New Tools Forum


bob

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Staff member
By popular request, a place to talk about model railroad tools, which means pretty much all tools when you get right down to it. Sometimes it's a simple and cheap razor saw to cut rails. Other guys have a full machine shop so they can build their own live steam locomotive.

While most of us probably aren't that devoted, you'll often have the typical household stuff like saws and drills as well as some more specialized items. This is the place to talk about it.
 
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Bob insert this kinda like ya did for the RPO thread?
 
I bought a Tamiya drill a few years ago, it needs a very simple mod to be able to use Dremel collets to chuck as small as #79 drill bits. The Tamiya drill comes in kit form, so you get to build a very simple drill. It turns slow, so it wont melt plastic while drilling, powered by 2 AA batteries. It has paid for itself a few times for me via not buying so many drill bits.
 
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Good Afternoon
I thought I might include this tool into this thread, as it is definitely my most helpful and used tool in my modeling arsenal. This tool is used to document my work, my progress, my mistakes, and is extremely useful in documenting valuable information that is reference material as to how the real thing might look like. A huge plus is that it allows me to share all of that valuable information, very easily, with all of my friends who may have an equal interest in the modeling hobby.

The tool in the photo cost me all of $45.00cdn, on the Bay, and it came with a 32GB SD card. A card that size will hold a few thousand photos. The only maintenance I have on this tool is a periodic wipe of the lens. The only downside is that it goes through AA batteries like they were it's last meal. Batteries are relatively cheap, though.
I strongly recommend this tool for the modeling hobby, and especially if you like to share your work:
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Good Afternoon
I thought I might include this tool into this thread, as it is definitely my most helpful and used tool in my modeling arsenal. This tool is used to document my work, my progress, my mistakes, and is extremely useful in documenting valuable information that is reference material as to how the real thing might look like. A huge plus is that it allows me to share all of that valuable information, very easily, with all of my friends who may have an equal interest in the modeling hobby.

The tool in the photo cost me all of $45.00cdn, on the Bay, and it came with a 32GB SD card. A card that size will hold a few thousand photos. The only maintenance I have on this tool is a periodic wipe of the lens. The only downside is that it goes through AA batteries like they were it's last meal. Batteries are relatively cheap, though.
I strongly recommend this tool for the modeling hobby, and especially if you like to share your work:
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Agreed. My camera seems to have a great ability to point out all of my shortcomings for sure.
 
EXCELLENT Tool, GUY -- Now do yourself a favor and get yourself another tool to pair with it.

then get a 4 pack of rechargeable batteries. Should last 3-4 times as long - mine does.
I have a 12 YO Cannon that eats like crazy!
 
Is this going to be like "Whoever dies with the most tools wins"? ;)

I've got a couple. Not all are terribly expensive. In fact over the course of showing stuff you'll see lots of things from the good old Dollar store. No I'm not cheap, I'm just very good at allocating funds!

First up is a center finding rule. I find this goodie invaluable when decaling cars. It was indispensable over the course of the City of San Francisco project. I believe this one came from one of the tool booths at Trainfest some years back.

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Next up are a good set of screw starters. I have several varieties of mechanical fingers, and I had a nice little set from Walthers that had just two fingers that was very useful for the smaller screws. Unfortunately it gave up the ghost. I fixed it once but the fix didn't hold, so I picked up these from Micro Mark. Micro Mark is expensive, and I can usually find the same thing cheaper somewhere else, but not always, as in this case. These work very well. I've even started the small screws for the gearbox covers on brass locomotives with them.

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I know lots of guys like the NWSL "Puller" I had one for a couple of years but I found it insufficiently strong and very difficult to keep things centered when using it, so I moved up to, the NWSL Sensi-Press. NWSL isn't making these tools anymore, but fortunately Micro Mark ripped off...er...cloned the design and offers an equivalent which I believe they call the Press-It. They make very short work of steam locomotive driver replacement and gear replacement. I also picked up a pair of jigs that allow you to make sure a gear is perpendicular to the shaft you mount it on, which can be difficult to impossible with the Puller. I did keep my puller, and now use it for a work stand on the press. You'll also note that the V-Plate is much more sturdy than that thin little piece of...than that small one you get with the puller. :) I have two, one that I bought, and one that was gifted to me by a friend that was leaving the hobby. It has been fitted with Micro Mark's manual drill press kit.

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I'll do a low tech tool here, so low tech, it doesn't even have ONE moving part......
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A length of aluminum angle w/1" legs, cut & ground down into the shape shown and a hole (the one on the left) drilled into it to clear truck mounting screw. Clamped in a vice, this how I work on car ends.
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What I had left of the piece of angle, I bolted it to a piece of board with flat head screws so I could clamp it in the vice and have a mini work table up closer to eye level........
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