Show us your ... gadgets

[Coombe Barton]

Following on from Chubber's building aid thread, and remembering that Rev Peter Denny had a box labelled 'gadgets' which was brought (at least) to ExpoEM when Leighton Buzzard was exhibited there a few years ago to see if any could be identified, I was wondering if anyone else had devices to ease their modelling, and whether they might have small scale manufacturing potential. I can't remember what many of Peter Denny's 'gadgets' were for, but he obviously found them of use.

 

I can only offer the bit of suede wrapped round the bit of scrap brass I use for scraping solder where I've been over-generous with its application, and there's not much potential there for manufacture.

 

So, do you have any 'gadgets' you might like to share?

[The White Rabbit]

My most used tool is equally hi-tech - a small shank made from a thin needle and dowelling. It is very useful for putting holes in for 'medium plants' after you've applied a coat or two of static grass - and then marking the hole until you are ready to glue the plant stems into the ground. 

 

I also have an offcut of aluminium tubing which I use for rolling Metcalfe chimneypots. It's just the right diameter. (I do scratchbuild in plastic when modelling for myself, but do quite a bit of Metcalfe modelling for work). If you're modelling a town scene you need quite a few and using this makes rolling a pot very easy and is quick. 

 

The most valuable and sought after tool of all has to be a 'round tuit' - how often do we say, "I'll do it when I get around to it"? 

[LH&JC]

The only thing close to a gadget I have is a length of wire bent with a rounded arrow at one end to help me couple the 3 link couplings on my 16mm scale stock.

[Dagworth]

 

This thing. It's a gauge for height and registration of overhead wires. The tongue on the bottom sits between the rails, the three marks at the top give centre line and extremities of wire position.

 

Andi

 

 

[corax67]

I favour a large hammer for when precision fails me ;D

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

My top 'gadget' is good quality wooden clothes pegs, for when you want material clamped for soldering, without heat sinking. The gadget may of course be modified by Stanley knife to suit the application which is a real asset.

 

One just has to be ready with a pat answer when another member of the household asks why there seem to be an insufficient number of the things.

[highpeak]

I wouldn't say this would win any awards but it makes an awkward job a bit easier:

 

It's a little tool I made out of a scrap of styrene and a piece of aluminum tubing and it's used to drill the holes for a Bullfrog switch machine's two mounting screws. The tubing fits through the hole that is drilled in the baseboard for the actuating rod of the switch machine, the jig is aligned so that the machine will end up roughly at right angles to the stock rail and the two holes for the screws are drilled through the guide holes. Trying to do that underneath the benchwork is a bit difficult since you can't see through the plywood to be certain of the alignment of the turnout.

 

For those not familiar with the Bullfrog, it's a laser-cut plywood kit that makes up into a switch machine complete with micro-switch for power routing http://www.handlaidtrack.com/BullFrog-Manual-Turnout-Control-Unassembled-p/bf-0002.htm. Usual disclaimer applies, just a satisfied customer.

[5050]

The most valuable and sought after tool of all has to be a 'round tuit' - how often do we say, "I'll do it when I get around to it"? 

I had one once (Mrs 5050 bought it for me) but sold it at a car boot sale.

 

I can't see that doing this subsequently made any appreciable difference to either my ability or my inabiity to manage my workload around the house or my modelling.

 

Regarding gadgets, I have an extremely battered, singed (burnt!) and holely piece of 4 x 1/2" wood that I drill, solder and generally abuse bits of metal and plastic on.  It also has several cut-down panel pins knocked into it here and there which are the remains of crude 'jigs' to hold stuff whilst being abused.

 

I'm to embarassed to photograph it for public consumption..................

Edited January 11, 2014 by 5050

[5050]

For those not familiar with the Bullfrog, it's a laser-cut plywood kit that makes up into a switch machine complete with micro-switch for power routing http://www.handlaidtrack.com/BullFrog-Manual-Turnout-Control-Unassembled-p/bf-0002.htm. Usual disclaimer applies, just a satisfied customer.

That's a very interesting piece of kit.  Can you buy them in the UK or only direct?

[stewartingram]

Cutting aid for plastic sheet

Not my own design, but blatantly copied from an Ian Rice design in one of his plastic modelling books.

 

 

Basically a very old gadget, recently refurbished. The original wooden (blockboard) base was covered with a piece of MDF, to which a new cutting mat was stuck/pinned. The original 12" steel rules were reused, note the 2 notches filed in the RH one to allow the knife blade to go further along. The rules were set to 90 degees with a set square before tightening the fixing screws. Penny washers are used under the rules to give clearance for the mat, and to allow the plastic sheet to pass under the horizontal rule. A Wills plastic sheet is shown in position ready to be cut.

 

In use, it is very easy to cut - accurately - even thick plastic sheet (such as Wills) with a craft knife (I prefer XActo), using light scoring along the horizontal rule edge.

 

Stewart

Edited January 12, 2014 by stewartingram

[highpeak]

That's a very interesting piece of kit.  Can you buy them in the UK or only direct?

I think Fast Tracks just does direct sales. I live in Connecticut, they came to the big show in Springfield MA once but I've just deal with them via the internet. Service from Canada to the US has always been very fast.

[Chubber]

Did I show you this one?

 

It's an earth pin from a UK 3-pin plug cut with a fine saw blade so as to hold a scalpel or snap-off knife blade....So?

 

I use it to make precise, constant depth cuts, for example in foam board to make neat overlaps, to cut rebates in the edge of 2mm grey board, and it will even follow a moderately curved card template. Make sure the screw head is nice and smooth so that it doesn't 'snag' the guide rule etc.

 

 

 

Doug

Edited January 27, 2014 by Chubber

[5050]

Did I show you this one?

 

It's an earth pin from a UK 3-pin plug cut with a fine saw blade so as to hold a scalpel or snap-off knife blade....So?

 

I use it to make precise, constant depth cuts, for example in foam board to make neat overlaps, to cut rebates in the edge of 2mm grey board, and it will even follow a moderately curved card template. Make sure the screw head is nice and smooth so that it doesn't 'snag' the guide rule etc.

 

IMG_2761.JPG

 

 

Doug

Neat idea - but don't let the H&S brigade see that exposed cutting edge!

[The Stationmaster]

Cutting aid for plastic sheet

Not my own design, but blatantly copied from an Ian Rice design in one of his plastic modelling books.

 

IMAG0517.jpg

 

Basically a very old gadget, recently refurbished. The original wooden (blockboard) base was covered with a piece of MDF, to which a new cutting mat was stuck/pinned. The original 12" steel rules were reused, note the 2 notches filed in the RH one to allow the knife blade to go further along. The rules were set to 90 degees with a set square before tightening the fixing screws. Penny washers are used under the rules to give clearance for the mat, and to allow the plastic sheet to pass under the horizontal rule. A Wills plastic sheet is shown in position ready to be cut.

 

In use, it is very easy to cut - accurately - even thick plastic sheet (such as Wills) with a craft knife (I prefer XActo), using light scoring along the horizontal rule edge.

 

Stewart

My equivalent was built on a nice stable piece of blockboard using a couple of strips of brass.  The biggest mistake I ever made was dismantling it in order to use the blockboard for something else because this simple gadget was absolutely indispensable for cutting plasticard square, every time.  Must knock up another one sometime.

[Chubber]

Neat idea - but don't let the H&S brigade see that exposed cutting edge!

 

 

....then this will give them kittens!

 

The blade is a single edged razor-blade, the thicker 'spine' merely pulls off to give a nice flat blade, mounted as shown. The hardest part is shaping the handle, all the rest came from the 'extra spare bits' tray at Ikea apart from the strip of aluminium channel which I found in a skip together with the off-cut of MDF. I counter-bored the screw heads to let it all lie flat, the perspex is perfect, and the bit of post-it notepaper is changed regularly as that enables the blade to go right through the balsa, card or plastic strip without leaving a tiny whisker of material still joined to the stock. In practice the various angle guides are held quite adequately by blue tack and angles are easily reproduced.

 

Note the adjustable plastic 'stop' in Picture 2, fixed were needed by a captive nut, filed to slide in the channel strip, a scrap from a draught exluder.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hope it inspires someone,

 

Doug

Edited January 27, 2014 by Chubber

[5050]

....then this will give them kittens!

 

The blade is a single edged razor-blade, the thicker 'spine' merely pulls off to give a nice flat blade, mounted as shown. The hardest part is shaping the handle, all the rest came from the 'extra spare bits' tray at Ikea apart from the strip of aluminium channel which I found in a skip together with the off-cut of MDF. I counter-bored the screw heads to let it all lie flat, the perspex is perfect, and the bit of post-it notepaper is changed regularly as that enables the blade to go right through the balsa, card or plastic strip without leaving a tiny whisker of material still joined to the stock. In practice the various angle guides are held quite adequately by blue tack and angles are easily reproduced.

 

Note the adjustable plastic 'stop' in Picture 2, fixed were needed by a captive nut, filed to slide in the channel strip, a scrap from a draught exluder.

 

1.jpg

 

 

2.jpg

 

 

3.jpg

 

 

4.jpg

 

Hope it inspires someone,

 

Doug

I've got one just like that.  It's called a 'North West Short Line Chopper'.  Available at all good American model shops for $???.

 

Never considered making my own version but in reality it's fairly simple provided the maker is good at measuring and making accurate right angles.

Edited January 27, 2014 by 5050

[relaxinghobby]

 

Gadgets: two blocks of wood that are my height gauges to mark the top front edges of Bachmann couplings when fitting

them to rolling stock and the taller block is to gauge the middle point of buffers. It's made up to 14mm a scale 3 foot 6 inch

in 4mm to the foot modelling, it made up to thickness with the addition of layers of cardboard.

 

All useful when scratch or kit building.

 

I have no idea what they at Arkwright's Mill? What could they need with a load of Portland Cement and a wagon load of Yellow?

Edited January 28, 2014 by relaxinghobby

[pointstaken]

As I do not possess a camera, narrative description will have to suffice.

 

A block of 3x1, with more holes than a Swiss cheese, for holding items while painting them by putting screws in it.

A chopper like Chubbers, with a couple of M3 bolts to hold Stanley knife blades by the cut outs at the top of the blade, for chopping.

An Amati cutter for cutting strip at various angles.

A small swear box.

 

Dennis

[5050]

As I do not possess a camera, narrative description will have to suffice.

 

A block of 3x1, with more holes than a Swiss cheese, for holding items while painting them by putting screws in it.

A chopper like Chubbers, with a couple of M3 bolts to hold Stanley knife blades by the cut outs at the top of the blade, for chopping.

An Amati cutter for cutting strip at various angles.

A small swear box.

 

Dennis

Only a small one!!

[pointstaken]

Of course - as I am a paragon of propriety it has hardly any use at all - that's my story and I'm sticking to it !

 

Dennis

[CourthsVeil]

Letter tray stores rolling stock

 

A simple helper to keep locos & wagons in place and to transport them safely from cupboard to layout:

 

 

 

Corrugated cardboard laid into a letter tray – that's all – simples!

 

Armin

 

 

 

PS: what a mixture of locos – a US 0-6-0 shunter meets a Bavarian glaskasten besides an Austrian mallet and a London Transport pannier… 

[Ruston]

I made this gadget to make crown plates out of plasticard for use in scratchbuilding O gauge wooden-framed wagons.

 

 

The hole is punched using an office hole punch and one part of the gadget is put in the hole. The other part is placed at the other side and the excess plastic cut away whilst the two parts are held together. When released a perfect circle of plasticard to the correct depth is left. This is then cut in half and trimmed to suit.

[relaxinghobby]

This is a handy gadget for trouble shooting areas of bad track, checking the passage of rolling stock over rail joints and

through pointwork. Currently it has some old Hornby Gresley bogies, with these it will work with PECO code 75 track.

 

[brightspark]

A jig that I made up from an Iain Rice idea. (Etched chassis construction????)

A frame building jig.

Made from a bit of MDF worktop, more MDF and lines drawn out at 90degrees. Check they are at right angles using the old trig.

MDF off cuts can be found in skips.

 

Two sine bars...steel bars that are flat, parallel and the same size, can be obtained from your friendly engineering shop/factory etc. Do Eileens do them?

1/8" Silver steel bars.

 

I used it to make my first chassis that ran first time! Wish I had made one ages ago.

 

 

It is an aide in making sure that everything is parallel and square. Note that the coupling rods are at the end of the silver-steel rods so as to reduce the error at the chassis.

 

I hope that this inspires someone else who has trouble building locos.

[CourthsVeil]

Polarity detector:

 

To check whether a track is powered at all and/or to check the polarity I use a blue LED:

 

 

 

Remark: Yes, I know, to use a LED without protecting resistor is bad, bad practice – :nono: .

But I use it ONLY with a 2 x 1.5 volt batt pack - and it is a quick manner to find out what happens (before I make a mess with the soldering iron).

 

Deeply ashamed

  Armin