HO Scale - What's On Your Workbench?

RDGbuff56 Nov 17, 2009

  1. rch

    rch TrainBoard Member

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    How thick a sheet can that Cricut machine cut? What is the maximum size sheet you can put in it?
     
  2. Mr. Trainiac

    Mr. Trainiac TrainBoard Member

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    I usually limit myself to .010" with the default blade. The DODX decks were with one pass, but if you hit 'cut' again before you eject it, you can go around a second time. That may have helped cut out the small pockets a bit better.

    I've tried it with .020" sheet on other projects, but it took too many passes to go all the way through and the edges started to look a bit ragged. Cricut also makes a Deep Cut blade for things like leather, but I have not purchased that one. I'm not sure how it would fare on thicker sheet. The cutter has different settings for different materials that dictate cutting speed and pressure. I usually use the Magnetic Sheet setting, just because that is the closest to styrene I could find. I would be worried about damaging the blade if I applied too much pressure on too thick of a sheet.
     
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  3. Mr. Trainiac

    Mr. Trainiac TrainBoard Member

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    The sheet dimension can go up to 12 x 12. The Cricut has a sticky mat that you attach the material to, and then rollers move the mat back and forth while the cutting head moves on the other axis. Silhouette is another brand, and I think their machine can have limitless length, but I think the width is still 12 inches.

    I've been able to make full-length passenger car sides on mine.
     
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  4. rch

    rch TrainBoard Member

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    Thank you very much. I was thinking about using this tool to cut clear sheet for cab windows and it sounds like it will do what I want.
     
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  5. JimmyZ

    JimmyZ TrainBoard Member

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    Bought this logger on the auction site for less than 1/2 tank of gas. All the details on the Engineer's side were missing. I scratched the saddle tank and used Micro Mark rivet decals. The air tank is brass tubing with styrene ends and straps and the radiator was cast in resin. I've yet to dive into 3D printing. It's glossed and awaiting decals from Microscale. IMG_8814.jpg IMG_8818.jpg IMG_8820.jpg IMG_8827.jpg IMG_8829.jpg
     
  6. Mr. Trainiac

    Mr. Trainiac TrainBoard Member

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    That's pretty killer. Did you follow a specific prototype, or is this a freelanced model? The Micromark rivets turned out pretty well; I've been meaning to get a sheet, I've never used them or the Archer transfers.
     
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  7. JimmyZ

    JimmyZ TrainBoard Member

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    Thanks! No specific prototype. Just worked with whatever pics I could find online. Archer decals seem to settle down a little better than the Micro Mark but MM is about half the price as Archer with more designs/patterns per sheet. They actually look better in person than the pictures show. Microscale has a whole sheet of HO logging decals, so I'll pick a Road/Company that looks the part. This was really just an exercise to see if I still had the skills to make resin molds. Honestly, I don't! Took me more tries than it should have to get decent castings.
     
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  8. gjslsffan

    gjslsffan Staff Member

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    That's some great work there Jimmy. But man you wouldn't want to get too far away from a water tank.
     
  9. JimmyZ

    JimmyZ TrainBoard Member

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    Thanks! With all the craziness going on these days, these projects are my respite.
     
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  10. GP30

    GP30 TrainBoard Member

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    I bought a Con Cor 60’ Greenville Boxcar a couple of weeks ago. I started assembling this C&NW car with the double plug doors, planning to put this in pool service with a stamping plant on my layout.

    The plastic on this cars is extremely brittle. The detail parts sprues explode like a grenade. I also broke the coupler pocket on one end. So far, I’ve got all the details installed, but I am awaiting a delivery of more Kadee #58 couplers before proceeding.

    I could use a few more of these cars, but their fragility gives me pause.

    [​IMG]


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
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  11. VinceP

    VinceP TrainBoard Member

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    Wow unreal to be that brittle
     
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  12. Mr. Trainiac

    Mr. Trainiac TrainBoard Member

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    Here’s the first thing out of my new Photon Mono: 13C4CDB2-1A19-4A7B-9BEF-A15A6826E60D.jpeg

    These are tires for my Grove RT745. On the bed with them were some reefer trailer fuel tanks, but they didn’t turn out so nice. It looks like I need to tweak my exposure settings still, because they look a little oblong.
    FE29CA42-0540-43EF-BF2C-2D65273A598E.jpeg 39D35469-B0F5-49C9-94D3-0FE9EAFA1C01.jpeg
     
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  13. dti406

    dti406 TrainBoard Member

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    Yes some of the Con-Cor versions of these cars used a very brittle plastic, the original Robbins Rails cars are a lot better, but most of the problems I have had are with the underframe pieces. Also I would remove the cast on coupler pocket and replace it with the proper Moloco pocket as they are more robust and due to their construction with screws makes maintenance a breeze.

    One other thing these cars were not normally used at stamping plants for body panels, they were mostly used in heavier auto parts items like bumpers, engines, transmissions and rear end assemblies etc..

    Rick Jesionowski
     
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  14. VinceP

    VinceP TrainBoard Member

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    Heavy load brittle car love it

    Couldn't resist
     
  15. VinceP

    VinceP TrainBoard Member

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    Nice
     
  16. Mr. Trainiac

    Mr. Trainiac TrainBoard Member

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    Here’s what those crane tires go under: image.jpg

    I have all the parts printed for my Grove RT745. I’m in the process of building the fenders from styrene. I knew I would break them trying to remove the supports from the print, so I just decided to scratch them instead.

    This will be a static model to use as a flatcar load. In the CAD file, I designed the boom to be poseable and extendable, but I printed it pre-assembled and retracted in the travel position. Getting the printer and model tuned so all those pieces can fit together and actually move seemed a bit difficult.

    I think it turned out pretty well, although I’ll probably wait to paint it until later. I have a bunch of projects stacking up in the paint department, but it’s a little cold to be setting everything up in the garage.
     
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  17. gjslsffan

    gjslsffan Staff Member

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    That is sooo cool, what a clean model in3D!!
     
  18. Mr. Trainiac

    Mr. Trainiac TrainBoard Member

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    yeah, I'm really liking the new printer. The surface finish on horizontal surfaces is totally smooth; the texture reminds me of some cast resin kits like Westerfield or F&C. Certain angled surfaces still have layer lines, but the resin sands pretty well.

    Right now, I'm using the Anycubic 'Eco' resin, which is plant-based. Working with the printed parts takes some getting used to. It's much more brittle than styrene, which makes it difficult to cut with a hobby knife. It's harder and less ductile than styrene. The Eco resin is flexible to an extent, but it will still snap if you bend it too tightly. I find that I'm using sanding sticks more often to manipulate parts, when the exacto was my main tool for styrene. Score-and-snap doesn't work as well as it does on styrene, and breaking off the supports leaves small craters on the surface. You have to sand them down or try to hide those surfaces on the underside or mating surfaces of parts.

    I've been watching a lot of 3D printing videos on youtube, but there doesn't seem to be a lot of model-railroad specific videos out there. A lot of them seem to focus on miniature figures like Dungeons and Dragons or wargame miniatures. It's funny seeing them complain about painting or sanding parts, when that's basically the entire hobby of model railroading.
     
    Last edited: Jan 8, 2022
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  19. RGW1

    RGW1 TrainBoard Member

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    painted up a IHC 2-6-0 ,but switched out a Bachmann tender and lettered it for SOO LINE
    upload_2022-1-14_9-48-35.jpeg
     
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  20. Mr. Trainiac

    Mr. Trainiac TrainBoard Member

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    I'm bringing back a four-year-old comment on here, since I was able to locate a copy of this magazine edition. The university archives holds a complete set of Railroad Model Craftsman for some reason, and I was able to check out the Volume 37 binding, which included September 1968, the edition with the article by Bill Schopp. He built the model out of two Balboa ATSF prairies. It had good photos of most of the ATSF Prairie Mallet classes and an elevation drawing, which looks to have been created by the author, so I'm not sure how much I trust it as a primary source. Here is the finished model from the article.

    [​IMG]


    I think I have located the Baldwin originals at Southern Methodist University. They hold a large collection from Baldwin, although it's not as extensive as the Pullman Library at IRM. SMU offers scanning and reprinting services, but I'm not sure how much it will cost. It may be worth asking, just to add another project to my back burner.
     

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