chrisveitch

I've just tried my first print - the test sample file - on my Mars and have to say that I was concerned about the smell of the resin but it was negligible. I'm using this Elegoo grey resin, BTW. It was in a reasonably large room with an open window and the spray booth next to it switched on (discharging via trunking to an outside vent), but there was little sign of any odour. On a different note, does anyone have a recommended technique for cleaning the resin VAT and bottom film after a print? I was very alarmed after finishing my first print to find that it the bottom was covered with a film of cured resin which really didn't want to come off. A little gentle coaxing with a blunt fingernail eventually got most of it off in one sheet, but surely that's not the best way. I've seen a couple of videos (one being an Elegoo official one) which recommend using the plastic scraper supplied - and many other comments to say that it's not advisable, will scratch the film and just don't do it.

Ian, does Modbury have any exhibition appearances in the North of England scheduled for this year? I tend to ration my exhibition trips nowadays (simply because I don't have the time) but would very much like to see it.

You do like your North-Eastern electrics, don't you, Alex? Lovely work as usual (I presume it's a shot-down Judith Edge etch) and looking forward to the rest of them. Since my office is on the site of Harton Staithes I'll be interested to see what you're going to run it/them on...

What's on my 2mm workbench is absolutely nothing unremarkable. It's a Farish 24 with a few wagons. What is remarkable is that after many, many years trying to get somewhere with 2mm scale I've finally got myself a running loco and some stock with couplers that work, etc, etc. Not I just need to get on with finishing the turnout and I'll nearly have a shunting plank!

Well, he did do a 009 Manning Wardle 0-6-0 "Pentewan" back in the day, so maybe he's not totally immune.

So you're going to do a r/c bus with sound?

Is it a coincidence that this is in the same T&W PTE livery as those on Mick’s Callaton?

Having done the wheel swap on my first diesel conversion I'm now at the point where I need to fit DG couplings to a Farish Class 24. What is the received wisdom on where to fit these, i.e. to mount them on the bogie or the body? The body would seem to be the obvious choice but I'd be interested to hear what people have to say.

Errr...looks like a rather expensive quartering jig.

Not sure if you were serious, but that looks like it's a band brake on the rack drive jackshaft. You can see an operating crank just above the middle of the rear section of the coupling rod. The shaft will drive the rack wheel visible under the centre of the loco - it's a rack-and-adhesion system and it's pictured on a section with no rack rail.

Great! Thanks Jim.

I have a jar of Eilieen's 188C solder paint which is starting to dry out a bit. Does anyone know what the flux is to top it up - ordinary phosphoric acid?

The slotting file link is interesting - can I ask a couple of questions? They seem to be the same type of file that was once sold by the Association for slotting turnout check rails (and may still be, but I can't find it now). The file in your photo cuts on the edge only, whereas the the photos in the Cousins link show files with a cutting surface along part of the face as well. Is this the same type of file or is it just a slightly inaccurate stock photo? I notice that the Cousins page shows an icon of a file section which looks like a slitting file with a pointed cutting edge rather than a flat slotting edge. The site lists Cuts 00, 2, 4, 6 and 8 but I can't find any reference to what widths these actually represent - do you know what these equate to in millimetres? The only reference I can find to these is this site which doesn't list sizes (but maybe I'm not looking hard enough). Thanks, Chris

Come to think of it, Dad had a variety of other interesting cars apart from Imps - in hindsight his car attrition rate must have been ferocious. There were a number of 3-litre straight six Vauxhalls, an Austin Princess (the Oxford/Cambridge-like body, not the awful 70s wedge) and - prize of prizes - a 3.0 V6 Granada coupe. Now that would be a worthy project.

Thank for the encouragement - the obvious choice would be a Hillman Imp (or Sunbeam or other variant etc.) which was my dad's weapon of choice up to the 1980s. He must gone through four or five of them, probably because of the endemic corrosion. They've got bags of character but I do rather fear that I'd have to become well acquainted with skimming warped cylinder heads and digging about with that horribly congested cooling system. But I guess it would also be an interesting challenge to design a layout that would fit into the tiny "load bay" through the rear window (about 100cm by 20cm, I reckon).

Thanks for the update @Pixie - you're certainly displaying a wide range of talents there, especially the very neat Japanese NG. And I'm another one who'd be interested to see a bit more of Parkend. We were staying with a friend this weekend who has a couple of classic VWs and who frequently tries to persuade me to dip my toe into modern classic car ownership. I have been trying to persuade him that I already have a hobby and don't have room for another, but your post hasn't done my case any favours...

Thanks Andy - this might just the flimsy excuse I need for any Anycubic Photon...

@2mm Andy - as I mentioned in my first post, I was considering ordering some - I assume this means that it's becoming more difficult to get supplies, rather than them not being available from the shop (as they're not shown as TOS)?

Thanks Chris - no, I wasn't actually. I was folding and soldering the two layers of overlay and then trying to add them to the two main laminated layers. I can see how using the hole on the lower layer might make things a bit easier (presumably it was designed to do this).

Is it actually possible for a normal human to solder on the two-layer axlebox covers on the Association Peco 10'0" replacement wagon chassis (2-382)? My first kit was fine as I just chopped them off and used some cast white metal springs and axleboxes I had lying around, but on the second one I've tried to use the etched version and it seems virtually impossible to accurately locate the two-layer axlebox overlay. I'm on the verge of just ordering some castings but would be interested to know if anyone has any tips - it looks like they'd make an excellent job, if only it was possible to align them positively.

Have you been reading my diary?

Thanks for that, Richard - I'm in much the same boat in that I'm trying to make progress in 2mm after years (i.e. decades) of false starts and am at the point where I'm assembling couplings, mainly for Farish stock. The Gnatterbox article is interesting in that it recommends soft ferrous wire for a one-part loop and dropper which I've not seen suggested before. It seems to simplify things considerably but I can't believe that no-one in the Association has thought of this previously - does anyone have experience of this, and does it (as I suspect) create loops which are too easily damaged?

As someone who’s suffered from dermatitis from contact with various modelling products this makes me apprehensive about using one of these in the home. Do we have any suitably qualified members to give informed advice, or direct us the any authoritative material on the possible health issues? Edit: And yes Chris, I do take your point that exposure to whatever unknown compounds are involved could lead to something a lot worse than dermatitis and it could take many years to surface.

Do you have any idea how cold "colder temperatures" actually are? I have a workshop in the house in a room which is part of an extension, and it's notably colder than the rest of the house - but it would be very handy for trying out something like this as it has a spray booth with built-in ducting to remove any fumes. I don't have a thermometer in there but I'd guess when the rest of the house is at 19C it's probably 17C.

This probably doesn’t apply to you if space is short, but it’s worth remembering that a bigger machine can usually do small work to the same degree of accuracy as the miniature ones like Proxxon. I bought one of these from Machine Mart a few years ago and it’s a well built and competent machine with indexable handwheels, and is perfectly happy with the tiny cutters and small workpieces we use: https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/cmd10-micro-milling-drilling-machine/ The quality of these Chinese built machines does vary as has been discussed ad nauseum elsewhere, and this one is good - streets ahead of my 7x12 lathe from a different well-known UK supplier. If you have the space, something larger like this can give more flexibility and rigidity for not much more money. It can also give you a hernia when you pick it up to put it on the bench. That said, I do still have a Unimat 3 with milling attachment but I can’t remember using it since I bought the bigger mill. Apologies for the temporary thread hijack, Nick.