What's New on the PRR Panhandle 2.0?

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G3750
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Re: What's New on the PRR Panhandle 2.0?

Postby G3750 » Mon Apr 12, 2021 9:20 am

robert. wrote:I have a machinist friend making a clamping device for me. it's a 14 inch metal disc. A lot like a record turntable. It has a groove cut in the center alongside the edge. Then we will wrap copper wire around that edge. Turning this disc into an electromagnet. He made a few different size metal blocks. I'll use them to hold wood together after glue is applied. Turn it on and see if magnetism hold everything together as the glue dries. It will either be a heavy desk weight or a great jigging device.


I'm having a little trouble envisioning this. What will you use it for?

George
What is a 'Conservative'? "Someone who wants society and policy to recognize objective reality- economic, biological, and historical."

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robert.
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Re: What's New on the PRR Panhandle 2.0?

Postby robert. » Mon Apr 12, 2021 12:19 pm

My work surface will be an electromagnet. About 14 inches in dia. Nice and flat. I will have a few 1,2,3 blocks of metal. some even bigger. When i tried to clamp things the old fashion way. My clamps did more damage then help ( i only have heavy clamps) With the flat surface and 1,2,3 blocks. I will have nice square surfaces. When it is finished i'll show a photo. My goal is to have magnetism act as clamping and squaring. When i need to remove my glued bits. I'll turn off the magnet
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chuck
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Re: What's New on the PRR Panhandle 2.0?

Postby chuck » Mon Apr 12, 2021 1:29 pm

I get it. Be aware that there is a chance that the mag field may start to magnetize the clamping blocks and they you may have issues with any permanent magnetic fields set up in the blocks with the EM field you set up in the disk. a) You may need to figure out a way to "demagnetize" the clamping blocks and b) even the temporary induced fields may start playing havoc with the intended clamping blocks.

Magnetic clamping devices can be very tricky to adjust/use. I have a set of "block" magnets and a sheet of enameled steel they are supposed to work with. I got a nice thick piece of milled aluminum as an under plate to make sure the base was uniformly level. Whenever I would try to set up a jig to hold/clamp something the more complicated the jig the less likely I was to succeed at doing so. Almost invariably the magnetic fields would start to interact and either attract in the wrong way or worse, they would start to repel.
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Re: What's New on the PRR Panhandle 2.0?

Postby G3750 » Mon Apr 12, 2021 10:03 pm

Updated 4/12/2021:

Here is some work on the 2nd house (Tillman Farmhouse) that I actually did late yesterday.

I have the walls together and glued to the base. I also added a light block between the 1st and 2nd stories.

https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0B5yeZFhGjp87w

George
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Re: What's New on the PRR Panhandle 2.0?

Postby G3750 » Sun Apr 18, 2021 8:04 am

Updated 4/17/2021:

Things are getting back to "normal" around here after a 3 day trip out of town. Today I had a chance to glue on the roof sections and chimney of the Tillman Farm House. I am now in the process of considering which front porch to install. I also received a set of Faller (Kit #180519) HO steps of various kinds. I expect that over time these will see some use somewhere on the layout.

In these photos, you'll see that I've assembled the roof and added the chimney. I still need to add the trim to the gable ends. And I have to decide which of the front porches I like. The rightmost one is the most likely choice. And the Faller stairs set in the last photo.

Photos: https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0B59UlCqGorIPO

George
What is a 'Conservative'? "Someone who wants society and policy to recognize objective reality- economic, biological, and historical."

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Re: What's New on the PRR Panhandle 2.0?

Postby chuck » Sun Apr 18, 2021 7:00 pm

Wow! Looking good. Especially the roof shingles. Just enough "sparkle".
Once I built a railroad, I made it run,
Made it race against time.
Once I built a railroad, now it's done --
Brother, can you spare a dime?

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Re: What's New on the PRR Panhandle 2.0?

Postby G3750 » Sun Apr 18, 2021 7:04 pm

chuck wrote:Wow! Looking good. Especially the roof shingles. Just enough "sparkle".


Thank you! I will let my wife know. She painted the house (which means I have now got to know what she used). It might have been one of those "textured" paints. I applied an India ink wash to the roof sections. But in looking at the photographs, I have to agree that the roof sections turned out very well indeed!

It's on to the porch and then to the next Tillman Farm House, which will be white.

George
What is a 'Conservative'? "Someone who wants society and policy to recognize objective reality- economic, biological, and historical."

—Katy Faust

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Re: What's New on the PRR Panhandle 2.0?

Postby G3750 » Wed Apr 21, 2021 10:49 am

OK, so I found out that the paint used on the roof is Rustoleum #223525 "Aged Iron". It's one of those multi-colored textured paints. I've used a number of those in the past on the layout. I believe the bridge piers got a final pass (not a complete coating) with Rustoleum #239121 "Caribbean Sand" along with some weathering with various powders.

George
What is a 'Conservative'? "Someone who wants society and policy to recognize objective reality- economic, biological, and historical."

—Katy Faust

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Re: What's New on the PRR Panhandle 2.0?

Postby chuck » Wed Apr 21, 2021 11:11 am

Some of the texturizing paints are pretty remarkable. I think I used medium granite as a base coat for some track ballast. Applied over texturized foam it made for a pretty convincing effect and was much faster, easier to apply, and actually cheaper than "real" ballast.
Once I built a railroad, I made it run,
Made it race against time.
Once I built a railroad, now it's done --
Brother, can you spare a dime?

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Re: What's New on the PRR Panhandle 2.0?

Postby G3750 » Fri Apr 23, 2021 10:29 pm

Updated 4/23/2021:

I spent some time cursing the incomplete Walthers instructions under my breath. Of the items you see in the photo below, only the faux wood porch columns are mentioned in them. Everything else is supplied, but you have to guess how they might go together. :roll:

I started out by gluing the wood porch uprights to the railing. I glued the porch ceiling to the porch roof. Then I flipped the porch upside down and glued the railing into the porch ceiling. By the way, I really like this G-S Hypo Cement. It has a pin-point applicator that allows me to get the glue exactly where it needs to go. I don't think it's CA, either. With CA, I always manage to glue my fingers together instead of the target. I test fitted the porch railings and the porch together. Finally, I glued the columns to porch itself and braced them together.

The pictures tell the story.

https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0BJ0DiRHg3h3B

George
What is a 'Conservative'? "Someone who wants society and policy to recognize objective reality- economic, biological, and historical."

—Katy Faust

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Re: What's New on the PRR Panhandle 2.0?

Postby chuck » Sat Apr 24, 2021 8:52 am

According to the MSDS it's

Heptane, 25-60%
m-xylene, 10-20%
p-xylene, <10%
Ethylbenzene, <10%
o-xylene, <10%

Its closest relative in the model building world is probably the Testors Model Masters liquid sold in the black triangular dispenser. It differs mainly in the absence of Heptane and the presence of Butyl Acetate and styrene resin. I think Testors uses Toluene and Naptha in place of Heptane. The styrene resin and butyl acetate make the Testors product target a styrene cement instead of a craft cement.

I think the common term for the GS Hypo is watch crystal cement?

Very nice work on the porch. Sorry about the issues with the instructions.
Once I built a railroad, I made it run,
Made it race against time.
Once I built a railroad, now it's done --
Brother, can you spare a dime?

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G3750
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Re: What's New on the PRR Panhandle 2.0?

Postby G3750 » Sat Apr 24, 2021 10:46 am

chuck wrote:According to the MSDS it's

Heptane, 25-60%
m-xylene, 10-20%
p-xylene, <10%
Ethylbenzene, <10%
o-xylene, <10%

Its closest relative in the model building world is probably the Testors Model Masters liquid sold in the black triangular dispenser. It differs mainly in the absence of Heptane and the presence of Butyl Acetate and styrene resin. I think Testors uses Toluene and Naptha in place of Heptane. The styrene resin and butyl acetate make the Testors product target a styrene cement instead of a craft cement.

I think the common term for the GS Hypo is watch crystal cement?

Very nice work on the porch. Sorry about the issues with the instructions.


Yes, it behaves much more like plastic cement than anything else. I really like the needle-like applicator. And none of the CA-effect, i.e. gluing fingers together while the subject material remains unglued. :evil:

Thank you regarding the porch. It turned out OK despite the directions. My wife assisted in the early stages of this project. I asked her what she thought of the directions and she agreed with my diagnosis.

George
What is a 'Conservative'? "Someone who wants society and policy to recognize objective reality- economic, biological, and historical."

—Katy Faust

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Re: What's New on the PRR Panhandle 2.0?

Postby G3750 » Sat Apr 24, 2021 5:51 pm

Updated 4/24/2021 (PM):

I am declaring victory. This is as good as it gets. I gave the house a final India ink wash and hit it with DullCote. In the process, I noticed that the corner of the gutter over the front porch droops a bit. :oops: Obviously, I meant for it to look like that. :roll: Yeah, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. :lol:

I am now going to package up the remnants of house parts in the kit box, set aside the extras (curtains, corner supports, etc.) for the next build, and move the structure to the vicinity of the layout for placement.

It's on to the next house, another Tillman Farm House. This one will be white.

https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0B5ON9t3GddOcH

George
What is a 'Conservative'? "Someone who wants society and policy to recognize objective reality- economic, biological, and historical."

—Katy Faust

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Re: What's New on the PRR Panhandle 2.0?

Postby healey36 » Sat Apr 24, 2021 6:26 pm

The folks at Gutter-Guard would not be pleased, lol. It's an unusual configuration for that porch roof, almost mansard in style.

If I had one recommendation, it would be to paint the chimney a good dull red. It would provide a bit of contrast, even for a piece of forced-perspective/background scenery.

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Re: What's New on the PRR Panhandle 2.0?

Postby G3750 » Sat Apr 24, 2021 9:49 pm

healey36 wrote:The folks at Gutter-Guard would not be pleased, lol. It's an unusual configuration for that porch roof, almost mansard in style.

If I had one recommendation, it would be to paint the chimney a good dull red. It would provide a bit of contrast, even for a piece of forced-perspective/background scenery.


Yeah, I know that's an unusual porch roof. But it allowed me to use the gingerbread columns and railing.

Maybe I'll paint the chimney red on the second farm house. I'm inclined to let sleeping dogs lie... :lol:

George
What is a 'Conservative'? "Someone who wants society and policy to recognize objective reality- economic, biological, and historical."

—Katy Faust


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