since it seems like a lot of other things have gone off-script lately, I am not surprised, but the supplier I ordered the balsa sheet from had previously moved my order to backorder, and then I woke up this morning to an email saying it is no longer available at all. I get it, I deal with product supply chain all the time, but uuuuugh. They do have 1.5mm sheets of 12x24 basswood available, so am going that route. Is thinner than I'd like, but finding anything over 12" is proving really difficult. So, a question - Has anybody tried any of the Titebond 'Instant Bond' glues for wood? They have 3 different flavors, looks like set times vary from 1-2 seconds to about 10 depending. I was going to curve some plexiglass for a few small roofs, but 1.5mm wood should shape pretty easily - gluing 1.5mm shaped wood is a totally different story. The good news, I guess, is that I just put the order in this morning and am told it will be here Friday, which would be amazing.
Sounds like normal CA but under their branding. CA usually comes in 3 flavors like you said. CA-, CA, CA+ or in other words Thin, Normal, Thick. Most of the time you want Normal (10-15 seconds). Thin has viscosity less than water and goes everywhere. You use that when you have both pieces aligned and butted up ready to go. A tiny drop of Thin and it'll get into the gap and done. Thick is usually for gap filling where the two pieces don't have a perfect joint. You also use Thick for creating fillets at 90 degree joints.
Some days I have to wonder what the frak is wrong with some people. Came home after dark to find the UPS driver had left my box outside my back door in the rain all day when I have a perfectly covered porch on the front. Luckily both the 12x24 sheets and the 1/8 strips I ordered were plastic sealed inside, because the box was mostly oatmeal by the time I got home. Just... *facepalm* I've been working way more hours than usual the last couple of weeks because of a coworker taking care of a family member and not being able to come in at all, but maybe over the next few days I can get to work on my station now. Supposed to be two Ebay purchases and an Amazon one coming tomorrow, too. Luckily the weather is supposed to be nice lol
anybody have any tips for cutting square edges with an Xacto? Been using a piece of the plexiglass scrap as a straight edge but no two pieces seem to come out the same It's entirely possible that once I get things together and start sanding that I can make up for the tiny differences, but... well, I'm anal hahaha I may just need a better knife, have to make a few passes with the pen-style knife am using. Using Z blades, but not a ton of control in those larger cuts.
on a funny note - I got bored at work last night and was surfing ebay, found a lot of discontinued Tomix flatbeds I decided to pull the trigger on so I saved it for when I got home. Woke up this morning to whip out the plastic and yesterday it was $152 w/free shipping. Today it's magically $152 w/$45 shipping. RUDE.
Is your knife blade's edge beveled only on one side or both sides of the blade? It is easier to cut a square edge with the non-beveled side of the knife facing the workpiece, and the bevel facing the waste (assuming the blade is beveled on one side, like a woodworking chisel, not a cold chisel). Note that the blade may want to cut into the workpiece, so you have to compensate with how you hold and pressure the knife, or reverse the direction of cut.
I found one Xacto blade that is beveled on only one side: the #19 angled chisel. Not as swept as the standard knife blades, but it might work for you. It will make you hold the handle more upright (more like a pencil than a box cutter). There may be others, but I stopped after finding one. I did see one comment online that they tend to call their single bevel blades "chisels", and double-bevel blades "knives"
I also prefer the single sided blade and preferably a metal straight edge for accuracy. Tough with double sided blade and metal guides work well but you need to allow for the cutting edge to be away from the guide.
Depending on how thin and type of material, you can use a paper cutter. I've cut styrene with one before.
The blades I have are beveled on both sides, and I don't care much for it for what I am trying to do here - any pressure at all on the blade and it's going to wobble in the cut. Balsa would have been easier, it feels. Never worked with basswood before but it doesn't cut nearly as easily, esp across the grain. Still, it feels a little sturdier so glass half full, eh? I feel like if I was cutting details or shaping this thing would be amazing but it kinda sucks for a straight line and square corners. I just spent about 15 minutes cutting out a 6x13" piece that came out almost perfect - I just had to go over every cut like 15-20x EACH in order to get straight, flush edges. So, as long as I don't make any mistakes on any of the four pieces I need (*indecipherable, muttered swearing*), this will work fine - just can't really try all that hard to get through it or it's going to misshape. and you thought that it took people years to build their layouts because of the MONEY
Basswood is commonly used for carving, due to its uniform grain and softness (easy to carve). Balsa is lighter weight, softer, weaker, and is generally more prone to split. A fine tooth razor saw will work well for small projects, and a block plane (even a cheap, lumber-yard one, if sharp and adjusted properly) will dress up edges (and/or finish them to a line) handily. Better quality planes have better controls, to more easily adjust and stay set, and/or better steel in the blade, to take and keep an edge better, with a commensurate increase in price. Sometimes with small pieces, it is easier to hold the plane upside down in a gently-tightened vise, and run the workpiece over the blade, but be careful how you hold the workpiece: the blade will slice flesh and fingernail just as easily (if not as neatly) as wood.
Plywood which what you are showing appears to be is going to be a bit more onerous to cut than a non ply sheet. The rigidity of ply is nice for large spans as it doesn't warp easily but like you are experiencing it requires a bit more elbow grease to get it cut up the way you need it.
There are chisel planes that are made to plane into an inside corner. Wielded carefully, a sharp chisel (square, not angled) can work very well planing down an edge into an inside corner, bevel down against the wood. There are square chisel blades for Xacto handles.
yeah, it is - it's thin 1.5mm ply. This was the only stuff I found longer than 12" that didn't cost as much/more to ship as it did to buy. I originally had ordered a couple of sheets of 6x24 balsa - which would have been so much easier tbh, but it was made unavailable so I had to change my purchase.
been doing enough cutting that I feel like a south Alabama country boy in a Jim Croce song - had to cut a couple of them twice (and just realized I need to hack a portion off of one of these in the photo yet still!), but am finally getting somewhere... I kind of goofed up and originally planned to use lengths of regular track because they wouldn't sit as high as the viaduct pieces, but like a noob didn't take into account the height difference of the track itself, so I guess I have to fab a platform for my upper loop since the track sits so high off the level of the second story. Oops. I also did not think about the stair height, meant to buy 3D printed ones but forgot all about it, so now I get to make those now, too. Blerg. Other than those two things, am liking how it's going together so far. For poops 'n gigs, I also put my EH200 on the track to check clearance since of all my trains it is the tallest, and tons of space. I have a rare weekend off so maybe I can get more done than just the 20-30 minutes at night I've had lately. I will say, though, that for a single building that is going to end up with a footprint of 6-1/2 by 13", this little asjfgsdajkfgdkjasf has given me plenty of fits already!
So let me get this straight - so far this year, I've: 1. started buying and building model railroad 2. spent more on new gutters (GUTTERS!) than every guitar and amp I've ever owned combined, and now 3. bought a used mower that has suburban dad written all over it, despite living in town and not having any kids (that I know of). all this can only mean one thing.. 2022 is the year I officially got old.
LOL, I just watched that movie a few weeks ago! The previous time I watched it, I didn't identify with him the same as I did this time. Look at it like this: Buying that riding lawnmower means you'll have more time and energy for model railroading. And you won't have as much money for guitars, amps, and other distractions. Besides, you also have more space for a layout than before you bought the house that you protected with the new gutters! All is well, go forth and model railroads...
At least you chose a good lawn tractor. I have a much bigger version that I tackle two and a half acres with plus play train by having two trailer at a time attached. The first trailer is a dump trailer the 2nd mounts a big generator that I use for emergency power and for my electric tools. Nothing runs like a Deere. Take good care of it and you will still be riding it 20 years from now and instead of spending $$ for a riding tractor mower every few years you can be spending it on trains.
