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 Posted - January 24 2018 : 4:59:25 PM
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There's no doubt that our hobby has some exquisite materials, nowadays, and no doubt that some of them come at exquisite prices, as well. Some are quite inconvenient to come by with the demise of the local hobby shop and the whole business with mail order and shipping costs.
Years back, there were fewer products and the old heads had workarounds to make what they wanted. I've been thinking, for some time, that it would be nice to have a thread on this forum for passing on some of the old and frugal techniques and materials of which we become aware.
Know a neat old way of making do and saving yourself some shopping? Let's hear about it.
Carpe Manana!
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Posted - January 24 2018 : 5:13:27 PM
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go visit antique & 2nd stores
sometimes they have trains there 
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Posted - January 24 2018 : 5:15:03 PM
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I'll chime in with paper corrugated roofing.
Decades ago, the model railroad press published the works of E.L. Moore. He would build mostly buildings mainly from balsa wood and paper, and would end the article with what the project cost (usually not much). Many of his projects were the basis for some of the more common plastic building kits we have now.
He had a piece of wood milled to look like corrugated roofing and would make corrugated roofing for his models by using that piece of wood as a die to emboss paper. The paper was laid over the wood roofing and the individual corrugations were embossed in with an old ballpoint pen that was out of ink. The pen pokes right through normal paper, such as typing paper, so he used heavy bond paper.
I have the plastic corrugated roof from an old Cox sawmill. I use any old heavy paper I get in junk mail so I don't have to shop for bond paper. A picture is worth 1000 words:
My left hand was holding the camera. When I'm actually embossing the paper, it's sprawled across the paper holding it down so it can't move while I'm embossing it.
Here's the final product:
It's best to paint the paper with solvent based paint to strengthen it and hold the shape. Water based paint will swell the paper and lose some of the embossing. If there's print on the paper that you don't want showing through, aluminum paint is pretty opaque.
I don't know if you can still get the wood imitation corrugated siding, like E.L. Moore used, but Evergreen makes it in plastic.
Carpe Manana!
Edited by - scsshaggy on January 24 2018 5:15:41 PM
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Posted - January 24 2018 : 6:50:00 PM
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| Nifty tip, especially the pros and cons on painting.
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Posted - January 24 2018 : 11:21:50 PM
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| Very good Don.
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Posted - January 25 2018 : 10:44:01 AM
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| Most useful and interesting. Thanks.
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Posted - February 25 2018 : 9:17:10 PM
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Here's a cheap upgrade to a DC analog throttle.
The old rheostat throttles did a good job of controlling old high-amperage open frame motors. With the new, lower draw motors, you ease into the throttle a ways, and nothing happens, then suddenly, the train leaps into motion. When it's time to stop, you gradually ease the throttle back and the train gradually slows, but some time before in eases to a stop, it stops suddenly.
Transistor throttles do a good job of controlling these low-draw motors, but I somehow burn them out on my layout if I use them on the mainline. And anyway, what if you already have some good quality rheostat throttles? Should you have to pop for a new transistor throttle? Not necessarily.
If you wire an automotive tail light bulb in parallel with the track, a rheostat will smoothly control these low-draw motors. If you wire in a switch for the tail light bulb, you can shut it off and save amperage for your higher-draw motors, and for when you double-head the low draw locomotives. See the diagram:
Usually a tail light bulb has two filaments: one for the tail light and one for the turn signal. When one burns out, save the bulb. You can use the other filament, here. Waste not, want not.
Carpe Manana!
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Posted - February 28 2018 : 7:56:52 PM
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quote:I'll chime in with paper corrugated roofing.
...
Decades ago, the model railroad press published the works of E.L. Moore. He would build mostly buildings mainly from balsa wood and paper, and would end the article with what the project cost (usually not much). Many of his projects were the basis for some of the more common plastic building kits we have now.
...
It's best to paint the paper with solvent based paint to strengthen it and hold the shape. Water based paint will swell the paper and lose some of the embossing.
Originally posted by scsshaggy - January 24 2018 : 5:15:03 PM
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Oh man, the stuff E.L. Moore built, now there was a modeling goal I wanted to achieve! Scratchbuilt paper switch/signal tower door that's hinged, cool stuff.
On that painting thing; though I have no business whatsoever using it, on account of health related chemical sensitivities, I like to paint card, cardboard, and fiberboard box, on both sides with clear gloss brush-on lacquer from the hardware store to stiffen and stabilize the paper - paint Outside, always outside! Tried shellac but the lacquer causes far less paper swelling. However: from wooden boat suppliers you can get packages of shellac flakes to mix to desired consistency on your own, presumably with less moisture content than the canned product. That hasn't been tried yet. Gloss lacquer seems to give a harder finish than flat lacquer.
“There are a thousand things that can happen when you go light a rocket engine, and only one of them is good.” — Tom Mueller, SpaceX, 2012
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Posted - February 28 2018 : 11:18:11 PM
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Interesting about the lacquer causing less swelling. There are other techniques used to emboss balsa wood, and maybe the lacquer would help with that, too.
Carpe Manana!
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