Sweet anticipation

It doesn’t matter how many times I order printed parts from Shapeways, it still feels like magic. The patterns for 622’s wheels existed only in my mind until I drew them in OnShape. Now in a few days, I will open a package, and they will spill out into my hand – no longer mere […]

Merry Christmas one and all!

For Christmas, both kids made something for the workshop. The Girl made a lovely scrap bowl. The Boy made some stock-keeping boards. There are hours of work in each of them. Thanks to both of them!

Mobile Modelling

It’s hard to believe the iPhone is only a decade old, when the world has changed so much. Today, I had to wait in a parking lot for a few minutes, and as I was thinking about the look of 622’s truck wheels, and how they don’t quite match the photo, I thought I’d see […]

Pilot wheel drawing

I’m planning a two millimetre axle for the 30-inch pilot wheels. The wheel hub comes out pretty heavy with 3/4 mm walls, but I daren’t go finer. Indeed, I will have to test to see if I can even turn such a fine wall.

Learning to lathe – progress report

A while back, I posted my plan for learning to use my new lathe. I’m now about four and a half hours into the practice part of learning. I’ve produced a bucket-full of swarf. At this point, I can confidently turn to a diameter and get a reasonable finish on a part. I’ve managed to […]

Details – they’re personal

An entertaining post from Marty McGuirk reminded me that I wanted to expand on Summons, which I wrote back in October. There I argued that realism lies in the textures and colours between the details, rather than in the details themselves. Consequently, some of the most realistic models you’ll find are taken out of the […]

OnShape Sheet Metal Models

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed a new feature in OnShape: Sheet Metal Models. It almost sucked me into a rabbit hole, but my objective was drawing a driver, not experimenting with cool new features. So, I parked it until this evening, which I seem to be spending babysitting the Cricut as it makes […]

Grinder finds a home

I wish I was as good at Christmas gifts as my dad was. Invariably on Christmas Eve he would disappear and return triumphantly hours later with an armload of gifts for my sister to wrap. Were they panicked pluckings like the ones I make when the clock is running down? Or were they planned purchases, […]

Six holes of triumph

It’s midnight, and I’m having a little celebration over having drilled six holes in the flatcars. Ordinarily, drilling a few clearance holes through the weights wouldn’t be cause for a happy dance. However, it feels so long since I overcame the calls of work, family and community to spend a little time on my projects, […]

Not that much room under flat cars

The Vancouver Train Expo seems a long time ago now. The bolster pattern that I worked on there? Yeah, it didn’t work out. I had forgotten to leave room for the straps and bolts on the tops of the trucks. Well, one nice thing about modelling in styrene is that mistakes are quick and cheap […]