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Post a Bargain! (no discussions / questions) (was Bargain Hunters)


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Rub a soft pencil on an emery board or similar and use the dust; it will get into the threads easily. I discovered this for weathering to simulate worn metal surfaces but it works well as a lubricant where you don't want anything gooey.

 

Thanks all for those suggestions - I'll try and adopt them when I next purchase a soldering iron !

 

Regards,

John Isherwood.

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Locksmiths will sell you graphite for locks, but that's a powder rather than a paste.  It comes in a "puffer" type plastic bottle.  Would have though a paste what needed for soldering iron bits, but not sure - maybe need more info from the Weller instructions!

 

 

Thanks all for those suggestions - I'll try and adopt them when I next purchase a soldering iron !

 

Regards,

John Isherwood.

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Locksmiths will sell you graphite for locks, but that's a powder rather than a paste.  It comes in a "puffer" type plastic bottle.  Would have though a paste what needed for soldering iron bits, but not sure - maybe need more info from the Weller instructions!

 

Frankly, I'm sure that it's the corrosive action of the 15% phosphoric acid, that I make up and use as a flux, that causes the corrosion.

 

Excellent stuff - but it does go through the bits!

 

Regards,

John Isherwood.

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Graphite powder is sold for lubricating Kadee couplings, but I use a pencil for mine.

 

I believe graphite grease is the recommended lubricant for gears and clockwork drive main springs.

 

Phosphoric acid is really needed for soldering iron/steel. It is rather nasty though. (It's an ingredient of Coca-Cola etc  - why it reputedly can be used to free rusty parts (it didn't work when I tried it and for cleaning toilets.....)

 

I have to confess to always forgetting to loosen the soldering iron bit.......

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I'd go further than that !

 

As with every soldering iron that I've ever bought, the bits seize in the element.

Presumably you have never had an Antex iron as their bits slide onto the outside of the element and is it has become wedged on can be slid off with a pair of pliers. Now I've made the following comment a numerous times and it usually leads to a lot of disputing comments - The benefit of this is that no heat can dissipate from the element without heating the metal of the bit consequently Antex irons are more powerful wattage for wattage than those whose bit is fitted inside the element. A 18W Antex in my experience outperforms a 25W Weller and a 15W Weller is hardly any better than a hot knife. I have used a 25W Antex satisfactorily for all sorts of jobs that the "experts" say you need a 50W iron for.

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Included are 'penny washers' which can be used for weighting rolling stock. One bag will do lots of wagons!

For weighting rolling stock I use pennies. They're very cheap; they cost 1p each.

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The scrap value of the solid copper 1p coins is nearly 2p - so it may be worth your time removing them from your models and replacing them with the coins manufactured after 1992. It would save you money if you need copper to make a bronze sculpture for the high street in your layout.  Note: It is against the law to melt these coins but I don't think that law applies if you are taking them abroad.

The best coins are the 50p Olympic coins - a complete set of 29 (not molten down) often sells for triple the face value on a well known auction site

(message to moderator) is now the time to create a page for investment advice?

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A pet hate of mine is the use of the expression 'one pence'. It's like saying 'one mice' or 'one children'. It's wrong, just wrong.

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Hornby.com have added 4021 British Monarch to their last chance saloon for £89.99

 

 

(No soldering irons were harmed in the making of this announcement)

 

It has actually been listed there at that price for around 2 months now - I check their 'Last Change to Buy' every couple of days, and they haven't added new items for around 6 weeks, nor have they reduced further the items that they evidently can't shift. I would anticipate these slow sellers such as the Star and the GWR heavy tanks to see further reductions in due course - probably prior to the end of the financial year end to provide a last fillip to Hornby balance sheet - should they still be there by mid-March. 

 

CoY

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It has actually been listed there at that price for around 2 months now - I check their 'Last Change to Buy' every couple of days, and they haven't added new items for around 6 weeks, nor have they reduced further the items that they evidently can't shift. I would anticipate these slow sellers such as the Star and the GWR heavy tanks to see further reductions in due course - probably prior to the end of the financial year end to provide a last fillip to Hornby balance sheet - should they still be there by mid-March. 

 

CoY

OK - I hadn't noticed it before - I normally click on the button that ranks price from high to low and don't recall seeing it (though it's not my timescale)

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If anyone is in the market for a high quality Watchmaker's Precision Vice then this is the cheapest place I've found, with free delivery until midnight tonight (and free postage returns, if required - but check on this):

 

 - Google "Cooksongold" and type in 997 1080 into the website search box  (sorry, the works pc won't let me paste a link for some reason).

 

Not cheap at sixty notes incl. vat, but £25 (+p&p) cheaper than a well-known modelling materials supplier outlet for the same item.  And an awful lot cheaper (to the tune of a cool £170) than a genuine Bergeon Watchmakers Vice...

 

HTH

Brian 

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For weighting rolling stock I use pennies. They're very cheap; they cost 1p each.

 

Wilko's weigh much the same as a 2p piece and work out cheaper - you can get well over 100 in a bag. They have the advantage of having a 5mm hole already drilled through - you save time (and possibly doing time for defacing the coinage....  :jester:   ).

 

I did consider the use of coins though. Several pennies would fit between solebars, but are not really the right shape to weight an open wagon sufficiently. I find they need sheet lead covering as much area as possible. Solid metal wheels help too.

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During my occasional visit to the Rails site this evening (still with their 'January Sale' displayed), I noticed a couple of noteworthy Bachmann bargains for BR modellers:

 

Latest Class 108 2 car blue/grey for £64.50

 

Pair of Mk 2A blue/grey coaches (FK, BSO) at half price (£39.50)

 

 

Plus I noticed they have the weathered Freightliner Class 70 for £89.50 - which would be tempting if I was modelling the contemporary scene.

 

Finally, for anyone who missed out on the recent Hornby Railroad GW County loco + 2 GW coaches deal (now sold out on the Hornby site), Rails is still offering it for slightly cheaper (£84.50).

 

Ok - now back to Hattons to gaze at those Bachmann 47s on sale...  :)

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