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New to 2mm


Guest Stewart_Mason

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I should have put in 'or'. I've used both for kit building without a problem, in fact it's only in recent years that I've started using solder paint. The beauty of this is that you don't need to flux and tin first, which is a great help when layering etches. You also use much less solder, so have less cleaning up to do afterwards. Cored solder is useful for filling small gaps or making strengthening filets.

Jim

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Probably you mean taper broaches. Something like this.........

 

Modellers tend to misuse the word reamer.

My apologies, I should have corrected the misnomer.

 

A tip for opening up the holes for top hat bearings .  On some etches the holes will be OK, others will need opening out, it depends on how aggressive the etching process has been (it is not an exact science!). You will find that the appropriate size is about ¾ way up the third smallest of the first set Chris mentions.  Open up a hole slowly until a bearing will just slip in.  Put the broach back in the hole and mark the broach on the top side of the etch with a red marker pen or a spot of paint.  You then can use this to test whether a hole needs opening or not by running the broach in until you reach the mark.  This avoids any risk of opening the hole up too much and also the need to keep checking if it is the right size yet.

 

Jim

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Another method (from the chassis workshop a few years ago, I think) is to paint the reamer with marker pen before use. After use the marker will be rubbed away up to the point where the hole was large enough.

Problem I've found with that is that if it's a square section broach (as mine are) , the paint is only rubbed off the corners!   :nea:

 

Jim

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Guest Stewart_Mason

My broaches arrived, and I got my membership of the association through in very short order, amazing given it's the 'Holidays' too. (My partner has kept me busier than if I was at work)...

I will order the bits I need and finish my wagon. I got the book on the Harton Electric Railway (Hatcher) which is my main area of interest, and there are some great diagrams with measurements etc in there to work from. Judith edge kits will be suppling me with a brass kit for the Number 2 loco body shortly, but I feel the need to have a crack at the Number 1 loco on my own. Finding a suitable mechanism may be interesting. My initial interest (before I started attending shows) was in just producing a non working diorama, but having it all moving would be wonderful. I'm really keen to avoid RTR anything, so I'm going to be building most things from kits or from scratch if possible. I accept the fact that this may be a harder road.

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Well in the lull between Christmas and it's dreadful cousin 'New Year' I find myself with time on my hands. So to work on my Association wagon kit. Stage 3 and I find myself needing some parts, and some tools. This is good. New tools are always a pleasure.

I need top hat bearings, a reamer, and a soldering iron. I guess I need to join the association to get the bearings (crafty that!) so the form is in the post, which leaves the reamer and the soldering iron. Any suggestions on what to get? I have a 50w iron from my aeromodelling kit, but It's a tad big. I'm guessing 15 to 25w with adjustable temperature, flux and 60/40 solder?

As to the reamer, I haven't a clue. Suggestions required.

Loving it so far, very relaxing indeed. 

 

Stewart.

 

If it is an association promotional kit? the top hat bearings should be included!

 

Sam.

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Problem I've found with that is that if it's a square section broach (as mine are) , the paint is only rubbed off the corners!   :nea:

 

Jim

 

That's odd Jim I thought broaches were usually five sided the odd numbers are reputed to keep the hole truer to centre. Also the solder sold for use by plumbers is generally too thick for model work. I would suggest for 145deg solder is fine for most work but agree with the avoidance of Lead free even for plumbing work it didn't flow as well.

 

I would suggest using one of the new pinned turnouts for a test. The advantage of having a milled crossing is you know the wing rails are correctly spaced so it wouldn't be that causing any problems. If you then go on to making your own crossings you will have something to compare them with.

The Jinty sounds like a good idea. If a diesel doesn't inspire you it will not give you the encouragement to go on. What I would counsel is to keep the first layout fairly simple. The 4x1 board is a good size but too many turnouts will make it to complex. Something fairly simple will make construction easier and can be surprisingly good fun to operate.

 

Don

 

edit to change counsel as my fingers typed council in error there may be others I haven't spotted

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That's odd Jim I thought broaches were usually five sided the odd numbers are reputed to keep the hole truer to centre. 

I've just had a closer look at mine and you're quite right Don.  My apologies for not looking closer in the first place. :fool:   Still results in the paint only being rubbed off the corners. 

 

Jim

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I took a bit of a different approach with 2mm Finescale when I started... Especially as I was coming into it completely cold (no existing stock/locos/track/anything!). I created a small test plank layout, with no turnouts, just a short stretch of pain track. This meant that I could run an out-of-the-box N gauge loco up and down it with no worries, with the plan to convert it at a later date. It was only about a 1000mm long, and maybe 150mm wide.

 

The problem with getting started in modelling, if like me you're starting from nothing, is that you can actually have a lot to do/make/convert before you have something moving - and that can be a little disheartening. The way I did it meant I could have a go at building a little bit of track, doing a little bit of basic scenery, and have a loco running backwards and forwards in a few short days/weeks - depending how much time you've got to dedicate to it. It's also an opportunity to see whether the scale is something you'd be interested in carrying on working in (you mentioned in your OP that you were interested in the other scales too, so this is a quick and cheap way of confirming that).

 

This tiny test was soon retired to the scrap heap, and I've moved on to trying out bigger projects. But don't underestimate the instant gratification you get from doing such a tiny project where you get something moving really quickly. It really gets you excited to move on to the "first" layout after.

 

That's just what suited me though! I get that if locomotives are your thing, then just getting something out of the box and putting on a track might not be why you're interested in going the finescale route in the first place.

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I took a bit of a different approach with 2mm Finescale when I started... Especially as I was coming into it completely cold (no existing stock/locos/track/anything!). I created a small test plank layout, with no turnouts, just a short stretch of pain track.

 

Sounds like my first 2mm track, built from the coiled strip rail without the benefit of any jigs, just with hand held track gauges.

 

Being brass, they tended to get quite hot in proximity to a soldering iron...

 

Mark

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