For a little over a week, I’ve been pecking away at the huge pile of boxes that has filled the part of the basement that has always been tagged for the “heavy shop.” They’ve literally been packed for years, and occasionally I’ve come down to find another heaped on the pile. Now that the cabinets in the rec room are completed, I was able to … Continue reading The heavy shop emerges
I’ve wanted a lathe for about as long as I’ve been able to spell the word. Even before I got into Proto:87, I knew one would be a part of my workshop someday. Since getting into the finer scale, it’s been inevitable. My friend, Andrew Hutchinson, has more machine tools than a single person should really own. Yet, he always seems to be on the … Continue reading A lathe joins the workshop
There were about 35 folks in the audience for this morning’s clinic at the Railway Modellers’ Meet. That was pretty good, considering it was the first clinic of the day, and many attendees had a late night of operations on Thursday. As usual, I’m offering the slides under a Creative Commons license. Also, here is the design file for my shed, also under a Creative … Continue reading Exploring the Cricut
You might think that I’m no longer a fan of SketchUp! After all, I think my review of OnShape came down pretty strongly in favour of the parametric modelling tool. However, I will say that SketchUp is great for quick drawings. If you want to quickly mock up some buildings to see how they look, then SketchUp can do that in a jiffy (the one … Continue reading SketchUp! goes online!
Up to now, when I’ve wanted some lines scribed and others cut, I’ve simply run the whole pattern on the Cricut with a lighter touch. Then I have chased the scribed lines with a knife to cut them through. It’s simple, but tedious. Tonight, as I was cutting out the inside layer of the rear walls of the roundhouse, I noticed that they all have … Continue reading Scribed and cut lines on the Cricut
I’ve been waiting for parts for the wheels for 622 for a couple of weeks now. They are coming from Apogee Vapeur in Switzerland, and I suspect they have been held up in customs, while they decide if they’re dangerous or not. Hopefully I don’t get hit with some huge brokerage charge when they finally do arrive – they were expensive enough as they were! … Continue reading Even on Linux, I blame Microsoft…
Well, I’m a few weeks into my OnShape journey now, and I must say I’m impressed. After my experience with FreeCad and Blendr, I was almost ready huck my Linux machine out the window when Vince pointed me toward OnShape. I’m thankful he did. For several years I was a staunch advocate for SketchUp! but now my allegiance has changed. As a programmer I … Continue reading OnShape vs SketchUp! – a model railroader’s view
