Dogleg Jenny and the Staedtler Compasses

 Dogleg, or Jenny, calipers are used for marking a line parallel to an edge;

Although they are very useful I find them to be rather crude for fine work, mainly because of the lack of fine adjustment. So, I took my Staedtler compass, bought in my schooldays, and replaced one point/lead with a short length of brass turned down to fit (I needed 2mm but had none). One end was turned down to provide a shoulder to sit against the edge of the workpiece;

This means that I now have a Jenny with fine adjustment and a sharp point, perfect for marking out brass and styrene.

You don't need a lathe for this conversion, all you need is a piece of suitable rod and a file to file a flat on one side.

Paul.

A Busch 'Bauwagon' in 006

 As a starter for my 006 project I've converted a Busch Feldbahn waggon to 006. The Busch system is HOf, and uses a gauge of 6.5mm. So all I've done is to replace the wheelset with one made using my home made 2mm finescale forming tool. 

Here's a photo of the underside with one original and one replacement axle, the brass wheelset is the home made one;

And the waggon sat on the pizza;

I'll blacken the tyres in due course. Wheel dia. 5.4mm, hub dia. 3.0mm, axle 1.5mm dia. x 10.4mm long.

I'm not entirely convinced by these wheels, the flange seems rather thin. I did run the first set that I made through a 2FS point at a show, but I feel that I need to build a loco and a 6mm gauge point to test them properly. I have a feeling that I may end up making a new forming tool.

I can use this waggon to work out and set a standard coupling height as well as use it as a test bed for my home made wheels.

When I turned the axles to pin-point the ends I simply used a file, then a light touch with a stone, followed by a rub with a rubbing stick for a final shine. This is of course not the correct way to do the job, the right way is to grind the points, but my way works for me even tho' it would no doubt upset model engineering theorists...

It doesn't really fit in with my plans, but I like it anyway and find it rather cute. There are other Busch waggons knocking about awaiting conversion.

Paul.

Drystone Moss: a 006 pizza - track and electrics.

 Before I laid any sleepers I marked out 4 circles using a pair of compasses. These were used to show the positions of not only the running rails but also the sleepers. I then drew a series of radial lines from the centre, to help get the sleepers straight. Then I could start glueing the sleepers, made from copperclad strip from C&L cut 14mm long and gapped, down with UHU;

I haven't fixed every sleeper in place, just enough to solder the track to but still leaving the marker lines visible.

I started with the outer rail;

To get an even curve I used my rail bender.

The rail wasn't quite long enough, so I had to bend and lay a small section to close the gap, adding extra sleepers where the rail was to go;

I cut the end of the rails so the joins were made on a sleeper, which hasn't been done yet in the above photo.

After soldering the extra piece in place I could then use my 3 point gauges to position the inner rail;

However, I had to take up the inner rail as I made a mistake when making the gauges and had to machine up a new pair. We live and learn. Once I'd made the new gauges then the inner could be laid.

Yet again I had to let in a short length of rail, and I staggered it's position in the circle to help avoid any kinks;

Here's a view of the join on the outer rail;

Now that the track was laid, and double checked (it did need a bit of adjusting in a couple of places, but hey, I'm new to this!) I could wire it up. I drilled holes next to the rails and soldered the wires to the underside of the rails. To add redundancy I soldered two wires to each rail, at the joins, just in case any of my soldered joints fail. The red wires go the outer rail and the black to the inner;

To keep everything tidy I used to self-adhesive runners to hold the wires in place. I tested the wiring with a multi-meter and as everything was as it should be I then glued the rest of the sleepers in place;

My laser-cut van has been temporarily fitted with an experimental 6mm gauge wheelset. Fun can be had tilting the board so the van runs around the track! At this stage I haven't soldered the rail to the extra sleepers, I don't think it necessary.

I do need to fill the gaps in the sleepers where I insulated them, and maybe add some cosmetic spike detail, but right now its time for a brew;

I also need to build a loco and some stock to go with it!

Paul.