Using OnShape to create etching patterns in InkScape

I’ve been experimenting with OnShape sheet metal models to produce patterns for etching parts. Being designed for ordinary bending processes, OnShape is not directly applicable, but I think it is close enough for my purposes. Here are the sheet metal model parameters that I have found work in OnShape to produce drawings that match the […]

Flood update: cabinets removed

Over the past couple of days, OnSide has made further progress toward remediating the flood. The cabinets were removed on Monday afternoon, and heaped in the middle of the floor. Most of them were moved to a warehouse yesterday, except the big one, which doesn’t fit up the stairs. The movers protected it and fixed […]

OnShape and etched fold lines

Due to flooding, progress on real modelling has halted, and I’ve had to move into the virtual realm. This is okay, as there is loads of drawing work yet to do on 622. I speculated a couple of months ago that some careful manipulation of OnShape’s new Sheet Metal Model feature might yield a good […]

Packing away

Demolition starts tomorrow, and that is somewhat incompatible with fine models. So today, they all went into boxes. Most of my stock fits into some old cookie tins from Christmases past, which are now sadly devoid of cookies, but perfectly shaped for hold HO scale rolling stock. Some ancient rubber foam separates each piece, and […]

Update on the Flood

The waters have subsided, and we have three fridge-sized dehumidifiers running 24/7 in the basement. My emotions have also subsided – there is nothing quite like three evenings of digging holes in the glacial til to promote philosophy. The insurance adjuster hasn’t yet decided if they will cover the losses – it comes down to […]

Could be the end of Pembroke

It is raining to make Noah look skyward. This morning we awoke to water in the basement for the first time since we moved in over 15 years ago. OnSide Restoration arrived around ten and declared the floor is ruined and will have to be replaced. That floor is under everything. It is under the […]

Algonquins of Pikwàkanagàn

Neil (@sarahdaddy) asked in a comment a few days ago where I stand on the question of romanticizing Pembroke, compared to its history. I understand the desire to create a utopia where everything is beautiful on a sunny summer (fall or winter) day and there isn’t any poverty or racial issue but some things existed […]

Time-travelling Box Queen

A couple of weeks ago, I was lamenting the fact that no trains have run on Pembroke in almost two years. My friend Mark Dance suggested I get a little diesel and convert it; then I could at least bang around a few cars when I want. It reminded me that this was actually part […]

Seattle Roadtrip!

It seems like ages since I went for an operating weekend anywhere. However, there are some trips that you simply can’t pass up, and the last opportunity to operate on Al Frasch’s Pilchuck Division was one of those. So this Saturday, seven of us stole across the border at 7:30 AM, counting our blessings that […]

Dave Booth is a demon with a jewellers’ saw

Tonight I cut some spokes in one of my test wheels. I was most interested to see if the wheel gets floppy if you take away most of the material in the centre to replace it with plastic. It doesn’t. But I tell you what: fretting out the spokes is hard work! On this small […]