Nifty Modelling Tools

[NOBLNG]

If anyone has any nifty tools, especially ones that are not normally associated with model building...post them up!

I don’t know where I got this? I found it one day in the garage with a bunch of drill bits. It has three collets that will take anything from a #80 up to 1/16”.  I use it by hand, in my cordless drill and in my drill press. It runs very true.😁

Edited April 19, 2021 by NOBLNG

[Zippi]

I brought this home with me from work after retiring last Fall and I use to use it to scribe plactic parts at work.  I was a CMM programmer in the Quality department for an Automotive company.  It now gets used to scribe panel lines.     

[NOBLNG]

Maybe a thread like this should be a sticky? There are numerous threads on here about various tools. It would be nice to have them all in one place?

[peteski]

3 hours ago, NOBLNG said:

Maybe a thread like this should be a sticky? There are numerous threads on here about various tools. It would be nice to have them all in one place?

Not another sticky!  There are too many already.  But what would make sens is to un-stick all the stickies, then create a single-post  thread with an index to all those useful tutorials in this section of the forum  Index would simply be a single post with bunch of titles of the tutorials along with a link to each one. But just a URL link, not embedded thread (that would take up too much space).  Since only moderators can update posts past the time they get locked, they would have to do the updates. That thread should also be locked (and just the singe-post index updated as new tutorials get posted to the forum.   That would make finding all the tutorials easy, and it would only have to be a single sticky.

Yes this would create extra work for the mods, but not all that much. After all, there aren't that many tutorials being posted often to the forum.

[Xingu]

If people would just utilize the tag function, the threads become easily searchable.

We will discuss the above suggestion as well.

[NOBLNG]

How do I tag posts? I can’t find it in the “how to use this board” section.

Edited April 18, 2021 by NOBLNG

[peteski]

4 hours ago, Xingu said:

If people would just utilize the tag function, the threads become easily searchable.

We will discuss the above suggestion as well.

Thanks Michael.  Yes, tags.  Most of us forget that they are even there. And even if we remember later, the threads/posts are locked so they can't be added.  Thanks for willing to discuss the index post/thread.  That would not require tags (although they could still be used), and would get rid of most stickies here.

The other problem with tags is that the person who is creating a tag, and person searching for it, would need to be of the same main set to use the same keywords for the search to be successful.  And how many keywords do we use in the tag?   IMO, the sticky index would be much easier to use (successful).

[Zippi]

4 hours ago, NOBLNG said:

How do I tag posts? I can’t find it in the “how to use this board” section.

When you create a post you can see the "Tag" function below the Title box.  Just click on Choose.  

Edited April 18, 2021 by Zippi

[Tom Geiger]

This thread has become more about tags than tools!  Lemme change that!

First up - A tool I wouldn’t be without.. my battery power drill!  I haven’t seen one like this in a long while, but you can buy the Tamiya assemble it yourself one!  Beats hand turning a drill bit every time!

The Chopper - yes it’s a $40 plus tool, but it will serve you the rest of your modeling career. If you work with balsa or basswood or Evergreen strips on a regular basis, you need this. I set up stops on it so I can cut the same length over and over. It uses a single edge razor blade.

Soft handle eXacto knife! It’s much easier on your hand than the steel barrel.  Added bonus- the little wing is made from masking tape. It’s an old draftsman’s trick to keep mechanical pencils from rolling off the tilted drafting board.  In our case it will keep you from stabbing your Bobbit.

Edited April 18, 2021 by Tom Geiger

[NOBLNG]

2 hours ago, Tom Geiger said:

The Chopper - yes it’s a $40 plus tool, but it will serve you the rest of your modeling career. If you work with balsa or basswood or Evergreen strips on a regular basis, you need this. I set up stops on it so I can cut the same length over and over. It uses a single edge razor blade.

Does that chopper make a nice 90 degree cut on one or both ends on something like say .100 x .188 ? Or do the ends need to be sanded square?

 

[Tom Geiger]

46 minutes ago, NOBLNG said:

Does that chopper make a nice 90 degree cut on one or both ends on something like say .100 x .188 ? Or do the ends need to be sanded square?

 

It cuts nice and straight. I bought it to do this project in basswood. If you are hard on it, it will go to crooked cuts, but mine was corrected by changing the blade.

It comes with attachments to do angles. You don’t get the dents in the wood like you do when cutting with an exacto.

Edited April 18, 2021 by Tom Geiger

[peteski]

1 hour ago, NOBLNG said:

Does that chopper make a nice 90 degree cut on one or both ends on something like say .100 x .188 ? Or do the ends need to be sanded square?

 

I have that chopper and on thicker styrene, the blade will not cut square. It will curve one way so the end will need to be sanded to be truly square.  With wood (softer then styrene) it likely cuts nice and square.

[Deuces ll]

On 4/17/2021 at 6:06 PM, Zippi said:

I brought this home with me from work after retiring last Fall and I use to use it to scribe plactic parts at work.  I was a CMM programmer in the Quality department for an Automotive company.  It now gets used to scribe panel lines.     

That scriber comes with a mag base set..... I also have a couple of those....

[Straightliner59]

41 minutes ago, peteski said:

I have that chopper and on thicker styrene, the blade will not cut square. It will curve one way so the end will need to be sanded to be truly square.  With wood (softer then styrene) it likely cuts nice and square.

I had the same issue, and boxed it up, and sent it to a friend. Figured that, if I was going to be sanding, anyway, I might as well save the space.

I have a couple of contributions to make, here.

First, I bought these punches and this doming block and punch set, and the set of hole punches at Harbor Freight. Granted, they not something that everyone needs, or  would use. I have used them, in conjunction with one another, many times, over the years I've owned them. Typically, when I use the doming block, I've used the punches first. Vice-versa isn't always the case. Together, I used them to make the reflectors for these headlights from tooling aluminum. They can also be used to form tank ends, or any other partially spherical piece.

I found some of these plastic containers at one of the dispensaries (I probably should go back there, just to acquire more of these, they've proved so useful!). They work beautifully for  things like pins, small parts for a specific project, and leftover bits and pieces that are just too tiny to live amongst the general population of scratchbuilding materials! Their wide tops make them super-easily  accessible. And they stack nicely.

[NOBLNG]

I’ve posted this previously, but this is an easy to make trim scriber. Any stiff wire would work. Chuck it in a drill and sharpen it before bending.You can vary the width by spreading it or rotating it off 90 degrees.  Sure beats free-handing it!

Edited April 19, 2021 by NOBLNG

[ChrisBcritter]

16 hours ago, Straightliner59 said:

I found some of these plastic containers at one of the dispensaries (I probably should go back there, just to acquire more of these, they've proved so useful!). They work beautifully for  things like pins, small parts for a specific project, and leftover bits and pieces that are just too tiny to live amongst the general population of scratchbuilding materials! Their wide tops make them super-easily  accessible. And they stack nicely.

 

Far out suggestion, man! 

[Tom Geiger]

19 hours ago, peteski said:

I have that chopper and on thicker styrene, the blade will not cut square. It will curve one way so the end will need to be sanded to be truly square.  With wood (softer then styrene) it likely cuts nice and square.

It’s a matter of the right tool for the right job. Thicker stuff needs to be cut with a saw in a miter. I learned that, I literally bent a blade misusing the Chopper. 

The Chopper works well if used as intended. 

[Tom Geiger]

Proper use of The Chopper...  here are strips of Evergreen I wanted all the exact same length. I taped them together. Here they are sitting on the Chopper bed.

Here are the two sizes I wanted, cut nicely.

I made a square jig out of basswood..

And here’s a window frame!

The final result.. several window frames exactly the same!

[TransAmMike]

So what is a good not too expensive tool to make straight precise clean cuts on thicker styene sheet??

[Tom Geiger]

2 minutes ago, TransAmMike said:

So what is a good not too expensive tool to make straight precise clean cuts on thicker styene sheet??

Note that The Chopper is for strips not sheets. Evergreen sheets can be easily cut with an exacto knife and a straight edge.  It’s made to score and snap, not unlike cutting sheet rock! I do it all the time.

[NOBLNG]

For long straight cuts, maybe this? It likely won’t be a 90 degree cut on both sides.

Edited April 19, 2021 by NOBLNG

[TransAmMike]

1 minute ago, Tom Geiger said:

Note that The Chopper is for strips not sheets. Evergreen sheets can be easily cut with an exacto knife and a straight edge.  It’s made to score and snap, not unlike cutting sheet rock! I do it all the time.

Thanks Tom, It's what I have done but it's too easy to not get it straight.  I was thinking of something that has maybe a built in guide if you know what I mean

[peteski]

3 hours ago, Tom Geiger said:

It’s a matter of the right tool for the right job. Thicker stuff needs to be cut with a saw in a miter. I learned that, I literally bent a blade misusing the Chopper. 

The Chopper works well if used as intended. 

I agree 100%.  But the question was about "something like say .100 x .188" (I assume styrene).  In my experience, at that thickness, the blade will likely deflect.

[peteski]

3 hours ago, TransAmMike said:

Thanks Tom, It's what I have done but it's too easy to not get it straight.  I was thinking of something that has maybe a built in guide if you know what I mean

Not sure why you have problems making straight cuts using a (metal) straight edge (ruler) and a hobby knife (or I prefer a single-edge razor blade).  Just follow the edge of the ruler making few passes, then snap the pieces.  Mine are perfectly straight.

If you have problems. maybe on of those rotary-cutter paper cutters would work for you?  I have one, but have not tried it on styrene.

[TransAmMike]

1 hour ago, peteski said:

Not sure why you have problems making straight cuts using a (metal) straight edge (ruler) and a hobby knife (or I prefer a single-edge razor blade).  Just follow the edge of the ruler making few passes, then snap the pieces.  Mine are perfectly straight.

If you have problems. maybe on of those rotary-cutter paper cutters would work for you?  I have one, but have not tried it on styrene.

I guess I have problems getting each piece exactly the same. I try to measure them but I always seem to either missmark it or the ruler slips a little.