Jerrys ressurected thread about adding details on a loco got me thinking. I had bought some BLMA sunshades at a LHS when I was in Phoenix last year...might as well get em on. So here I sat at my desk/workbench with my big ol magnifying light...checking out the loco. I fixed a couple of loose handrail stanchions...and the front handrail had come loose from behind the snow plow. Got all that fixed. Might as well check for any other 'loose parts.' right? I ran my finger lightly (so I thought) accross the cab roof to check how well the horn was attached. Yup...you guessed it. Snap-Ping went the horn. NOW...I am a big guy 6'6" 285. I always sit with my 'Dunlap' up against the desk...just in case of incidences like this. I have built and rebuilt a lot of MT couplers over the last few years. I never lost a spring...not a one !! Had some fly out and hit me in the chest or gut and end up right in front of me on the desk. So I know that horn didnt get past me ! I didnt move a muscle and called out for T.H.E. Wife to come in and help me. She was down on hands and knees with my Mini Mag Light checking under my desk chair. I didnt want to back up and risk rolling over the horn if it had dropped straight down. After assuring me the coast was clear...I slowly backed away from the desk. I proceeded to get down on hands and knees to help in the search. Between checking the 4 x 6 wood runner under my chair and desk and carefully checking all the carpet within 8 feet...and moving everything on the desk itself...for 30 minutes. I have officially called off the search and have hereby declared that horn... "Lost In Space" :tb-wacky: .
Here is how you find it.... drop another part on to the floor, like a coupler trip pin or something without paying attention. Now wlak out of the room, have a glass of water. Relax. Noe go back and start looking for the sacrificial part, and in the process you will find the horn. I can't tell you how many times I have found a part I thought was lost while looking for another part........
pray to the model train gods, they may grant you your horn. On a serions note, if it is that important to find that one horn. get the vaccume, put a new bag in it, or if it is a bagless, clean the canister out really good. then vaccume the poo out of that room, get yourself a plastic sheet, and dump the contents on to that sheet. you will find that part. and anything else you lost.
Your part has switched into invisible mode. It's something only small pieces can do and can be done for unknown stretches of time. Scientists are baffled. One method which has worked for me is to walk around the suspected loss area barefooted. When you feel the stab of that horn in a tender place such as the arch area, voila! Put shoes and socks back on, resume project assembly. Boxcab E50
I had that happen with a trimmed off piece of guitar string the other day. It turned on it's cloaking device and that was it. I figured I'd find it the hard way at some point, when it ended up impaled in my foot... Most likely at a time when I was already angry about something else, because that's when stuff like that usually happens. I've found it always helps to get your eye right down on the floor and look straight across. Usually most things stand out then.
I've been tempted to do my detail work by putting everything (including my hands and tools) inside a large transparent plastic bag. But I never seem to be able to clear off enough area on my work space to try it. I have no remedy for finding lost parts. there's too much junk on the work table for things to fly on or into. However, I have found the occasional flying part--once ione fell down inside my shoe. I couldn't feel it, but I checked as a last resort.
LOL.....I've lost a few parts in my time too! I remember seeing one time a modeling apron that went over your head and fanned out onto the work bench. Nothing could hit the floor this way.....just hit the apron and slide back down to the work bench. I thought it was a good idea until I thought about getting up quickly for something and forgetting to take it off and brininging everything on the work bench to the floor with it. LOL I'll take an occasional horn or spring over that anyday! I'm usually about 80% lucky in finding something on the floor.
The part will stick to the cheesecloth after you turn off the vacuum but yes, old t-shirts are less expensive and don't aggravate the wife, gf, mom, etc. lol. Just be sure you don't burn out the motor on it.
grab a pear of your wife's nylon stockings (get her permission first) slip them over the end of the hose use a rubber band! and turn the vac to the lowest setting and CLEAN baby CLEAN!!!!
I've used/have had this happen to me. Usually, it works out this way; I give up and the lost part, buy a replacement and sometime later, maybe months later, I drop another part and in the search for the second lost part, find the first. Of course, I never find the second lost part...
I usually find small things by running my hand over the floor barely touching it. Yes, my hand gets dirty but I find the piece. I am sure I have plenty of horns from old shells. What are you looking for? I'll send it free.
The odds of loosing a part are inversely proportional to the ease of replacing said part. This can be shown mathematically. Pl – Pf / Pl + Pf = Oh Crap!!
These little parts can fly an amazing distance. The stanchions for the Kato Mikado had to be installed, and took some force to snap them in. I have an open floor plan. One of the stanchions flew across the kitchen, across the family room, and across the living room, for a flight of some 54 feet. I found it months later! The flashlight against the floor works best for me.
