Holy schnikes! What a show! John, did you use a paper punch to punch out the little circles of styrene? What size puncher, if so?
OH WOW John, I just caught up on 2 pages worth of your posts. Absolutely amazing. It would be such an honor to be a student of yours. Looks like the first lesson to be learned is save absolutely everything from any kit you ever touch or buy. A simple, humble thanks is all I can offer you.
Jeremiah, I have sets of punches, some bought from Micro-Mark, some from Harbor freight and other places that give me a wide variety of sizes. the smallest is about 1/16" and they go up ro 3/8"(?). I'll have to check and see what the largest one is. Chris, I am pleased that you are enjoying the topic. I am always looking for different shapes that might be used for something other than what they were intended for. So spare parts, sprues, and anything like the little metal parts used for the lathes are thrown to one side and then I have the things I need quite a bit of the time. Paul, I like to imagine walking into a building and seeing what is in it, what tools or equipment they would use and then try to put as much of that as I can into the model. Sometimes it isn't possible to include something but it is fun to try to figure out a way if possible. Right now I am putting in the larger items to make sure I can find space for them and then smaller details like trash barrels, carts, etc. can fill in the room left over.This is why I said anyone with suggestions on what to include is welcome to add them and I will try to put them in if I can. [ March 23, 2005, 06:44 PM: Message edited by: J WIDMAR ]
John: I just found this thread and read it all in one sitting. Truly, the only word is 'awesome'. One of the earlier replies suggested that you collect the photos and narrative together and submit it to some of the train mags. I'd strongly urge you to do so... this is just outstanding work. I salute you!
Mark and Grant, Thank you, I'm happy to be able to share this project with everyone. Harry, I think I will have enough of roundhouse building for a while after I finish this one. I'll have to do something different for my next project. Jeremiah had inquired about what I used for the circular shapes. I thought I had punches that only went up to 3/8" so I checked and here are the ones I have found. I believe the ones above came mostly form Harbor Freight. The square ones in the second picture came from Micro-Mark and I'm not sure where I picked up the one with the three heads but it did have the smallest (1/16") hole of all.
Have you ever noticed the perferated sheet metal screen inside the window of your Micro-Wave? All those little holes are punched with what is called "Perforating Punch Sets" mounted in a die set like a Danly or in some high speed cases, a ball bearing Lempco die set, then installed into a punch press where coils of metal or plastic is run through. Those punches, and the die button are made in sizes from wire size (.010" dia.) and larger in standard increments. They are tool steel, and are available without a "head", so would look just like the ones John has illustrated. John's are the hollow type used for leather, paper, plastic, but not for metal. Porter's punches will also punch metal, but must be mounted to precision alignment, so they go into the die button hole perfectly. With care, they can be used in a drill press, by mounting the die button in a small aluminum plate clamped in alignment under the punch, just make sure there is a hole all the way through, including the drill press table, for the "punch outs" to fall through. On John's punches, the "Punch Outs" are compressed enough to be forced up through a hole in the punch shank to where they can fall out to one side through a slot provided for this. Or, you can only punch once, then remove the "punch out disk" with a wire inserted into the slot and pushed down the hole to remove the disk. You can make your own washers this way, think about it. For the Porter distributor nearest you, call: Cincinnati 513-923-3777 FAX 513-923-1111 In Canada 1-800-265-8844 In the U.K. 0789-292409 Look through their catalog, visit, or email, and they can provide all the information to purchase, and use them. [ March 26, 2005, 04:52 AM: Message edited by: watash ]
Watash sent me a few pictures of machinery used in engine facilities which I am going to try to make a couple of them. The first one is a band saw; Above are te basic parts to the band saw. The wheels are from a 6mm cannon set I had picked up some where years ago. They have more spokes than I would have liked but are about the right size. This is the saw before painting; The big silver thingy at the bottom is supposed to be the motor. Originally a lot of the machinery would have been driven by belts but the RGW has electricity. Other small details were also added from what I could see in the picture. The other side; I had to add another piece to the base so the wheel would clear the floor. I used a piece of .008" brass wire for the saw blade. These blades were flat so I used a pair of pliers to flatten the wire a bit which also gave it a rough edge. The thick areas on each side is not the blade but a guide in the back and the part that comes down on to the material being cut in the front. The next photo gives you a better idea of the size of the saw; My thanks again to Watash for the photo.
Band saw abd Table saw. The two saws are now in place, first the band saw; The other side; You can see the electrical cord leading away from the motor. The men are working on the front of a narrow gauge cab. I want to put a vise and more clutter on the work bench. The table saw is in the background; The table saw was cut down from a SS Ltd. HO saw. There are two sizes small and large, I picked up a small one and it still looked too big so I cut down the table and put a smaller wheel for the handle in front; This shows the cab front better also. Here is an overall shot; I think a little saw dust or at least a few piles of it would help plus a little more clutter.
I just went through this whole thread and am absolutely blown away! This is model building of the highest order The attention to detail is stunning and is a great inspiration to us lesser mortals! Definitely should occupy several pages in a magazine
WOW again Great work John. Makes me wish I had modeled my roundhouse on the front of the layout instead of the back. One day I'll give this a try. All your ideas have been captured in my memory, to try later. Thanks Dan
This reminds me. Does anyone know where you can still get Holgate-Reynolds brick sheets? I have about 1 sq inch left over : (
Mercy, mercy, mercy .... that's fine work, John. No wonder you installed the photography cut-away for this beauty! ACLer
Thanks for the very nice comments, coming from a group of modelers that are very talented as all of you are, it means that much more to me. Shucks, I'm going to get mushy so I'll change the subject. Chris, The Holgate-Reynolds sheets that I picked up were at Caboose Hobbies in Denver. This has been a while back so I don't know if they still have it in stock. They do have a web site; http://www.caboosehobbies.com/ If it is not listed there you might try contacting them.
Not to long ago Woodland Scenics came out with a set of welders with a A frame. I had a frame that would look about right for something like a self proplelled rail car. There was enough room to put it in and stil have clearance for a loco so here is the welders at work. The green object next to the frame is a Detail Associates lathe. The silver is the motor for the car. The black line is the power cord for the lathe. The last shot has the welders to the left behind the steam hammer, a Detail Associates part. the steam hammer still has to have the steam pipes hooked up. I will have better photos of the hammer and the grinder, and other tools when I get a little more of them completed. Still a lot more to add.
John that last pic is just mind-bending!I must insist again you re-consider & submit this round house thread into NSR,even though I've already seen it I'd buy the mag to see it again! Really stunning stuff,btw that chassis could be the birth of Goose #2 ? [ March 30, 2005, 04:47 AM: Message edited by: JASON ]
Jason and Loco1999, Thanks for the kind comments. The Geese were all made from different vehicles and the motors were up front where it was in the truck, bus, etc. so the one in my photo can't be a goose, I don't know what it is myself. I wanted to take a break from the interior detailing of the RH itself so I decided to figure out how I would add the office and make it removable so that photos of the interior could still be taken. I have found that small rooms are very hard to photograph if all you can do is look down from the top. This is what I came up with; 1. The wires for the track in the stall behind the wall will be moved over and come out to the left. 2. Three .125X.250 styrene strips were glued to the bottom of the floor which project out for the office to set on. 3. A piece of .080X.080 styrene (which will be painted black) was glued to the side of the wall. 4. Drawers were also put on the wall. These drawers was a SS Limited one piece HO small cabinet that was cut in half and used side by side. The ends of the office walls fit under the .080 styrene The drawers hide the crack between the floor of the office and the RH wall. The office floor sets on the styrene projecting out from the RH and is "sandwiched" between these and the strip at the top. This holds the office in place. You can see how the office has no other support under it. A N scale Cal-Scale cabinet was cut to fit and fill in the rest of the space to the door. A few more details were added to the office. A details Associates stove and fire extinguisher. I also ran across a SS Ltd. item which I found very useful. The dark brown item is a HO pop bottle case. A piece of paper to hide the handle slot at the top and papers in the compartments make for a nice little area for record keeping. The pop bottles that came with this will be saved and used for something like whiskey bottles if I ever make a bar. I still have more detail to add ( coal bucket, desk, chairs, lights, etc.) and will have more photos of the office later. [ April 01, 2005, 12:18 PM: Message edited by: J WIDMAR ]
