David Nebenzah from RMR had some thoughts:
Someone's earlier question about "what tools should I get to do model trains?" got me thinking about the tools I use. (I've got no layout--yet--but putter on structures, locos, small dioramas.)
Something often overlooked is that you can make your own tools. Some of my homemade tools either fit a specific need not met by storebought tools or are especially adapted.
For instance, I have a couple of small (tiny, really) chisels made from cut nails. I've been using the smaller one to shave off cast-on grabirons. (Chisels are also too often overlooked by modelers.
As a woodworker, I realize the advantage of pushing a sharp edge perpendicularly, rather than hacking with a knife. They really come in handy a lot.)
Of course, you can dream up and build all kinds of fancy tools, machines and rigs, but some of the best ones are simple, like the riveting tool I made from a gear from an old watch and a piece of
brass strip. This cost me practically nada and works as well as or better than the commercial jobs.
For cutting stuff, it's good to have a bench hook: this is piece of wood with cleats on top and bottom (bottom cleat at the front, top cleat at the back). If you don't need an accurate cut (as with a
miter box), just lay the stuff you want to cut against the cleat and saw away. Since it's a disposable item, I use it to drill on. When it gets too scarred up, throw it away (or burn it) and make a
new one.
Other handy stuff:
Weights: can't have too many weights. I've got a few dozen lead weights I made. If you walk or ride a bike anyplace in the U.S. (prob'ly Canada too). you'll find wheel weights galore, usually right
off the curb. I save them, melt them down (over a hotplate) and pour them into crude cylindrical molds to make weights. (Cover them with tape to avoid getting lead on fingers when handling.) This not
only gives me good weights but removes a toxic material from the environment.
Squares: if you want your stuff to be believable, it's gotta be square. A couple of small machinist's blocks and a good miniature try square are very good investments. (Mine were made in India and
are plenty good; you don't need to buy expensive Starrett.)
Measuring: besides the obligatory scale ruler (by General, natch), get General's little 6-inch ruler with 32nds and 64ths. (I paid 69 cents for mine a long time ago.) Next to a micrometer, this is
the best thing for making really tiny measurements.
A pair of dividers is the easiest way of transferring measurements from one place to another.
Visor: someone else mentioned this. Any more, I can't do much of anything without my "real eyes" on. I also have a small loupe for really closeup work.
Needle files: you can buy expensive ones, but I got a set made in China reely cheep, and they're more than adequate. Get a large set to get a variety of shapes and sizes. (A good set would be even
better, of course. I have a few good ones.)
One of the handiest tools I found for scratchbuilding is my straigh-edge for cutting styrene or card stock, an 18" stainless steel rule that has a thin strip of cork laminated to the back of it so
it doesn't slip when you're cutting. Found it at "Office Depot". Don Dellmann
One of the guys at the club once made a tool from a screwdriver. He welded (or had someone weld) a small bar to the tip, and then filed a notch in it, which is the size of the rail. Works great
for sliding rail joiners when they are tight.
Some clutch pencils, which use larger diameter lead inserts, have their clutch jaws external to the body of the pen. With no lead in the jaws, if you push the clutch button down, the sprung jaws
extend out from the pencil point and expand outwards. Put the head of the screw in the jaws and let the jaws retract into the pencil body, when they will close around the screw head and hold it
firmly. Then screw the screw into its hole, then press the clutch button to release the screw head when done.
Note these are also called drafting pencils.
Does anyone have any good suggestions about mounting tiny, round parts? The tweezers slip off and often cause the part to go flying across the room, fingers are way too big, and sticking a pin
point into the part has several disadvantages not the least of which is having to leave it there until the glue is dried so you can pull it out.
Try a toothpick with a little beeswax or candle wax on the end. It's tacky enough to "grip" the part, but will easily let go when you want it to.
Dan
Instead of throwing away old paint brushes, I'll cut off the brush hairs and crimp a alligator clip (from Radio Shack or a like place) to the end. They're great for holding small parts for
airbrushing. My local Radio Shack has them in three different sizes and each is useful to hold different size parts. To stand them up as the paint dries, I just stick the end into a large balsa
block. If the end of the brush is too blunt to easily pierce the balsa, I'll just sharpen it up in a pencil sharpener.
D.A.
The wrench used to break down my airbrush. The way it comes from the manufacturer (Badger in my case) is just to small and difficult to work with. So I attached a longer handle to it by gluing
(epoxy) a popcicle stick to it. And then I wrapped thread around the attachment point to hold it solid. A small bit of superglue or brush on some Future, and the thread won't unwind. It's just light
enough to not fall off the magnetic strip. And it's always right there when I need it.
D.A.
Sanding sticks get a little expensive, the way I go through them. So I make my own by gluing (epoxy) a strip of styrofoam from an egg carton to a popcicle (?) stick and then gluing an appropriate
strip of wet-n-dry sandpaper over the styrofoam. You can make them thinner as well by splitting the popcicle stick before you apply the styrofoam. Use epoxy instead of super glue for this because
super glue doesn't have much shearing strength, and everything would fall apart in no time. They will fall apart after some time (and a great deal of use) but compare the cost to buying them. After a
couple of uses in water, the grit of the sanding sticks would separate from the backing and be pretty useless. By making them yourself, you really don't care too much about throwing them away.
D.A.