"RED" styrene
- Thread starter owlpool
- Start date
funandtrains
Registered
Someone should set up a laser cutting service for sheet styrene and thin ply as the A3 cutters now are quite cheap. It would seem a good way for a model shop to make a little extra cash.
KeithT
Hillwalking, chickens and - err - garden railways.
There is a knack and sensible precautions to using a straight edge and scalpel or other blade.
I spent 40yrs+ around drawing offices where it was an everyday task to slice paper and stiff card.
First never use anything other than steel as an edge and if it has a 'track' where a blade has grooved it either discard it or have it re-machined.
Second never use the chamfered/angled edge no matter how tempting, I once witnessed an "I can do that" typist who used the wrong edge. It was not a pretty sight and she could never type properly again minus her finger tip.
Third ALWAYS as with any sharp edge, keep your holding fingers behind the blade.
Fourth Always ensure you use a perfectly sharp blade. Steel is cheap, fingers are irreplaceable.
I spent 40yrs+ around drawing offices where it was an everyday task to slice paper and stiff card.
First never use anything other than steel as an edge and if it has a 'track' where a blade has grooved it either discard it or have it re-machined.
Second never use the chamfered/angled edge no matter how tempting, I once witnessed an "I can do that" typist who used the wrong edge. It was not a pretty sight and she could never type properly again minus her finger tip.
Third ALWAYS as with any sharp edge, keep your holding fingers behind the blade.
Fourth Always ensure you use a perfectly sharp blade. Steel is cheap, fingers are irreplaceable.
generalboy80
Registered
If you use the roller wheel blade types, be gentle. The blades deform under even a modest amount of pressure if you're attacking plasticard with them, and then the results are anything but straight! There are types which have a small, fixed, blade which I've found to be much more suitable, especially if you're trying to cut the thicker sheets.
tramcar trev
all manner of mechanical apparatus...
Plastics are generally very hard on cutting edges.... I always use the Olfa Plastics cutter;
cuts or scores and then snap the sheet.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/OLFA-11mm-Plastic-Cutter-PC-S-Included-2-Spare-Blades-/261187643054?pt=AU_Hand_Tools&hash=item3ccfff26ae&_uhb=1
cuts or scores and then snap the sheet.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/OLFA-11mm-Plastic-Cutter-PC-S-Included-2-Spare-Blades-/261187643054?pt=AU_Hand_Tools&hash=item3ccfff26ae&_uhb=1
Aha Trev, yes I have one of those. I think we call them Squawkers over this neck of the woods. Well I do anyway. Incidentally in the last couple of weeks Lidl had a combined Roller Blade and Guiloteen Paper Cutter on offer. May still be around in some of the Stores (UK).tramcar trev said:
JonD
The other option would be to go along the CNC milling machine route..
I have done some CAD, but have never been a metal-worker, or know CNC setting up. But to be fair, it can not be too difficult if you have an analytical mind, and can do some maths..
Like using a lathe.. My Father bought a ML7, which is now slowly rusting in his workshop.. I have never used it in anger, and am apprehensive every time I go to try to do a little on it. - Strangely, the thought of a milling machine does not seem to hold the same apprehension. Probably ignorance! both could 'have yer hand off' if you treat them incorrectly.
To my mind, the ML7 is to dated (even agricultural?) by todays standards.. There is a board on the wall full of change-wheels (think that is what they are called) for thread cutting, but it would be the Model Engineers who would use that feature (probably rarely) these days..
Probably need to sell the ML7 et al, and then save for a reasonable mill/drill (as opposed to drill/mill) I reckon. - I would use this a lot more, probably for things most people would do by hand, such as getting a decent edge on things.
It is whether a 2.5 - 3K machine would be robust and accurate enough, and if there would be a reasonable prospect of getting some of that investment back from work coming in.
I do not know if I would want to go down the route of becoming, yet another, niche kit maker..
I have done some CAD, but have never been a metal-worker, or know CNC setting up. But to be fair, it can not be too difficult if you have an analytical mind, and can do some maths..
Like using a lathe.. My Father bought a ML7, which is now slowly rusting in his workshop.. I have never used it in anger, and am apprehensive every time I go to try to do a little on it. - Strangely, the thought of a milling machine does not seem to hold the same apprehension. Probably ignorance! both could 'have yer hand off' if you treat them incorrectly.
To my mind, the ML7 is to dated (even agricultural?) by todays standards.. There is a board on the wall full of change-wheels (think that is what they are called) for thread cutting, but it would be the Model Engineers who would use that feature (probably rarely) these days..
Probably need to sell the ML7 et al, and then save for a reasonable mill/drill (as opposed to drill/mill) I reckon. - I would use this a lot more, probably for things most people would do by hand, such as getting a decent edge on things.
It is whether a 2.5 - 3K machine would be robust and accurate enough, and if there would be a reasonable prospect of getting some of that investment back from work coming in.
I do not know if I would want to go down the route of becoming, yet another, niche kit maker..
bobg
Registered
PhilP said:
Phil, more than slightly wrong on most counts there I'm afraid. Firstly the ML7 range is still a very sought after machine and is well up to today's standards for machines of it's type. Even though Myford have gone bump, parts are still very plentiful, so they will go on for years yet. Of course CNC, it is not! If you want that you really need a dedicated machine to get the best from it (plenty railway vouchers!!).
Milling, CNC or not, will only give you rounded internal corners, not too difficult to file every one square I suppose!
Fear of the machine is no bad thing, "familiarity breeds contempt" they always told me. Yes they can "rip your hand off" without due care and diligence. Personally my biggest apprehension is with milling machines, especially when using a big slab cutter. I can just imagine it dragging my arm in and chewing it (shudders). Lathes I've played with since my teens, the one I have now I've had for more than 30 years.
For my money, in the thicknesses that we need, I would say that laser cutting or one of the other forms of controlled cutting*, would be absolute tops, and probably cheaper to set up for (and run) than a dedicated CNC miller which would be so under utilised/loaded.
*Water-jet or plasma*
Enough resin building makers out there I think!??
Back to machine tools:
Thanks for the feedback Bob..
It shows my ignorance I suppose..
Even having read some of my Fathers ME mags., it is still a little foreign to me.
I can see a use for both a lathe, and a milling machine, and .. the list goes on!
In days gone by, local colleges did evening classes, you could use their facilities, and learn how to use the likes of a lathe. These days I expect the only way an 'amateur' can learn this is from those in a Model Engineering society?? - I volunteer at a preserved railway, but the kit there is way to big for what we want, and those who think they know what they are doing are loath to pass their knowledge on. -Of course, they could be self-taught and full of bad habits! The kit never looks very 'loved', and the work areas always seem full of 'round-tuit' projects (and not to put to fine a point on it, junk and rubbish).
There is probably a couple of thousands pound worth of kit in my Fathers workshop. - He was a locksmith in Nottingham, and seemed to manage to acquire 'cast-offs' from engineering firms he did work for. Hence there are cutters for the lathe which take replaceable 'blades'. Various slides, and vices. A number of chucks (3 and 4 jaw), tailstock chucks .. ..
I would guess for the size of work we tend to do, it will not matter to much if I feed a cutter in at an acute or obtuse angle. I agree with a comment made on the forum awhile back, a lathe can become a hobby in itself. I want tooling to make the jobs I do easier, and more accurate..
Slots, cutouts, grids of wholes for loudspeakers, clean-up the odd axle end perhaps, get a nice finish to a long edge on some sheet material of some sort.
On the lathe front, possibly something as 'light-weight' as a Unimat would be adequate for G scale work perhaps??
Sorry, I seem to have hi-jacked the thread a little!
Back to machine tools:
Thanks for the feedback Bob..
It shows my ignorance I suppose..
Even having read some of my Fathers ME mags., it is still a little foreign to me.
I can see a use for both a lathe, and a milling machine, and .. the list goes on!
In days gone by, local colleges did evening classes, you could use their facilities, and learn how to use the likes of a lathe. These days I expect the only way an 'amateur' can learn this is from those in a Model Engineering society?? - I volunteer at a preserved railway, but the kit there is way to big for what we want, and those who think they know what they are doing are loath to pass their knowledge on. -Of course, they could be self-taught and full of bad habits! The kit never looks very 'loved', and the work areas always seem full of 'round-tuit' projects (and not to put to fine a point on it, junk and rubbish).
There is probably a couple of thousands pound worth of kit in my Fathers workshop. - He was a locksmith in Nottingham, and seemed to manage to acquire 'cast-offs' from engineering firms he did work for. Hence there are cutters for the lathe which take replaceable 'blades'. Various slides, and vices. A number of chucks (3 and 4 jaw), tailstock chucks .. ..
I would guess for the size of work we tend to do, it will not matter to much if I feed a cutter in at an acute or obtuse angle. I agree with a comment made on the forum awhile back, a lathe can become a hobby in itself. I want tooling to make the jobs I do easier, and more accurate..
Slots, cutouts, grids of wholes for loudspeakers, clean-up the odd axle end perhaps, get a nice finish to a long edge on some sheet material of some sort.
On the lathe front, possibly something as 'light-weight' as a Unimat would be adequate for G scale work perhaps??
Sorry, I seem to have hi-jacked the thread a little!
bobg
Registered
Yes, we do seem to have hi-jacked the thread a little, sorry Ross.
A lot of what you (and others) need can be achieved in a small pillar drill, never mind a small lathe. As regards machines, mostly, "what'll do a lot, will do a little". So 'size' isn't always such a consideration. A few self made jigs and attachments goes a long way.
Night school classes? A thing of the past in most places, a real shame. Many M.E Soc's don't have facilities for training on machinery, so self taught is about all that's left, but with a few questions of those with experience can go a long way, and there's nothing like it going wrong to teach you what NOT to do.
I would encourage everyone to have-a-go, you won't know until you try it.
Hobby-Horse returned to stable!
A lot of what you (and others) need can be achieved in a small pillar drill, never mind a small lathe. As regards machines, mostly, "what'll do a lot, will do a little". So 'size' isn't always such a consideration. A few self made jigs and attachments goes a long way.
Night school classes? A thing of the past in most places, a real shame. Many M.E Soc's don't have facilities for training on machinery, so self taught is about all that's left, but with a few questions of those with experience can go a long way, and there's nothing like it going wrong to teach you what NOT to do.
I would encourage everyone to have-a-go, you won't know until you try it.
Hobby-Horse returned to stable!
bobg
Registered
I've seen adverts this last week for two very similar Super 7s, one for £450, the other for . . . . .wait for it . . . . . . . £1450. The only real difference (apart from the £s) was that one had a stand and the other didn't. I never knew Myford stands were so expensive. :
: Since Myford's demise there have been a few people that seem to think that scarcity will creep in.
(For those that don't know/realise, I would suggest that the cheaper one was nearest the right price.)
: : Since Myford's demise there have been a few people that seem to think that scarcity will creep in.(For those that don't know/realise, I would suggest that the cheaper one was nearest the right price.)
funandtrains
Registered
I think it would depend on how many people can supply the CAD drawings themselves or you would have to charge a hourly rate to transfer the drawings to CAD which would be the expensive bit.PhilP said:
I think the to make it work you would have to sell your own range of kits made using the machine and advertise the one off service. I bought a loco made by a German chap who made a batch of them using a laser cutter to make up kits. A previous employer also had one that was used to make architectural models. The cutting as well as cutting can engrave details. I think these would be great to make a whole rake of wagons quickly after all this is what I P Engineering and others use to make their kits.
funandtrains
Registered
You can buy a 300 x 600mm laser cutting for £1800 inc VAT:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Generic-Engraving-Cutting-Engraver-400x600mm/dp/B00BMRQ0XG/ref=pd_sim_sbs_office_3
and a 200 x 300mm machine for under £500.
If I had time to build much stuff I would buy one, if you makes a few kits for yourself and then sold a few extra you would soon make your money back.
Just be aware that you need an extraction fan to take the fumes away!
I've been thinking about starting my own architectural practice and if I do as a side line I may be able to offer a CAD drawing service to model makers to make better use of the computers and expensive software.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Generic-Engraving-Cutting-Engraver-400x600mm/dp/B00BMRQ0XG/ref=pd_sim_sbs_office_3
and a 200 x 300mm machine for under £500.
If I had time to build much stuff I would buy one, if you makes a few kits for yourself and then sold a few extra you would soon make your money back.
Just be aware that you need an extraction fan to take the fumes away!
I've been thinking about starting my own architectural practice and if I do as a side line I may be able to offer a CAD drawing service to model makers to make better use of the computers and expensive software.