bridgiesimon Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 I totally agree Osgood, there are bad looking stock on some railways but some of those tractor conversions beat the lot! best wishes Simon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles Posted January 28, 2016 Author Share Posted January 28, 2016 They're rather fun in a mad way - I also like some of the Foden and Sentinal steam lorry conversions, for the same reason! However, none will find a home on this layout, as they couldn't cope with the bank......! (There's always next time though....) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derbys65 Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 This layout is looking amazing Giles , everything looks spot on , well done Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles Posted February 3, 2016 Author Share Posted February 3, 2016 Thank you! There's a slight pause at the moment whilst I finish off my 0-14 Wren, as I owe an article to the Narrow Gauge and Industrial Review on its construction........ Not far off now, though. (Probably the most silver-soldered loco in existence!) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles Posted February 3, 2016 Author Share Posted February 3, 2016 (edited) However, over January, an additional 'run-round' on the BR line was added to make operation easier (it will also help the 'balance' of the layout) Edited February 3, 2016 by Giles 12 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
81A Oldoak Posted February 6, 2016 Share Posted February 6, 2016 Looking good Giles. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles Posted February 28, 2016 Author Share Posted February 28, 2016 Finally finished this Wren apart from weathering and couplings (which I'll do later). I'll write this one up in NG&IR with Roy's indulgence. It's about as small as I'm capable of building, and was having quite enough trouble seeing what was going on. How these chaps can see to do 4mm beats me! 13 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
81A Oldoak Posted February 28, 2016 Share Posted February 28, 2016 Finally finished this Wren apart from weathering and couplings (which I'll do later). I'll write this one up in NG&IR with Roy's indulgence. It's about as small as I'm capable of building, and was having quite enough trouble seeing what was going on. How these chaps can see to do 4mm beats me! A lovely little beauty. Absolutely first class Giles. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles Posted February 29, 2016 Author Share Posted February 29, 2016 Thank you Chris - you are, as as always - a Gentleman. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
themagicspanner Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 What a lovely wee thing. Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles Posted February 29, 2016 Author Share Posted February 29, 2016 Thank you - I've always liked these little things..... 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles Posted March 9, 2016 Author Share Posted March 9, 2016 (edited) We now have a little desk-top laser which is going to be extremely useful, and provide hours of endless fun! Edited March 9, 2016 by Giles 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter220950 Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 Where's the jealous button when you want it? - Keep us informed of your progress, it looks like a nice bit of kit for a very reasonable cost. Peter Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev_Lewis Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 That looks like a very handy piece of kit. Would you be able to provide more information about where these can be obtained from? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
daifly Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 That looks like a very handy piece of kit. Would you be able to provide more information about where these can be obtained from? See http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/108310-darkly-labs-emblaser-affordable-laser-cutter-review/ Dave Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles Posted March 9, 2016 Author Share Posted March 9, 2016 Absolutely - this is an A4 Emblazer, from Darklylabs, based in Australia Probably the only affordable - but usable - desktop laser cutter on the market. It's got a 4W diode laser at the business end, and comes in kit form (it took me four hours to put it together) https://darklylabs.com/emblaser-overview/ It's certainly well designed in engineering terms, and good value for money, in my opinion. It's no competitor to the 40W CO2 lasers as far as production speed is concerned, but it's a fraction of the price, and takes a fraction of the space. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
81A Oldoak Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 Absolutely - this is an A4 Emblazer, from Darklylabs, based in Australia Probably the only affordable - but usable - desktop laser cutter on the market. It's got a 4W diode laser at the business end, and comes in kit form (it took me four hours to put it together) https://darklylabs.com/emblaser-overview/ It's certainly well designed in engineering terms, and good value for money, in my opinion. It's no competitor to the 40W CO2 lasers as far as production speed is concerned, but it's a fraction of the price, and takes a fraction of the space. Very tempting Giles. The A3 version is AUD800, well less than the price of a pair of our Pecketts. Hmmm. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold colin penfold Posted March 10, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 10, 2016 Very tempting Giles. The A3 version is AUD800, well less than the price of a pair of our Pecketts. Hmmm. It's actually £800 US Dollars, or about £560 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
81A Oldoak Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 It's actually £800 US Dollars, or about £560 Still seems like a great bargain. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles Posted March 10, 2016 Author Share Posted March 10, 2016 Plus of course shipping and duty - but non the less..... I suspect it's the cheapest genuinely usable and useful laser. It will certainly etch brickwork into MDF (and then cut it out - eventually!) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles Posted March 10, 2016 Author Share Posted March 10, 2016 Using Autocad (which I use every day) I saved this little file of bricks in - DXF 2004 - which the various programs appear to like, and I had success! I imported a bit of brickwork with no trouble, didn't quite realise I had to select it a 'vectors', but did that eventually,then had a go at engraving (2mm MDF) the slight bit on the left you can see was too much - 5mm/sec at 100% , and very nearly burnt through (there are scorch marks on the other side) the one you can see all of is 10mm/sec at 100%, and is perhaps still a little deep..... (This is a 4W laser). This was all done with one pass. I'm chuffed. 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles Posted March 13, 2016 Author Share Posted March 13, 2016 Progress - I've managed to etch and cut (in a combined process) a bit of brickwork, which pleases me. The joint is suffering from an excess of glue- but the principle is there. This is 2mm MDF, cutting through on 6 passes, and etching on a single pass. There is some charring on the brick ends with the cutting, which I suppose is not surprising. I suspect I shall never buy any more embossed plasticard brick....! 7mm scale 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles Posted March 19, 2016 Author Share Posted March 19, 2016 I've managed to find time to produce this tool shed - it took ages, because it takes 30minutes to cut, but about 20 minutes in, it loses it's indexing, and shifts about half a mil, which ruins it..... I had three goes, and it did it each time - trashing it. Finally, I split the job into two parts, first the two ends, then the two walls - as separate drawings and operations (no other differences at all...) that worked absolutely fine. I don't know if it can't cope with running continuously for more than 15-20 minutes without losing its indexing, or whether there is a little software glitch that sends it astray (the drawing appears to be completely clean). I don't mind splitting jobs up if I have to, my only concern would be if I have problems working large intensive pieces...... We'll see! Time to try and produce some bits for Denton Brook! 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles Posted March 26, 2016 Author Share Posted March 26, 2016 (edited) I spent most of the afternoon looking for some windows I bought from York laser, to go into one of the Denton Brook buildings. When, after a couple of hours I found them, I realised I had bought some modern UPVC Windows by mistake!! No use at all.... I therefore drew up something more suitable, to try and cut them in 0.8mm ply (a material I haven't to date tried.....) using the Emblazer laser. I confess I didn't bother doing test pieces, I just went straight for it. Etch cuts were 20mm/sec at 75%, Single pass, And the Cuts were 10mm/sec at 100%, with three passes - but would have been better at four passes, as some of the frames were just clinging on..... The glazing bars are about 0.5mm wide, and have come out beautifully! The quality is stunning. I wouldn't do piles of them a once, as being a silly computer, it does half a job, goes off and does something else and then comes back to it, and of course it will always do a better job if it finishes one thing first....... One could do a work-around by doing pairs of Windows on different layers, so it will do them a pair at a time. I love this machine! Edited March 26, 2016 by Giles 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Argos Posted March 26, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 26, 2016 The fineness of those glazing bars is very impressive, I didn't realise that degree of finesse was possible with laser cutting. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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