Workbench and tools.

JohnM2104

Yes Ed they are great. https://www.micromark.com/Microbrushes

EmeryJ

Those look pretty handy. Cheap enough. Putting those on the shopping list. Thanks John.

kebmo

i've been using those critters for years. i started in n scale and anything with micro in the title was on my shopping list.

JohnM2104

No problem Ed. I have a number of outstanding projects to work on right now and it becomes overwhelming at times. Such is the case of having a large model railroad to work on alone.

kebmo

sounds like a cry for help!

AlexR

Since i've started the truck repair kit i've also started using Chisel blades that Brett reccomendes.

The nice thing about these is the fact that they're actually quite easy to resharpen. I've been using the same blade for the last 2 weeks and ahve grabbed my sharpening stone from my tool box in the garage. It now sits on the table next to my piece of glass.

I dont know if anyone else is re-sharpening their exacts or not. But, i thought i would to minimize how many of these blades go to the landfill.

EmeryJ

On the subject of glass top and dulling knives....
I have been thinking about this all last week. Since I do not have the piece of glass yet, I was going to try a slab of Solid Surface (aka Corian) countertop. Partly because I have a pile of it, but also it does not dull knives as much. Once it is all beat up with cuts, it can simply be re-sanded smooth. I make cutting boards out of this material, and the wife loves them. Any thoughts?

MuddyCreekRR

The chisel blades do work extremely well.....I've sharpened mine too...They cut great on the glass surfaces....

kebmo

as far as the corian goes, it sounds great, but once you start sanding it there's a chance of the surface not being level anymore, and that could be unhandy (i think i made that word up).

kebmo

thanks merriam webster

EmeryJ

Ok, the solid surface works great for stain cleanup, similar to glass. As far as sanding "out of flat", that would take years. It can be sanded smooth again with 400 grit, then buffed with a 1200 grit polish sander. I have been messing around on this for 2 weeks, and really seems to be holding up well.

MuddyCreekRR

If I'm doing a lot of cutting....I tend to use one of the cutting pads that have the grids printed on them on top of the glass. Saves the blades....I also started to almost exclusively using the chisel blades to make most of my cuts.....very easy to re-sharpen...

EmeryJ

I built this as a test project. Combined "The Chopper" and "The Sander" into one unit.
Made from solid surface, aluminum bar & angle, CNC linear bearings, and odds & ends.
Works surprisingly well for home made.

admin

Emery, that's an awesome tool you made. Love the idea of using corian. Glass is definitely brutal on blades.

Art, I too find myself using the chisel blades more and more. Easier to use. I still use a number 11 a lot but the tips break off so quickly.

EmeryJ

Just throwing this out there. After "spotting" a few walls on templates with scrap wood, I have decided to upgrade that process. You can get aluminum square tubing cheap, and it is straight and stays straight. I had a very small warp issue. I suggest K&S Precision Metal brand. Amazon has it in about any size you could want. Some Home Depots, etc have it as well.
Another alternative is steel key stock, but does not arrive quite as straight. Needs a bit of tweeking but remains stable after that.

brownbr

Finally picked up "The Lumber Store" to keep my stripwood organized.

KKarns

Cool! Saw that advertised and thought it a nifty solution. Did you get it fully stocked as shown?

brownbr

I’m liking it. Easy assembly. I did not get it loaded. I had a bunch of strip wood laying around and honestly had no idea what I had. Needed to order some shingle material for an upcoming build and threw it in the cart.

brownbr

I like using a mix of HO 1x8, 1x10, 1x12 for shingles. Just the right thickness and width for me.

randyp

I just found this discussion. I like to use and old denial pick to apply glue. I works for both ACC and carpenters.

For rough cuts of strip wood I like to use a set of flush cutters I got from PBL. Randy

KKarns

Smart to use a reusable tool for glue application...I use toothpicks and recently had trouble finding just plain round wood toothpicks! Go figure...the world we live in.

randyp

After seeing other people's work spaces and then looking at mine I decided that I need to do something. I moved tools back to my tool box, put my brushers in a spinner, cleaned the glass, labeled the drawers and put away small parts. I hop to be able to find things now. Here is a picture.

KKarns

Peer pressure Randy!...got to love it! Nice job.

EmeryJ

This is something I have been using to help brush in grain on strip wood. Mount in a drill press of any size. Its original purpose was for the endless 4x4s I will be using on 5 large trestle bridges. It has however been working very well for smaller items. I would not suggest it on 1x strip wood, but 2x is thick enough not to break. (O scale here)
I use the paint stick as a backer to push pressure onto the board as I pull them thru the rotating brush. More pressure yields more grain. Turn the board around to finish off where you are holding it on the first pass. It takes very little practice, but you get the idea.
Save the dust. It is useful for other things.

kebmo

i recently completed a waterfront structure, and i needed a light pole out by the dock. i picked one up and wanted to add 18" to the leads. the wire was really tiny, then i remembered buying these guys at trainfest around 14-15 years ago.


they work really well. i had to use the smaller of the two, because the wire is so fine.


i'm sure glad i remembered this thing. last time i tried to strip these tiny wires i wasted a bunch of it. never again.

brownbr

Found these little gems while looking for some cabinet hardware recently. If I can ever get some time back at the bench I'm looking forward to trying them out.