In the post II

Its been a week for packages. 2 in 2 days in fact. The first was the bits for a Uga, of which I'll get on to later in the week. The second was the 3rd iteration of the J sheep wagon underframe etch.

'Mouth watering brassy goodness'

There is only so much temptation that a man can stand, and it was not long before I had one cut out and on the workbench

'Don't worry, I'll be gentle...'

Firing up the old soldering iron, and out with the solder paste (what a fantastic invention). being the 3rd iteration, Mark has worked out the bugs we have pointed out, and added a few nice bits as well.


The spring and axle box assembly folds up in 6 layers, and Mark has worked out how to get the axle box lid set at an angle. A nice touch I must admit. The underframe is a scratch aid rather than a kit, and there are some tricky bits which nearly tripped me up first time round. Finally it was time to add the re gauged 2mm finescale wheels and put it in front of a camera. Note the nice brake cylinder which is a one dimensional fold down.


The brake shoes need a bit of tweaking but apart from that its good to go.
And of course I could not resist putting the J top onto the underframe

Still a bit of work to go, mostly with adjusting the fit of the top to the underframe and add some couplers. Then I have 4 more to make before the convention. I must have a think about the amount of weight that will need to be added as well, which will be a key factor in the running qualities and also the shunting

Saturday morning

Trying to keep up with this slot, as its a good time for philosophising.

First up, and one of my least favorite topics, an obituary.
Last weekend marked the sudden passing of Greytrainz. I never had the opportunity to meet Graham, or even talk to him on the phone, so we only had email exchanges. Graham was a true enthusiast for the scale, and did a fair bit of work on his own to further things with his own modeling as well as providing models for others.His keenness will be missed, and I extend my/our condolences to his family.

Though it feels a bit odd just to carry on to the next topic, nevertheless....

I've been having a few thoughts on exhibition displays. Reading through the British exhibition threads it is common (standard?) to run the layout to a timetable, or at least to a sequence of moves. the standard here is to leave a train running until the operators get bored with it then swap. Unofficial comments from some members of the One track minds group suggest that this is not quite enough operationally. I must admit that I am inspired by the European Freemo groups in their get together's with an actual timetable to operate to. I just can't remember if I have ever seen anything like this at a New Zealand exhibition.

Oh, and its 4 weeks till the convention and counting. Can anyone give an indication if they are going or not? Will it be worth having a special interest meeting at all? or can we just hold it in a hallway cupboard?

((nd that reminds me, I must actually write the talk and workshop I'm giving. Does anyone have any areas that they would like reviewed in trackmaking? I won't be touching on other methods, only the ones I use. maybe a bit on laying out yards etc?)

In the post

A package I had been waiting for arrived in the post earlier in the week. My bush tram wheels arrived. They are a bit on the large side (2' diameter) but have curved spokes.


Not perfect, but they have to do. I have the brass to knock up some bogie frames so will have to do a jig to make life easier (and less burnt fingers).

Also, progress on the module sides continues, held up by more fishing trips (catch a fish and there is an expectation that you can do it again).


Its coming along well, and I guess I will have to make a decision on the colour it gets painted. I do like black (simple, elegant and frames the layout) but am willing to listen to REASONED argument for another colour, preferably with photographic examples to demonstrate that the proposer isn't on a short list for the loony bin.

Back into it

Out in the Man-sion again, and its 4 weeks to go to the convention.

I had been thinking about the edging of the layout. Given my dislike for MDF, and preference for plywood, it might come as some surprise that I have decided to go with MDF. A special on 3mm sheet at Mitre 10 certainly shifted my thinking. So, the first piece is up.

With a bit of thinking and care (traits that I do struggle with) it has gone OK for the first piece. The hills at the back are going to present a bit more of a problem as I'm not really sure how high or long they are going to be, or what the profile will look like. I think it will be time to get more cardboard out.

How good is your wiring??

(I just can't hold this important information back any longer)

Am_Fet scribbles:

Found this on the Interweb Thursday on Makezine (actually linked from an Analog Synth forum I'm a member of).

How-To: Splice Wire to NASA Standards

Some commenters on Friday’s post about using a washer as a soldering aid noticed my sloppy splicing technique and were kind enough to educate me about the so-called “Western Union splice,” aka the “Lineman’s splice,” which is the preferred method for twisting solid-core wire leads together for inline electrical connections.

Developed during the heydey of the telegraph, the Lineman’s splice is designed for connections that will be under tension. It is commonly claimed that, properly made, a Lineman’s splice is stronger than the wires of which it is composed. In any case, it is a time-proven method, and, coolest of all, one of NASA’s Required Workmanship Standards. To wit, in a NASA-approved Lineman’s splice:

1. The conductors shall be pre-tinned.
2. There shall be at least 3 turns around each conductor and the wraps shall be tight with no gaps between adjacent turns.
3. The wraps shall not overlap and the ends of the wrap shall be trimmed flush prior to soldering to prevent protruding ends.
4. Conductors shall not overlap the insulation of the other wire.

Though the Lineman’s splice was originally used without solder, today soldering is common. And NASA insists on it:

1. Solder shall wet all elements of the connection.
2. The solder shall fillet between connection elements over the complete periphery
   of the connection.

This material comes from page 84 of NASA-STD 8739.4, which is a great reference if you’re interested in best practices for interconnecting cables and wires. [Thanks, Alex Barclay!]

NASA-STD 8739.4 (PDF)

Saturday

The lady of the house's recovery goes well, and it looks like I might be able to get back out into the shed. However currently there seems to be a bit of gardening in my way (and more fishing), hopefully by the end of the weekend...

Meanwhile a flurry of postings last night and this morning (and still this afternoon) have come up with a (very) workable mini module standard that looks like it might be a goer. It looks very practical, and there might be 1/2 a chance that we can have some bits on display at the convention, assuming it can be made to work. Its a watch this space, but I think it could be great for those with not that much room who would still like to do a bit of modeling and have the possibility of joining up with other like minded individuals.

The plan is to have the bits laser cut, and possibly preassembled so that anyone can be sure that their ends will connect to everyone elses ends.

(Right, off to bottle some more beer as well)

Mmmmmmmm........

Sorry there has been a lull in posts (there is a post on soldering the NASA way, but I'm saving that for a special occasion).
I would have written something last night about the seeming lack of interest in the convention shown by NZ120 modelers, but was a bit busy in the great outdoors. I was fishing under the Halcome bridge (with the father in law), and was just watching a class 30 haul a freight north over the bridge in the sunset while absent mindedly casting into the river, when this blundered onto my hook. Not quite sure how it managed to get so big, while staying so dumb (a question we could ask of some people around I'm sure).

'There appears to be plenty of beer to go with that'

However I am in the good books at home (a very in that sentence would not be out of place), and he's going to be smoked over Manuka chips for tea tonight.
(hopefully I stay in the good books long enough to get a 100 buck order with North Yard paid for. Guys, if you got Paypal I could hide these things much better)

We now return you to the usual drivel.