Finally, A Place of My Own

[Lady_Railfan]

I'm too late for the "Workbench" photo contest, but I finally have a place (other than the dining-room table) where I can build stuff for my layout. This old steel desk is a remnant from the drapery business I closed 20 years ago. We couldn't give the desk away, let alone sell it, so it's been buried behind and under junk in the garage ever since. It only took about five hours yesterday to uncover it, clean it up, and stock it with my tools and railroad parts. They say that if you keep something long enough, it will finally come in handy.

The current work in progress is another Piko kit, the "Frederic J. Harvey" Steak House. Next, I'll tackle the scratchbuilt outhouse now that I don't have to worry about sawdust in the carpet.

 

[Old 97]

Claudia,

Congrats on finding a place of your own to create model railroading magic!
Keep the photos coming on your progress.

Mike

 

[CBCNSfan]

Way tuh go! Claudia. Hmmmm! did "TH" lose his desk? I believe I can make out another building in the pics. Gee I'm jealous all I have is a drop leaf made of spare plywood and attached to the layout and of course the area where the harbour will be. Guess I'll have to get off my butt and do something.
Cheers Willis

 

[Lady_Railfan]

Hmmmm! did "TH" lose his desk?

Nah. I'll still let him use it sometimes if he really needs to.

Thanks, Mike. Here's the almost-finished product of my recent efforts. All it needs is the signs in the windows. The kit came with a bazillion of them, so I need to decide which ones I want to use.

I'm always amazed when these kits come out looking so much like the picture on the box.

I'm still not entirely at ease with the Dremel, but it sure saves a lot of time on the drudgy things like deburring. Guess I need to look for a class in rotary-tools magic before I can take full advantage of it.

 

[Old 97]

I'm still not entirely at ease with the Dremel, but it sure saves a lot of time on the drudgy things like deburring. Guess I need to look for a class in rotary-tools magic before I can take full advantage of it.

Don't worry Claudia, skill will come with time and usage.
Wear safety glasses and have fun cutting stuff up!!
I recently read an article in Model Railroad Craftsmen on how to create banged up scrap steel cars using small grinding stones and a Dremel tool.
It was pretty informative.

 

[CBCNSfan]

I'm still not entirely at ease with the Dremel

Claudia, I've been using rotary tools for years. Due to the high revolutions they turn at, they are not very forgiving. I don't think I'll ever be at ease with them but by taking your time, respect that they are power tools and not toys, and you'll have no trouble using them. If you are like me, a minor slip once in awhile, well that happens to some plastic.
Cheers Willis

 

[Lady_Railfan]

....rotary tools.... are not very forgiving.

You can say that again! My early experimentation resulted in a few unplanned "scallops" in what should have been flat objects.

And yes, I respect and appreciate safety glasses! I usually use a dust mask, too.

I could use some advice about attachments, though. I know that holding the tool with one hand and the workpiece with the other is a no-no. I'm pretty sure I'll pop for the flex shaft eventually, but can you guys offer tips on the relative benefits between the tool holder and the D-vice?

 

[CBCNSfan]

I know that holding the tool with one hand and the workpiece with the other is a no-no.

Well I'm guilty of that, of course I don't have a classy work bench like you have. I have a small hobby vise for holding things, mostly file work. One other set of tools that are rather indespensable are Riffler files, both straight and curved sets, I use those more than the Dremmel. There are other rotory tools on the market besides Dremmel, and I purchased one of those with a flex shaft. I figured changing the Drem. back and forth from flex shaft to standard would be a pain so I bought the second unit for about the price of the Drem. flex shaft or less $$

I could use some advice about attachments

Which attachments are you refering too? I use mostly the cutting wheels, the burr's and the mill bits. I find these tools turn too fast for drilling holes, so I use pin vises for the drill bits.
Cheers Willis

 

[Lady_Railfan]

Hmph. No wonder I'm in the fog about all this when I don't know the difference between an attachment and an accessory. I meant to ask which would be better --- the tool holder that bolts to the workbench and lets you place the Dremel in virtually any position, or their "D-vice" that lets you hold the workpiece, also in almost any position?

I'm attracted to the Flex shaft because it seems it would be easier to handle and hold steady because of its smaller size. Am I right about that?

 

[CBCNSfan]

I'm attracted to the Flex shaft because it seems it would be easier to handle and hold steady because of its smaller size. Am I right about that?

Right on! yes it's much easier to handle, when I'm working on Locos it's mostly what I use. The Dremel I use for cutting track and such, because I'm lazy and it's a little more portable to move from place to place
Truthfully I don't have any attachments for holding the Dremel, I do have a "Pan a Vise" with nylon jaws for holding the work, I find that works fine for me.
There is one attachment that caught my eye and it turns the Dremel into a router, of course that's not what I'd use it for. It might make some sort of milling machine out of the Dremel, now that I could use. The other one with the flex shaft just hangs on a hook stand that can be clamped just about anywhere. Sorry I'm not too much help on the holding and conversion attachments, I don't buy them because up here they want an arm and a leg for them Maybe that's why they sit on the shelves year after year, you'd think someone would have caught on by now.
Cheers Willis

 

[Lady_Railfan]

Thanks! I'm smarter about all this than I was when I got up this morning! I'll call that my victory for today. I did manage to break my first cutoff wheel, though. Thanks to goggles and a dust mask, no harm was done.

Maybe that's why they sit on the shelves year after year, you'd think someone would have caught on by now.

Well, apparently someone has caught on. Nobody (Home Depot, Ace/True Value, Wal-Mart) around here even stocks the tool holder or vice thingy, and Dremel says 4-6 weeks for delivery, and yeah, they're pricey! HMPH. I think I'll revert to my itty-bitty miter box and X-Acto saws, and just clamp stuff to the workbench.

 

[CBCNSfan]

Wow! busy day RV Camper Van hunting. Gee on the internet they show all kinds of what I want for sale, so I drive to the big city and all they have something the size semi. Oh! well amid promises to get right at it they'll find what I want. They even said they would fly me out West to pick it up (Yeah I'll bet, and guess who'd pay the final bill for that). Oh! well, life's like that. Got my wife out for the trip, the first she's been away in more than a year, well worth it.
You broke a cut off wheel! well don't feel bad, you have a long ways to go to catch up with me on broken wheels , it will work a lot better for you if you don't have any side pressure on the disk, as that will cause it to break. Pressure to the cutting edge will take some doing to break the disk, but most likely would break around the screw head or stall the motor. I'll price the attachments at Wal Mart here just for kicks to see what they are going for now days. maybe I'll get lucky

HMPH. I think I'll revert to my itty-bitty miter box and X-Acto saws, and just clamp stuff to the workbench.

Claudia if you did a poll, I believe you'd find that's what most of us do, there are times when I use the saw and mitre box to mark a cutting line and the Dremel to finish the job. There are all kinds of cheap tools to be found at hardware stores, for instance, right angle clamps for aligning and gluing the eges of two walls together.
Cheers Willis

 

[Lady_Railfan]

Pressure to the cutting edge will take some doing to break the disk, but most likely would break around the screw head or stall the motor.

Yep. Didn't stall the motor, but the wheel split right at the screw. I still haven't found the other half of it. It's down among the dust bunnies in the garage somewhere.

Best wishes on your RV quest! I'm so happy to hear that Mrs. B. went on the "field trip" with you. I was only housebound for four months, but getting "on the road again" was a great pleasure for me.

The rotary may have been a foolish extravagance, but as I mentioned before, tools and gadgets are like candy to me. I was in hog-heaven during the couple of years I spent indexing the contractors' catalog for Home Depot. But knowing the names and seeing pictures of tools, and understanding what they do and how they do it, are vastly different things! But learning is fun! Thanks for bearing with me.

 

[CBCNSfan]

The rotary may have been a foolish extravagance

Nope, in this case it's necessity. If you are going to build or kitbash, most definately a necessity. In regards to my own one will most likely find a cutting disk in the Dremel and most anything else in the flex shaft tool. This might be a good topic for all to show photos of the tools they use. No telling what tips we may pick up with a thread like that.
No luck with the RC van, but they would check with their other agencies for me. I'm looking for a specific mfg. and model and no more than 4 years old. She told me I might have to fly out to Calgary to pick it up. http://www.canadream.com/pages/rv_sales/Event/sales_vc.aspx

Mrs B had a wonderful day, a lot of pit stops required, then a nice evening meal at Jungle Jim's, first outing out of this town in quite a few years, quite a day it was, didn't take her long to fall asleep when we arrived home.
Cheers Willis.

 

[sushob]

RV's are great! Here's some pictures of us in Maine (Cadillac Mountain) last June...

1) Can you spot us?

2) Taken from the same spot with full utilization of the lens

 

[jbaakko]

I have that router attachment, and I used it too! Well on a solid maple countertop I built for my mother. BUT the guard comes in handy sometimes.

As for my major work, I do alot of mine with a saw, hobby knife, and sanding films, I'm not daring enough to take the dremel to the models, I don't wanna have to start over if I twitch!