shortliner Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 (edited) I had one of those Kibri claw kits - I had a dreadful time trying to assemble the claw (which works) - it is a bit like doing the hokey-cokey - you get the last bit in, and the rest falls out, In -out - in - -out - throw it on the floor and rude words shout!! and eventually gave up and glued it in a suitable position! The other item worth getting is a tracked Hydraulic shear for cutting up rebar and girders. There were none available so I eventually made one and fitted it to a diecast excavator, but I have since seen them for sale at Perth Exhibition last year. It looks like this but this is 1:50 http://www.cranesetc.co.uk/library/ismreviews/4500r/4500rreview.htm Edited April 28, 2015 by shortliner 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glorious NSE Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 Yep most of the "movable" bits got glued on mine as well, i'd also got fed up with them falling apart! What about this one? http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/326-6483 Most scrap yards I've seen use the orange peel style one, or magnets. There's an interesting set of comments on them here: http://forums.dhsdiecast.com/default.aspx?g=posts&m=1171926 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
squeaky Posted April 28, 2015 Author Share Posted April 28, 2015 (edited) Well the boards are now fully built, just waiting on a few longer M6 bolts and the M8 bolts for the end legs, but I have enough bolts to put it all together for a test run. Please ignore the mess on the patio.. Edited April 28, 2015 by squeaky 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortliner Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 Just in case anyone fancies a go at a hydraulic tracked shear - my scratched version is here http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/67217-something-that-can-be-done-indoors-in-this-orrible-cold-weather/ 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
w124bob Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 It would seem the the Americans even like their OXO cubes super size! Reporting mark is KEYX 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
squeaky Posted April 30, 2015 Author Share Posted April 30, 2015 I have setup the boards in the dining room and i'm now using the peco templates to play around with track layout. The problem with the current plan is that the switches on the middle board are overlapping the joins between boards as the boards are 900mm long. So I have changed a couple of switches and compressed the middle section so that 7 out of the 8 switches are all on the middle board, the 8th switch is on the right hand board. I have also reversed the right hand most switch so that there are now 3 unloding spurs for scrap cars. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
squeaky Posted May 3, 2015 Author Share Posted May 3, 2015 (edited) I have now received the M8 bolts for the end leg attachment, the bolts make the end panel completely flush for attaching to the next module. On the inside I have used a 30mm washer and wing nut to secure it. It really could do with a 40mm washer as the hole in the leg is 25mm, although it seems pretty secure. I have also filled in the gap between the corner ends to stop the leg being squashed when clamped to the next module. I have also been playing around with the layout design and Dutch_Master you are correct and ideally I wouldn't have the switches so close to the board end, however the design calls for 4 switches end to end to fit in a 900mm board, so I don't have much choice. I have made a couple of changes and this the 9th version of the plan! I have made the 3 freight car spurs at least 23 inches long which should allow 3 freight cars in each if needed. I have decided to hold off on a 45 tonner for now and I will use my trusty MP15 as the site switcher. Hope you are all not getting too board with changes. Edited May 3, 2015 by squeaky 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold PaulRhB Posted May 3, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 3, 2015 I have decided to hold off on a 45 tonner for now and I will use my trusty MP15 as the site switcher. switcher.jpg . I like the MP15 Hope you are all not getting too board with changes. :) boom tish! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortliner Posted May 3, 2015 Share Posted May 3, 2015 I have made the 3 freight car spurs at least 2inches long which should allow 3 freight cars in each if needed. new 9ft us2-4-9.jpg I sincerely hope they are longer than that - it would be awfully tight, even in T gauge Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
squeaky Posted May 3, 2015 Author Share Posted May 3, 2015 Jack Well spotted I have amended Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortliner Posted May 3, 2015 Share Posted May 3, 2015 You had me worried there for a couple of minutes! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
squeaky Posted May 17, 2015 Author Share Posted May 17, 2015 I have now printed out the final plan and put it on the layout. Now starts the process of cutting, joining and cutting my fingers 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glorious NSE Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 Just catching up with this - looking good, and that MP15 is cracking! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
squeaky Posted May 27, 2015 Author Share Posted May 27, 2015 I have now finished cutting and joining all the track, I still have all my fingers! 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
squeaky Posted May 27, 2015 Author Share Posted May 27, 2015 Also a new switcher arrived 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
squeaky Posted June 4, 2015 Author Share Posted June 4, 2015 My wagons from the shop in Canada have finally arrived! They are all Athearn, I have 4 of the black cars, 3 x blue ones and the one pink one. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
squeaky Posted June 24, 2015 Author Share Posted June 24, 2015 Some recent progress on the layout. I have used 3mm cork under the main double track. I have used a small amout of 1.5mm cork to provide the gradient down to the rest of the track which will have no under lay at all! There is quite a slope from the main line to the yard tracks but it doesn't affect the running of the wagons. The next job is to drill the holes for the servo point actuators and start soldering the drop wires. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
squeaky Posted July 1, 2015 Author Share Posted July 1, 2015 I have made a start on the drop wires and all the holes for the servo point actuators are drilled. I have also been looking at the cross board joints that need some delicate cutting! Much more work to do before September..... 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
squeaky Posted July 8, 2015 Author Share Posted July 8, 2015 Latest update is more soldering of drop wires! The other update is a new switcher, which was purchased from Ebay for a reasonable £42.80 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
w124bob Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 I like the idea of a Trackmobile but this is just a bit to modern for me, how does it perform ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
squeaky Posted July 8, 2015 Author Share Posted July 8, 2015 It seems to run very well if a little "buzzy" at higher speeds, however it's not going to be doing those higher speeds anyway! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
squeaky Posted August 11, 2015 Author Share Posted August 11, 2015 I have been busy on the layout, getting it ready for the Freemo event. I have finished all of the track cutting, soldering of pcb end sleepers and glued all the track down. I have now started the wiring on the right hand board, this board is the second easiest to wire as it only has one switch to wire and setup the motor. I'm using a Tam Valley Octopus III to control all the servo switch motors. There will be one push button each side of the layout when finished. The next board is the middle board, this board has 7 switches on it so it's going to be a challenge to keep the wiring neat! 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northpoint Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 Good luck! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
squeaky Posted August 14, 2015 Author Share Posted August 14, 2015 I have now wired the left hand board, that was the easy one as it has no switches. Then I started on the middle board.......... I have mounted and wired all 7 servos for the switches and soldered all the drop wires for the DCC bus. I now have to cut 7 x 35mm holes in each side of the board to accomodate the Tam Valley remote buttons. Here is the Octopus III mounted, I have removed the DCC module for now as I will be using the remote push buttons for now. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
squeaky Posted August 14, 2015 Author Share Posted August 14, 2015 I'm going to tidy all the wires once I've fitted all the push button switches. I've decided not to use the Tam Valley push buttons with LEDs and opt for the simpler approach of a push to make switch. I wasn't comfortable with drilling 35mm holes for the switch plates in 5mm ply, in fear of it weakening the baseboard too much. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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