CullingworthGNR Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 Hello guys, Tonight I was drilling some holes for wall fittings in our newly-completed hall. It's taken about 6 weeks to get that and the main 2 rooms decorated, and we'd had the carpet fitted that morning. We're so fed up of decorating but although it's been hard work, it looks great now. Problem is, after I'd drilled a hole I put the powerdrill back on the floor - and I noticed a bit of smoke coming up off the hot drill bit. I realised a minute later that it had 'dripped' red hot brick dust onto the floor and burnt a hole in our nice new carpet(!!!). Only a small one, but enough to really annoy me. So, in order to hide the hole I set about with some blue paint, just enough to cover the white spot that had been left uncovered. Problem was, the carpet is a mottled blue colour, and instead of having a white hole I now had a dark blue hole... Fortunately, my railway modelling / wagon weathering skills came to the rescue! By dry-brushing a bit of 'Jasmine White' into the hole, you now can't tell it's there - at least from a distance. If you got really up-close-and-personal you could tell, but I'm not sure I care what people think if they examine our house THAT closely! All's well that ends well. Just have to hope she doesn't notice when she gets back from work B) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CullingworthGNR Posted June 15, 2011 Author Share Posted June 15, 2011 Hello Mickey, Yep, we tried to do that with everything else, but these shelves would have made it difficult to fit the carpet as they're basically a shoe rack. Looks ok now though - I have difficulty working out where the hole is! Cheers Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edwin_m Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 I seem to remember age 12 using various Humbrol enamels to re-create the pattern on my bedroom carpet having spilled one of them on part of it while painting a coach interior! Don't know if the parents ever noticed but they never mentioned it... Hope you didn't weather your carpet too much - think pristine. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady_Ava_Hay Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Worst possible scenario is ;- Wet day. Wet shoes in the hall. On the weathered hole. " What's that on the bottom of your sock?" (Emigrate) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southernman46 Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Excellent stuff - good topic for war stories I would guess that there is still a 28mm copper water feed pipe to the house boiler behind the timber panelling in one of my former residences that has a self-tapping screw and self-amalgamating rubber tape washer fitted as a repair after I grazed the pipe whilst drilling the panelling for a new electrical socket...... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jamie92208 Posted June 15, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted June 15, 2011 I managed to aquire some scarce brownie points from SWMBO when her dentures were hurting her and she needed a lump removing. I managed it quite easily with a minidrill and the edge of a slitting disc to take two high spots off and the said dentures are still fitting well. Trouble is she won't let on to her friends that she needed the repair, however without modelling skills I wouldn't have been able to sort it. I also used a small pin chuck and 1mm drill some years ago to drill a hole through one of my son's nails after he had trapped it and it ahd a blood blister under it. Also modelling tools come in useful for taking links out of daughter's watch straps. Despite all these uses I still get stick about my hobby and brownie points appear to ahve a very short shelf life. Jamie Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny Emily Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 I'm not sure about using modelling skills per se, but having just bought and moved into a house, I've certainly been putting to use all the practice I got building model railways. My partner thinks I'm quite amazing will all the things I've repaired, changed or improved. However the secret is just being familiar with the tools, and having a rough idea about how to look at a problem in a way that my brain produces a viable solution, then do it. I've also used a lot of the skills I honed rebuilding sailing boats, as anything that railway modelling won't fix, a bit of fibreglass resin and yacht varnish will! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
coachmann Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Remember the old Triang screws in locos, the ones with part of the initial thread machined off? On a much larger scale, it struck me the idea would be suited to the top plunger retaining ring on an optical glass press. One had to wear asbestos gloves because of the intense heat when doing job changes (changing the moulds). Threading nuts onto two bolts inside small holes in the top plunger cage was a nightmare and time consuming in the heat... I put forward the suggestion to Pilkington Optical that if they removed the top ¼ inch of thread from the retaining bolts, the nuts could be dropped on even while wearing thick asbestos gloves and when spun, the nut would automatically pick up the thread. I recieved a financial award amounting to several weeks wages. The idea was adopted across the company, and abroad. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
R A Watson Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Solved the carpet problem a long time ago - mines scrap brass and solder colour! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJS1977 Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Remember the old Triang screws in locos, the ones with part of the initial thread machined off? On a much larger scale, it struck me the idea would be suited to the top plunger retaining ring on an optical glass press. One had to wear asbestos gloves because of the intense heat when doing job changes (changing the moulds). Threading nuts onto two bolts inside small holes in the top plunger cage was a nightmare and time consuming in the heat... I put forward the suggestion to Pilkington Optical that if they removed the top ¼ inch of thread from the retaining bolts, the nuts could be dropped on even while wearing thick asbestos gloves and when spun, the nut would automatically pick up the thread. I recieved a financial award amounting to several weeks wages. The idea was adopted across the company, and abroad. I believe AWE Aldermaston used to use a Hornby Dublo train to move radioactive materials round the lab! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jamie92208 Posted June 16, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted June 16, 2011 I believe AWE Aldermaston used to use a Hornby Dublo train to move radioactive materials round the lab! Yes they used a 2-6-4 tank to pull a wagon with a beaker of material through some sort of airlock. There was an article at the time in the Meccano Magazine. I used to have that issue but sadly don't have it any longer. From memory there was a simple circle of track that took the beaker through to the 'hot' side and then brought it out again. Jamie Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 I believe AWE Aldermaston used to use a Hornby Dublo train to move radioactive materials round the lab! Yes they used a 2-6-4 tank to pull a wagon with a beaker of material through some sort of airlock. There was an article at the time in the Meccano Magazine. I used to have that issue but sadly don't have it any longer. From memory there was a simple circle of track that took the beaker through to the 'hot' side and then brought it out again. I wonder if that 2-6-4T ended up being buried deep in concrete when its service days were done. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady_Ava_Hay Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 I wonder if that 2-6-4T ended up being buried deep in concrete when its service days were done. Probably sold on E Bay. The only 2-6-4T that glows in the dark. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xerces Fobe2 Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 Quite a few years ago I worked for an American test equipment manufacturer and put my modelling skills to good used to refurbish old machines to a standard as good as new . The panels were professionally re- spayed but logos and other areas were often make the machine look as new using railway modelling paints. Those were the days when there was a thing called job satisfaction, anyone remember that concept? Xerces Fobe Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Welly Posted June 16, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted June 16, 2011 My modelling skills do come in handy for my job repairing medical equipment - I suspect the fact that I am a railway modeller ( among other attributes ) helped me get that job in the first place. One example is using pin chucks and drill bits to open up holes in a replacement casing for a syringe pump to accomodate the hinges for a cover. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny Emily Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 Yes they used a 2-6-4 tank to pull a wagon with a beaker of material through some sort of airlock. There was an article at the time in the Meccano Magazine. I used to have that issue but sadly don't have it any longer. From memory there was a simple circle of track that took the beaker through to the 'hot' side and then brought it out again. Jamie The article is reprinted in the Michael Foster book on the complete history of Hornby dublo. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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