My next project will be to build my own flashing level crossing lights which will operate with sensors that trigger an Arduino to flash the lights. When this is installed I will share my methodology.
Completion of Model Railroad Top Deck Scenery
No Duck Mo V2.0
In January 2019 I began a seven-part series describing a Free-mo module that incorporated a liftgate so a person could walk through a Free-mo setup without having to use a traditional "duck under" for doing so. I called it my "No Duck Mo", with "Mo" referring to the fact that it is a module.
In October 2020 I began a four-part series describing a two-level lift gate which I designed and built for my basement layout. I came up with several design improvements in working through the mechanics for this liftgate.
At Free-mo events, I am often asked whether I would be willing to share my plans for the No Duck Mo. My response has always been that I would be delighted to share my plans except my approach has always been to design something in my head, perhaps with a few very rough pencil sketches, but most of my design work is done on the fly.
In February 2021 I was contacted by a member of the Calgary Free-mo group, Jim I. Jim was asking about my plans to which I answered that there are no plans but since the start of COVID-19 I had in the back of my mind the thought that an excellent COVID project would be to design and built No Duck Mo V2.0 and create detailed instructions as I did. I told Jim to give me six weeks to get this started. This took me a bit longer, almost two months, because the documentation took longer than the design and construction.
Following are links to the detailed instructions as well as two files which include step-by-step instructions for assembling and for taking apart and packing No Duck Mo V2.0. The information in the latter two files is found at the end of the "complete detailed instructions" but I reproduced these as separate files so copies could easily be printed separately.
No Duck Mo V2.0 complete detailed instructions
Photo Editing Software
When it comes to non-freeware software I usually prefer products for which I can pay a one-time price to download and use the software. As new versions of the software become available, providing that significant new features have been added and providing that I use the software quite a lot, I will upgrade to a newer version after a few years. I cannot stand being forced to purchase a subscription for software that I use occasionally but that I really need to have at certain times. This is why I refuse to buy Adobe products.
For many years I have used a product called Corel Paintshop Pro to edit digital photographs. It works very well. The latest version is currently being sold for C$79.99 which is reasonable.
In a recent video article on Trainmasters TV, Joe Fugate highlighted a video editing software called Affinity Photo. Its regular price is C$69.99 but at that time it was on sale for C$34.99. I tried the free trial version for a couple of days and worked my way through the many excellent video tutorials and decided to purchase the product. I think it is fantastic. Reviews I have read online suggest that is very close to Adobe Photoshop in terms of functionality.
One feature that is particularly effective is called the Inpainting Brush Tool. If you have a photograph with an object that you want to remove, Paintshop Pro is able to do so using a clone tool or with an object replacement tool. However, the object replacement tool is not particularly intuitive which means I have to read the instructions whenever I need to use it. The Inpainting Brush Tool in Affinity Photo is as easy as two clicks of the mouse - first to select the tool and second to hover a circle over the object you want to be removed. The size of the circle can be increased or decreased if you like (one more mouse click or the square bracket keys on the keyboard).
Following is a photograph I took in Lisbon, Portugal in 2018. As you can see, someone's black dog is in the picture.
If I want to remove the dog, with two clicks of the mouse the photograph looks like this:
I find many of the features of Affinity Photo to be intuitive. Those that I have learned from watching several video tutorials are easy to remember because they are logically designed. I recommend giving Affinity Photo a try.
Custom Bolts
Have you ever had a project that requires one or more bolts and being frustrated trying to locate the diameter, thread count and, in particular, the length of bolt that you need? Do you find yourself staring at your parts bin (or the racks in your hardware store) and seeing an assortment such as this but none of these are exactly what you really need?
My solution to this problem is to make my own bolts. These can easily be custom made to fit exactly the project I am working on.
Say I want a bolt that is 3/8 inch diameter and 3 7/8 inches long with 16 threads per inch thread count (a course thread). First, obtain a 3-foot length of 3/8-16 galvanized or stainless steel threaded rod from your hardware store (many other sizes are also available).
Cut the threaded rod about 1/8 inch longer than the desired length using a hacksaw of cut-off disk saw. Adding 1/8 inch to 3 7/8 inches produces 4 inches. To cut the rod clamp it in a bench vice using two pieces of hard plastic or scrap wood to protect the threads, as in the following photograph:
Smooth both ends of the 4-inch rod by grinding on a grinding wheel or smoothing with a metal file. Grind sufficient material so it becomes 3 7/8 inches long, the desired bolt length.
If you want the end of your bolt to be a hexagonal nut, add a hexagonal nut followed by a lock washer and then another hexagonal nut. Clamp the first nut in the bench vice and tighten the second nut against the lock washer so the three components are very tight. Your bolt is finished. You can also add a thread locking compound to ensure that the pieces will not come apart.
In many of my hobby projects, I prefer to use a wing nut as the outmost nut. This makes it easier to turn with your fingers and avoids the use of a wrench unless of course, the bolt needs to be fastened very tight, in which case a hexagonal nut would be better.
While this approach takes a small amount of time the results are much easier (and cheaper) to achieve compared to shopping around at different stores and compromising on a bolt that is "good enough" but not exactly what I was looking for.
If you need a smooth shank part way along the shaft you can always file off some of the threads using a metal file or, better yet, a grinding wheel.
Construction of Wood Pallets
A scale modeller is always looking for scenery details to add to a scene. As in real life, there are many things that fill up the environment, whether they be garbage bins, power poles, manhole covers, litter, fire hydrants, parking lot curbs, signs, or whatever. It is very common to see pallets made from wood around any facility that ships or receives product, particularly heavy or bulky product. The product sits atop the pallet, normally fastened in some way and a fork lift is used to lift the pallet onto a truck or rail car for shipping and similarly unloaded at the other end of the journey.
Wood pallets are very easy to make. I used scale lumber from Mount Albert Scale Lumber, blue painters' tape, a 'Chopper' cutting device, a pair of tweezers, Aileen's Tacky Glue (any glue that dries clear will work), a toothpick for applying the glue, a pounce wheel for indenting the wood to make it look like nail holes and alcohol stain to weather the wood.
My pallets are HO scale. I first cut scale 8 in. X 1 in. boards to make ten 1/2 in. strips. I then cut 4 in. X 4 in. scale lumber to make three 1/2 in. strips.
I next positioned five of the 8 X 1 strips evenly to blue painter's tape which had been fastened to the work surface sticky-side up. I left small gaps between the strips and tried to keep them fairly even.
Using a toothpick I created three beads of Aileen's Tacky Glue across the wood.
Next I laid the three 4 X 4 strips of wood on top of the glue beads.
Finally, I applied alcohol wood stain in varying shades of grey and brown to simulate various stages of weathering.
Here are a couple of pictures of the finished product:
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