and you pull out that paint bottle you haven't used in 6 months and all the paint has separated? Then it takes you 15 minutes of shaking your arm off to get it sort of mixed back up? Instead, take that nasty little paint bottle, put it inside of a sealable Ziplock baggy, tuck it inside of a sock roll and then toss the whole thing into your dryer on the tumble cycle. 'Bout 10 minutes of that and it's all mixed up good as new again.:thumb:

 

[60103]

I mentioned this somewhere lately. When installing Kadee coil springs, run a length of thread throgh the spring. This will seriously inhibit the spring's tendancy to travel.
Will also work with other springs and small parts with holes in them.

 

[trainman4]

straw

I still like the straw tip and and the one about the springs if i live long enough i'll be pretty smart from reading all the tips on this site.sign1

 

[MasonJar]

I mentioned this somewhere lately. When installing Kadee coil springs, run a length of thread throgh the spring. This will seriously inhibit the spring's tendancy to travel. Will also work with other springs and small parts with holes in them.

I did this just the other night when a coupler I was installing launched a spring into hyperspace... Works great!

My tip is to keep an index card box with all your current & future projects each listed on an individual card. That way, when you get some new reference material (like a new issue of MR with a relevant article) you can jot the reference on the appropriate card. Then when you finally get around the the next project, you don't have to scour the memory banks for the info...

Andrew