2mm Dabbler

The 2MM Association website has a section headed Articles and therein lies "Files and the 2mm Modeller" by Andrew Webster. It's some years old but Andrew is/was, to my knowledge, a trained watchmaker so the article remains a good reference. As to #6 cut files a supplier of watchmakers and jewellers tools is recommended, I've purchased from CousinsUK with complete satisfaction (usual disclaimer) and there are others. 

2 hours ago, Sithlord75 said:

Currently looking at the roof furniture on a Midland D418 milk/fruit van.  Torpedo vents check (they are on the diagram helpfully) but ideas on representing the oil lamps which aren’t?  The photo in the Essery book isn’t great and having looked at other vehicles with apparently similar arrangements I’m none the wiser.

Compound2632 has shown the building of a D418 in the "D299 Appreciation Thread"; this page has a nice overhead view:

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/topic/113035-more-pre-grouping-wagons-in-4mm-the-d299-appreciation-thread/page/92/#comment-3904236

There are other photographs as well in the thread, hope this helps.

17 hours ago, Roger.s said:

The article onPontfadog in theDec/Jan 2mm Magazine mentions "American Full Throttle 4mm diameter wheels".  Does anyone know where these can be obtained?

 

Roger

Hello Roger

Full Throttle are, from what I've found, US manufacturers of Z-scale US outline rolling stock and also supply separate trucks/bogies. One source is www.zscalemonster.com whilst in Germany there are case-hobbies.de and aspenmodel.com 

There is also an alternative supplier of wheels; 'Will's Wheels' which seem to be listed by all of the above. No information on UK suppliers unfortunately.

Regards

Michael

6 hours ago, Sithlord75 said:

Now to try and find out how to watch it Down Here.

 

One, possibly the easiest, is to use a VPN. There are many available and most offer a 30 day free trial period or money back option. I've not used one yet but the temptation is certainly there for CF.

Michael

Another with membership problems unfortunately. I paid for a World of Railways membership on 11th December, ending up with a trial membership which has just expired - back to the ads! Would you be able to assist or have any suggestions please.

Regards

Michael

On 28/12/2022 at 00:17, jjb1970 said:

One from the RAF Museum at Hendon, a Humber Mk.III armoured car, I like these.

 

That's actually a Humber Light Reconnaissance Car, the Humber Armoured Car was a very different vehicle (photo courtesy WarWheels.net):

8 minutes ago, Caley Jim said:

Are these 'Elf class' coaches behind the flat? 😀

 

Jim

And Santa doesn't even rate a carriage truck......... And shouldn't the reindeer be in PRIZE cattle wagons?

😁

What's the likelihood that someone has already formulated wheel and track standards for finescale 1:120 ? 

🤔

There was a similar thread on this subject some years ago: 

Short answer it's a zinc alloy called 'Mazak' and it can be soldered but not easily; many people prefer to use epoxy resins.

Hope this helps.

Michael

Will,

David Eveleigh offers a replacement chassis for the 4500. Contact details and price are in the Small Suppliers section of the Association website. A few people have commented that there's an error in the cylinder placement as they don't line up with the smokebox and steampipes but otherwise it seems fine. Not my area of interest so I've not purchased one.

Michael

6 hours ago, Izzy said:

 

There was a nice photo of one on Edward Sissling's 2FS Niddbeck Bridge layout in the July 2010 Railway Modeller, part of the 50th anniversary celebrations. One of the ex Farish locos Bachmann have never 'revisited' although it took a long time for the Stanier 8F to get the treatment so I guess a new chassis would be a basic necessity if a body could be located.

 

Bob

Bodies are still available from Farish 'N' Spares, items 37-225 and 3-227. Cylinders and valve gear are also available. I believe Edward used a Crab detailing set and 3500 gallon tender kit from BHE Enterprises together with Neil Ballantine's wheels. 

Michael

13 hours ago, queensquare said:

Buckjumpers, J15s ……..!

Jerry

 

Naturally, the only other standard gauge railway in England that had blue engines! 👌

8 hours ago, Clive Mortimore said:

Wow.

Succinctly put Clive. Zero hesitation, smooth as silk and steady as a rock. Detailed to "what's the scale again?" Says a lot about Bob's trackwork too. 

Michael

As I was in the ZAG when it was discussed and can read the description on the etch I'll say naught. Looks good though.

Michael

Regarding the Dynamometer Car, Simon Dawson has it listed in his Recreation21 "shop" at Shapeways albeit to 1:148. And then there's dealing with Shapeways.

4 minutes ago, Enterprisingwestern said:

As I don't possess a lathe, to do jobs such as this I use rod and tube of an appropriate diameter, would that not work in this instance?

 

Mike.

The photograph I've included above shows, apart from the reduced end, a collar and a threaded portion. Fabricating as you suggest is certainly feasible if the appropriate size material is available, you'd need to ensure the thread is 'square' for accurate use. 

Definitely worth considering as an alternative.

Michael

Looking at the jig axles James is using, and the short length required to be turned to 1mm I don't believe distortion would be a problem assuming minimum overhang from the chuck or collet.

Whilst I've mentioned four jaw chucks and 'dialing in', though not DTI's specifically, I'm not sure James has either or experience in their use. I believe he's not possessed the U3 for long.

1 hour ago, polybear said:

An alternative may be to centre-drill the end of some 1/8th or 2mm rod (using a very small size 0 centre drill) and then drill 1mm & insert a piece of 1mm silver steel (or maybe the shank of a 1mm drill bit).

True, but if the rod is held in a three jaw chuck then the insert will be eccentric to some extent which puts James back where he started.

Firstly, a three jaw chuck cannot be relied upon to hold items dead true, there will always be some run out and this will likely change according to the diameter of the material held. Use of a three jaw is normally for when all of the diameter is being machined or where concentricity of the maximum diameter is unimportant. Where something like these jig axles need to be held accurately you would either use collets or a four jaw chuck with the associated 'dialing in'.

However, for items such as these jig axles one can make a temporary or single use collet from scraps of round bar.  It's an old trick and there's a useful video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj6HxUFUxdg

I would vary the collet slightly to be more of a top hat shape, the 'brim' resting outside the jaws and the inserted portion being the full depth of the jaws. Made with a little care this can be reused in the future to accurately hold any axle or shaft of the same diameter.

I'd also recommend the minimum length of the axle or shaft is projecting from the chuck or collet, this reduces flex and helps with  accuracy. If needs be you can drill a larger hole from the rear of the collet to allow for any collars or larger diameters required, inserting the jig axle from the rear of the collet.

Regards

Michael

20 minutes ago, JeffP said:

Exquisite work...but what are they?

Mounting bases/flanges for 2mm wagon buffers?

7 hours ago, Isambarduk said:

I have exactly the same arrangement but, sadly, the collet holder is no longer available.  It is (well, it was) really useful as the holder screws directly onto the nose of the Unimat 3 spindle, so there is very little overhang (unlike some other arrangements involving a backplate).

That particular collett holder is still listed by Emco Holz und Hobby in Austria though importation might now be a little difficult - tinyurl.com/10urobov  - current price €57.60

Pro Machine Tools Ltd in the UK, whom I would otherwise check, appear to currently have their website under maintenance.

Regards

Michael

Mentioned by kevinlms in the panic buying topic but worth repeating here:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-15/supermarket-shopper-tries-to-return-coronavirus-hoardings/12149548

and gets told to.....

There are some small joys in these times. 

54 minutes ago, kevinlms said:

Someone in Australia has got caught out!

 

Tried to return 150 packets of 32 rolls of toilet paper & 150 1 litre bottles of hand sanitiser, for a refund. Apparently worth $10,000. The supermarket told him to p*ss off, after eBay had already closed down his website!

 

https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/state/sa/2020/04/15/toilet-paper-refund/

Just beat me to it! Schadenfreude, O schadenfreude thou art here.

On ‎07‎/‎12‎/‎2019 at 12:11, Max's Model Railway said:

Right now, A Graham Farish 3F "Jinty".....................

The boiler looks rather large for a Jinty. I believe you have one of the GP tanks. I believe this stands for general purpose, they were available in a range of liveries and are rather bulkier overall than a 3F.

Michael

On ‎27‎/‎09‎/‎2019 at 19:56, 2mmMark said:

 

You might try Di-Limonene as a solvent for polystyrene sheet. It's much less aggressive and less prone to causing warping.

Evo-stik also works well for laminating plastic sheet to dissimilar material if used very thinly and allowed to nearly dry before fixing.

 

Mark

There are a range of solvent-free contact adhesives available, UniBond as an example, and a gentleman I met last year at a local exhibition was demonstrating their use for laminating styrene sheets in building construction. I believe the adhesives are acrylic based, the Selleys brand I use (Australian) is certainly labelled as such.

Michael