Castle Aching

[St Enodoc]

The best soldering thing I ever bought was a 40W soldering station, from Maplins a few years back. It cost £38 in a sale. You can find similar on-line if you don't mind waiting while they are shipped from China.

 

This station has temperature adjustable from 150C to about 450. 150 nominal is about right for whitemetal and I usually set 300 or up for 60/40 solder and about 200 for 145 solder. The temperature at the sensor, inside the iron, is higher than on the outside of the tip and anyway the interface temperature needs to be a bit higher than the melting point of the solder in order to heat the work to above that temperature.

 

If I wanted something cheaper than £38 I'd slap myself until I came to my senses and then if I still wanted cheap I'd buy an Antex XS25 at a bit less than £30. Cheaper than that it's a complete gamble as to whether the iron does anything useful at all. I once bought a £15 iron from a DIY warehouse and it was utter rubbish.

 

If more money is available then the Antex 75W soldering-station is a decent upgrade from the 40W kind. More power is always better (channelling Jeremy C. here, but in soldering it's actually true).

The Antex XS25 is a brilliant all-rounder. A huge range of interchangeable bits too. I use it for wiring, track building and just about everything else except for whitemetal, for which I've got a temperature-controlled soldering station. Usual disclaimer.

[St Enodoc]

Cleanliness is next to godliness, in soldering.

...but not in the dictionary.

 

I thank you.

[Martin S-C]

Fornicate! Fornicate! Flux!

I often shout this but not when I am soldering. Am I doing it wrong?

 

Yours

Perverted of Peterborough

[Hroth]

...but not in the dictionary.

 

I thank you.

It depends on the dictionary, I suppose.

 

It sounds like something the Shorter Abridged Condensed Readers Digest Dictionary would have attempted!

 

I've actually got something called The Readers Digest "Inverse Dictionary", which shows their style of thinking (though it's essentially a fancifully styled thesarus).

 

Saunters off in an "out" sort of direction....

Edited October 21, 2018 by Hroth

[Donw]

Ray Earl built some layouts for exhibitions. His wife Cida had West Indian parents IIRC. Ray used mainly commenrcial locos however she saw people building locos at shows and fancied a go. She did a good job. Her comment on soldering was 'Its just stiicking bits of metal together'. I think not being spooked by thinking it a black art helped. It is just another skill to learn.  Some will always be better than others at soldering but most will achieve a reasonable level of competancy.

 

Regarding removing bits from an etch. There are other options, a razor saw can remove bits without distortion but is slow. If you can get access to the tabs a pair of small Gilbows can cut the tabs. Gilbows are tinsnips. I am currently using a pair made by Dapers very useful things. When using them to cut sheet metal the curl will be on the thinner piece so  they are fine for cutting pieces out of an etch. REmember when cleaning up any bit of the tab left to run the file along the edge to be cleaned rather than across.

 

Don 

[Edwardian]

It was pointed out to me recently that one of the hobby's living legends had been banned from RMWeb.  I don't know why, but given how cantankerous be could be without attracting the attention of the mods, one can only wonder what his ultimate crime(s) might have been.

 

I don't like to see anyone banned, not least because I have found my way on the route to that destination in the past, though in my case I tend to regard this as due to 'political' reasons (criticising certain RTR offerings) rather than due to any actual breach of the rules of the forum or, worse, of the rules of courtesy.  Whatever the reason, it is always sad when someone is shut out from the community. 

 

This latest ban caused me to reflect upon the changing mores of the hobby and of this site. I wondered whether the former member concerned was perhaps one of the last survivors of an earlier generation of senior modellers who, confident it their expertise and their status, simply expected their blunt speaking to be liked or lumped as the audience preferred. Every so often in recent years I would come across the obituary of some grandee of the hobby.  Almost obligatory characteristics seemed to be qualities such as strength of opinion, forthrightness and not suffering fools gladly.  To be fair, often such individuals could also, it seems, be capable of great generosity, though perhaps on their terms.  The impression is of relationships more hierarchical and paternalistic than we are used to today. Nevertheless, these sound like some quite opinionated individuals. Allowing for the euphemisms of obit writers, I gain the impression that much of a passing generation of railway modelling greats were just bloody rude.

 

Clearly that never applied to everyone.  One only has to think of the late lamented Allan Downes to find a true gentleman of the hobby.

 

That was Thought for the Day by the Revd. Ernest Handwringer.

[RedGemAlchemist]

It was pointed out to me recently that one of the hobby's living legends had been banned from RMWeb. I don't know why, but given how cantankerous be could be without attracting the attention of the mods, one can only wonder what his ultimate crime(s) might have been.

 

I don't like to see anyone banned, not least because I have found my way on the route to that destination in the past, though in my case I tend to regard this as due to 'political' reasons (criticising certain RTR offerings) rather than due to any actual breach of the rules of the forum or, worse, of the rules of courtesy. Whatever the reason, it is always sad when someone is shut out from the community.

 

This latest ban caused me to reflect upon the changing mores of the hobby and of this site. I wondered whether the former member concerned was perhaps one of the last survivors of an earlier generation of senior modellers who, confident it their expertise and their status, simply expected their blunt speaking to be liked or lumped as the audience preferred. Every so often in recent years I would come across the obituary of some grandee of the hobby. Almost obligatory characteristics seemed to be qualities such as strength of opinion, forthrightness and not suffering fools gladly. To be fair, often such individuals could also, it seems, be capable of great generosity, though perhaps on their terms. The impression is of relationships more hierarchical and paternalistic than we are used to today. Nevertheless, these sound like some quite opinionated individuals. Allowing for the euphemisms of obit writers, I gain the impression that much of a passing generation of railway modelling greats were just bloody rude.

 

Clearly that never applied to everyone. One only has to think of the late lamented Allan Downes to find a true gentleman of the hobby.

 

That was Thought for the Day by the Revd. Ernest Handwringer.

Hmm. Food for thought.

[Martin S-C]

I don't know of whom you speak and do not wish to know. I'm aware one person in the trade is banned from here and that was due to being over-critical of other - perhaps competing - products, though why one's opinion, if honestly formed and given should be a case for excluding someone from a hobby community I do not know. This person is now anti RMWeb and attacks it on other discussion groups, so such bans generate a loss for everyone. It is a shame.

When I were a lad and joined my first two model railway clubs around the age of 14 or so, the "hierarchical and paternalistic" social order was very much in evidence, and groups of gentlemen in tweed jackets with leather patch elbows would gather in their usual corner of the clubroom and smoke pipes and do very little else, or so it seemed to me. I was told they were "The Committee" which phrase was usually uttered in hushed revered tones. Perhaps it was because of my youth (I grew up in that age when children were taught to respect their elders and to certainly respect authority such as teachers, churchmen, police and railway officials) or perhaps it was part of the social order of those times (this was the mid-1970s) that was breathing its last gasp around me and of which I was completely unaware.

As several here will know I recently acquired a complete set of old railway modelling magazines to replace a lost collection and have been nostalgically returning to my youth of the 60s and 70s by re-reading them. It certainly does seem that that sort of modeller was a creature of his age and its also possible that many of these people saw service in the armed forces. The hobby in the 50s and 60s still being the preserve of white middle class gentlemen, I suppose many of these were former officers and so this self-regard of being right and telling others what to do was simply how things were and were expected to be. No-one is wrong or a bad person for being a child of their time and social group. David Jenkinson comes to mind; an ex-RAF officer and in his photographs very much a straight-backed, play-the-game-by-the-rules sort of person.

Today's modellers are probably much more liberal in their outlook and the hobby has widened to include a broader appeal to people from all walks of life. Had Rod Stewart been modelling in the 50s or 60s and the Old Guard had encountered a pop singer in their midst I am sure some eyebrows would have been raised.

Anyhow, I originally popped into this thread in order to post this, and was side-tracked (or in railway modelling terms is that "goods looped"?). To coin a phrase from TV advertising, I saw this and thought of you:

[Regularity]

It was pointed out to me recently that one of the hobby's living legends had been banned from RMWeb.  I don't know why, but given how cantankerous be could be without attracting the attention of the mods, one can only wonder what his ultimate crime(s) might have been.

 

I heard from a friend of his his that it was because he was swearing at another RMWeb user. I don’t know, nor do I wish to know, the precise circumstances.

 

If one can’t follow the rules, one doesn’t get to play, no matter how important one’s “reputation”. As a lawyer, you will no doubt accept the basic principle that no one is above the law.

[RedGemAlchemist]

I heard from a friend of his his that it was because he was swearing at another RMWeb user. I don’t know, nor do I wish to know, the precise circumstances.

 

If one can’t follow the rules, one doesn’t get to play, no matter how important one’s “reputation”. As a lawyer, you will no doubt accept the basic principle that no one is above the law.

Exactly. You don't get to play at all if you can't play nice.

[Nearholmer]

Interesting discussion.

 

I was reading ancient RMs last night and came across a photo of David Jenkinson and, quite independently, my instant response was ‘you can tell a senior Railway modeller, but you can’t tell him much’. Unfair to judge on the basis of a photo, of course, he may well have been anything but the stern and bluff individual that my mind made him into.

 

The club that I joined c1973 was entirely free from the wrong sort of old blokes; the ‘senior members’ were genial, avuncular types, despite forces backgrounds, tweed jackets, elbow patches, beards, and pipes.

 

And, and, the wrong sort of old bloke still exists. Chaps who are daft enough to believe that the simple fact of long-experience puts them above everyone else, often bitter old curmudgeons who are taking out their self-loathing or disappointment on the world. On bad days, I catch myself showing the very early symptoms!

[sem34090]

If it's who I think it is then it was about time someone did something. Some of the things he came out with were not only wrong, but harmful.

[Regularity]

Exactly. You don't get to play at all if you can't play nice.

I don’t think it’s quite as black and white as that: there has to some room for disagreement, and also a facility let people calm down and also genuinely apologise.

 

But what do I know? I can be outrageous at times, and have sorely tested Andy’s patience I am sure (although I strongly suspect that most of the time, he is laughing his socks off at the mess I have got myself in). Also, I was recently told I was “officer material” for the “Finescale Police”, which some might find offensive. Me? I think it’s funny that having congruent beliefs and behaviour is somehow negative.

[sem34090]

Simon... the difference is that you generally have respect for others, something some in this hobby seem to lack. I've never felt that you've been looking down on us mere RTR 00 modellers, but some do look down their noses. Nothing wrong with being outspoken, but it becomes a problem when one modeller is swearing and insulting another for no good reason besides self-righteousness.

Edited October 22, 2018 by sem34090

[Regularity]

Thank you SEM.

That’s a heartwarming comment.

My view is “know your own standards, and try to achieve them if not surpass them”.

What those “standards” are is up to you.

 

For example, when it comes to track and wheels I want them to be prototypically accurate, but I accept that I cannot scale absolutely perfectly, so a bit more sideplay may be required.

I want my models to be, where the information is known, roughly within a scale inch of the prototype, but I would rather have the correct details and a little roughness than sterile precision.

I don’t have the space to accommodate scale length trains and scale curves, so my layouts have to be shorter and more tightly curved than the real thing if they are to fit into my U.K. single garage space. Or I have to open the doors and have the fiddle yard outside, which is only feasible about ¼ of the year. See the first point about sideplay!

Most of all, I want it to look right, but I believe that the closer you get to the prototype, the easier this is.

 

Gnosti seuaton!

[Edwardian]

I was recently told I was “officer material”

 

Possibly this was because, proportionally, subaltern was the rank that sustained the highest casualties.   

 

.... or was that "the highest causitries"?

[Regularity]

Ah, so someone wished me dead?

[Hroth]

Good lord....  We've gone all "Monday Morning" here!

 

People banned?  I obviously don't haunt the right threads, so its all flown overhead, I'm afraid.

 

Oh well.....  All I can say is that the Revd. Ernest Handwringer puts me in mind of the scouse bloke who used to phone God on Radio 2......

[Edwardian]

Interesting discussion.

 

I was reading ancient RMs last night and came across a photo of David Jenkinson and, quite independently, my instant response was ‘you can tell a senior Railway modeller, but you can’t tell him much’. Unfair to judge on the basis of a photo, of course, he may well have been anything but the stern and bluff individual that my mind made him into.

 

The club that I joined c1973 was entirely free from the wrong sort of old blokes; the ‘senior members’ were genial, avuncular types, despite forces backgrounds, tweed jackets, elbow patches, beards, and pipes.

 

And, and, the wrong sort of old bloke still exists. Chaps who are daft enough to believe that the simple fact of long-experience puts them above everyone else, often bitter old curmudgeons who are taking out their self-loathing or disappointment on the world. On bad days, I catch myself showing the very early symptoms!

 

The wrong sort of old blokes. Very much my experience when, at the start of my adult revival in interest in railway modelling, I joined one of the larger and more prestigious of the Nation's model railway societies. 

 

There was an awful lot of attitude along the lines of you must serve 25 years before the mast before you are allowed to think of doing X or Y or presume to seek for help or advice. 

 

There then followed 17 armchair years of no modelling.  So, thank God for the internet and you lot here, who have guided and encouraged my first faltering steps ....

[Martin S-C]

Don't do yourself down James. I would never dream of saying (or thinking) the Castle Aching drill hall had been built by someone taking faltering steps!

[sem34090]

Well said that man!

You're doing fantastically James, an inspiration to several of us on here.

[Northroader]

So to go with Beyer Peacock no. 48, here’s Sharp Stewart no. 42:

[RedGemAlchemist]

Well said that man!

You're doing fantastically James, an inspiration to several of us on here.

Indeed, myself included. Without you inspiring me to get back into railway modelling (albeit not exclusively) I literally wouldn't even be on here.

 

 

So to go with Beyer Peacock no. 48, here’s Sharp Stewart no. 42:

58C4A542-6CB3-448C-98A1-0E922CAB8438.jpeg

WANT. Edited October 22, 2018 by RedGemAlchemist

[Compound2632]

WANT.

 

Practice...

[Edwardian]

Cue the Four Yorkshiremen ...

 

Ready to Run?  Ready to Run?!?  In my day there were no such thing.  You wound your own motors and stamped your own wheels outa sheet metal with y' teeth!

 

Sheet metal?!?  We 'ad to whittle t' wheels outa cobblestones using tooth picks.

 

Motors, motors?!?  We 'ad to mek our own, with gears made from old toenail clippings and motors wound with me Grandad's nose hairs dipped in electrolyte and beef dripping ...!

 

Teeth, teeth! We never 'ad as own teeth!

Edited October 22, 2018 by Edwardian