Railway passengers and staff

[Nurser]

In 1/12th scale it has to be!  Not orange, but blue and red, which I hate together, so I might see if it's currently different. Someone said it was now black, which would look rather good with a well rubbed shine.

I once worked for a modelmaking company where the client wanted working this and that and lights everywhere.  The boss told them, "I make models, not bloody table lamps" and they left
Hector

[Nurser]

It's been over five years since I last used my trusty Peatol (Taig) lathe and today I actually got to do some work on it, thanks to the foul weather we still have in England (snow coming for 3 days!).  I had to produce brass masters of the coffee set being carried by the waiter in the Gauge one set I'm doing, so here's a wee picture of the bits.
A coffee pot (William the Fourth , a tray, sugarbowl, cream jug and cup/saucer set.
The slots in the top of the cream jug and cup are to enable a tiny sliver of pre-formed brass to be soldered through which will form the handle/spout.  The coffee pot was big enough to make them seperately and solder on.  These took 3 hours this afternoon, helped on by Danny Thompson's excellent solo album on the CDplayer.
Hector
PS keyboard for scale.

[John McGuyer]

Hector;
Ahhhh! Good to see you on a lathe again. Now we want to see you on a mill. We all need a few chips in our shoes.
John

[Nurser]

John, I have never had luck with mills.  The cutter never goes back at the same setting it went forward!  But I have little use for more than a light cut, so my little home made gizmo does the job using bits from a fax machine and a broken minidrill clamped in the slide of my trusty mini lathe.
Hector

[John McGuyer]

One of my best purchases is a 3 axis DRO on my mill. It is capable of .0001", though my mill and tool bits could never hold that. One of the cool things it does is to put a series of equally positioned holes in a circle.

John

[Nurser]

John, an indexing attachment will do that.
Hector

[John McGuyer]

Oh Hector, Hector! Zero backlash in all three axis, Zero measurements with a push of a button, make circles by just telling it what diameter and how many holes. I gave up my abacus for a calculator and my vernier for a digital caliper. I'm a technofreak to the core.

John

[jacq01]

John,

but what to do when you run out of batteries
I am sticking to the basics learned, even when using digital equipment.

Jacq

[Nurser]

I see no point in shelling out on some piece of inevitably Chinese crap full of complication which will go wrong long before my dividing plate and detent pin.  I know how to use a lathe and that's easy enough, why start learning some gadget that just makes life an even bigger pain in the arse than it's become?
How the hell did people make perfectly good stuff all those years ago?  Often on lathes they made themselves.  Like the famous live steamer, LBSC.
Do you listen to push button music, too, while you're techno-freaking out?
Where's the modelmaking?  Where's the satisfying skill?
If this forum's going down that road, I'm out of it.  The model ship forum did the same. NC carving for Chrissakes.
Hector

[finescalerr]

We already have discussed Chinese products, Hector, and your bias is based on limited experience.

All of us are delighted you use a lathe. Some of us, though, prefer to use computers and all they can accomplish. Your constant railing against technology has become tiresome. I and many others happen to embrace technology and try to use it appropriately and in good taste.

You sound as though you'd prefer to fight with a pointed stick against an army of robots with lasers and atomic weapons. If you do, fine, but don't belittle those who don't.

Yes, this forum long ago went down the road to technology. It owes its very existence to the computer technology you eschew. Learn to coexist. We all know your point of view so give it a rest.

I want to keep this forum positive and focused on models and modeling techniques. So, sorry, no more self indulgent diatribes; we have read enough. Starting now, I will remove posts I, as moderator (and sole owner) of this site, consider contrary to those goals.

Russ

[RoughboyModelworks]

That's the way to do it John... good on ya!

Bill

[John McGuyer]

Actually batteries are the least of my problems. If you watch the ads, you can pick up a 6" digital caliper for $15.95 with a spare battery. So not only do I have back up batteries, I have a whole back up caliper ready to go. The real problem is that the mill, lights and automatic door opener are all on the same circuit. When I pop that, I'm sitting there in the dark wondering how to get out of my little corner of the garage. Did you ever try to reset a circuit breaker with a stick while holding a flashlight?

I don't as yet have a DRO on my lathe, so have dial indicators all over it, but I sure would like one.

John