Monthly Archives: February 2017

General

A few of my favorite things…

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As I’ve had a chance to consistently work on the layout for the last month and half, I’ve come to appreciate of few of my latest acquisitions. Or as I said, a few of my favorite things.

First up is the Dremel Multi Max oscillating tool. I originally bought it because of it’s triangular sanding head. Great for getting into nooks and crannys on woodworking projects. But recently I have started to use the saw blade more and more.

Dremel Multi Max oscillating tool.

The fact that you don’t have to drill a starter hole for a jig saw and then worry about the depth of cut is such a relief. As long as the hole is at least an inch wide, you are good to go. A recent example would be the holes for the UP5’s.

Hole cut for the UP5 panel.

It was nice to know that I could cut the hole and not worry about the wiring just behind the fascia. As a side note, Jim Kelly had a write up about oscillating tools in the latest (March 2017) issue of Model Railroader Magazine.

My next greastest find is the “Raskog” three tier cart from Ikea (IKEA.com). Great cart, easy to put together and the quality is far better then I expected, even for Ikea. I have two (bought 1 and then ran out and got another). I currently use one for construction equipment and the other for wiring equipment and supplies. Eventually one will become the scenery cart.

The Ikea Raskog Carts.

I wish I could say that I “discovered” this, but I first heard about it on one of the forums.

Last is rather strange, it is an EYE VAC  floor sweep vacuum cleaner.

The Eye Vac floor sweep vacuum.

I had first run across this at my hair stylist. Seeing it in action, I knew I had to have this for downstairs. Sweep up that which needs to be swept up, get it I’m front of the EYE VAC, the sensor kicks in, the machine turns on for about thirty seconds, boom, the mess is gone. I find myself cleaning up more often simply because it is easy to quickly sweep everything over and make it go away.

So there you have it, three things that are making my life a little easier and more enjoyable. Not saying that you need to get any of these as I don’t know what your hobby budget is, but they should be considered as they make life a little easier.

Till next time, Happy Railroading…

 

 

 

Benchwork, Cabinets, General

End of January Update…

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It is the and of January and I have some actual progress to report on the railroad. First of all, for those wondering about the roundhouse, progress on it is as far as it can go until it is set in place. And when that will happen is a whole post on it’s own.

So what have I gotten done. Well, as I mentioned at the beginning of the month, I had cut a whole bunch of wood so that things could get done. First the “power box” that I touched on in that post.

I have been reading in multiple blogs and forums that one should be able to kill the power to the whole railroad should something happen. Add to that all the extension cords and power strips I had everything hooked up to, I figured I should do something. My answer was a box that would control power to the deck lights, aisle lights, blue rope lights for night lighting and all the power to the DCC system and related equipment.

It is simply a box tucked into the one of the electronic cabinets that has power to it, with switches on the front for the different functions and outlets on the back for the related items. Here is a photo of the finished box in place.

Main power panel – light control as well as all power to the layout.

It wasn’t hard to do, just a little time consuming, but I already feel it has been worth it as I used to have to plug in two cords to get the deck lights on in order to work on things on the lower deck. Now, I just flip a switch.

Next was the missing backdrop sections. Those installed were: The short section near the power station between the staging yard and the power station, behind the roundhouse and behind the berm scene.

Scenic block between layout and staging yard.
View from the staging yard.
Backdrop behind the roundhouse scene.
Backdrop in place behind New Brighton berm scene.

I have one section left on the lower level which is on the backside of the berm scene. I have the piece cut but have not installed it yet. The gaping hole between the piece behind the roundhouse and the berm scene is where the helix will be. Its backdrop won’t be installed until it’s installed.

The next thing I have been working on has been the fascia around the lower level. I had started with the piece under the staging yard and have been working my way around. I have it in place all the way up to the town of Jackson. However, I stopped just outside of town as I’m trying to figure out some of the scenery contours and need to figure out how wide to cut the next piece to accommodate a hill that acts as a scenic block.

Fascia in place in the back aisle. Holes cut for UP5 panels.
Fascia installation working it’s way around layout.

I also have mounting the UP5 panels for the DCC system to the fascia. I made a mounting template out of styrene to mark screw hole location and the hole for the circuit board. Fun to make and it makes it easier to mark the holes and keeps things consistent.

UP5 template I made to speed up the hole process.
Hole cut for the UP5 panel.
UP5 panel mounted.

Lastly, the first set of doors are done and installed. These are on the side that faces the stairway up to the family room. Since there is no door that would block the view of the unfinished layout, it has been my wife’s biggest bug-a-boo and why she wanted them in.

First set of cabinet doors finished and installed.
View of the layout from the family room. This is why my wife wanted the doors on.

As I said this is the first set, only 25 more doors to make. But the heat is off to get them done.

So looking back at January what have I learned. Probably the same thing you had noticed, that after several months of not being able to work on anything major downstairs, I was all over the board trying to get everything done. Time to sit back and take stock of where I’m at and organize where I’m heading.

Till next, Happy Railroading…