mbinsewi Thank you John, but I respectfully decline to be president of anything. It just sounds like a lot of work! The cluttered work area? Completely, totally undeniably guilty. We've been here before, but it's good to let it all out once in a while. There, It's out. I feel better already. Mike.
Thank you John, but I respectfully decline to be president of anything. It just sounds like a lot of work!
The cluttered work area? Completely, totally undeniably guilty. We've been here before, but it's good to let it all out once in a while.
There, It's out. I feel better already.
Mike.
And here's #2, for which I'll secure both a mat and a glass plate or polypropylene board, or both. Lighting is to be upgraded. Needless to say absolutely nothing has yet been done at this desk (IKEA rocks). Glad I took a picture of it. My sweetie says that it's likely never to be this clean again.
John
Above, is work area #1,
Work area #2,
Paint area, but you'll notice most of the paint is at #2.
My You Tube
Hi—
My name is Ed and I have a cluttered workspace...
IMG_0359_fix by Edmund, on Flickr
There, I just took step one.
Well, you see, it wasn't always this way—
IMG_7287_fix by Edmund, on Flickr
Here you can see two different "surfaces" I've recently used. The white one is a sheet of food-grade Lexan left over from a job at GE. The top photo is the latest "Alvin" brand cutting mat. My bench is a seventy-year old 38" x 60" drafting table.
The drawing surface below the cutting mat is pretty beat up and whatever it is glued to the hard-maple surface with will not allow it to be peeled off.
I simply renew the cutting mat, first by turning it 180 ° then flipping it over. Maybe every two years I replace it with something fresh.
When I have a decal job or something requiring more precise cutting I have a 8" x 12" sheet of laminated safety glass.
Cheers,
Ed
mbinsewi Watch it guys, you might just inspire a thread on work spaces. Kevin's is a surgeons instrument tray compared to mine. Mike.
Watch it guys, you might just inspire a thread on work spaces. Kevin's is a surgeons instrument tray compared to mine.
Mike,
Now there are at least three of us. In some circles, this constitutes a sufficient number to officially organize. I will be glad to nominate you as President with Kevin as Membership Coordinator. As a former federal Budget Analyst, I would make a good Treasurer. Let the snide comments begin, especially regarding the latter.
If this indeed became a new thread, I'd bet it would garner a fair amount of attention - and response. By its nature, ernest model railroading generally seems to accumulate an inordinate amount of stuff and a hefty number of what might be euphemisticly described as "current projects". Talk about clutter!
SeeYou190 Attuvian "a clean desk is the sign of a sick mind". . It is interesting how messy it looks in photographs, but I can work on it just fine and comfortably. . -Kevin .
Attuvian "a clean desk is the sign of a sick mind".
.
It is interesting how messy it looks in photographs, but I can work on it just fine and comfortably.
-Kevin
As can I, Kevin. My sweetie just rolls her eyes - and keeps unannounced visitors out of the "office".
Attuvian"a clean desk is the sign of a sick mind".
Living the dream.
Kevin,
How is it that you managed to take a picture of my desk - but with a mat?!
(I once heard that "a clean desk is the sign of a sick mind". It is an aphorism that has given me much comfort over the years . . . )
Mine is an 18 by 24 mat made by "HobbyCo" that I bought at Hobbytown USA in Brandon, FL.
I replace it about once a year. These are really easy to find. I like this one because it is exactly the same on both sides, so when the first side gets worn, I just flip it over.
tedtedderson....why are the soft mats no good for precision cutting?
I'd guess the fact that the mat compresses during the cutting action. It's perhaps not as much of an issue when cutting is done as a slicing motion, but definitely causes problems when cutting with a chopping motion, which is the best way to get clean cuts with decals (slicing raises the paper on both sides as the blade passes, which in turn lifts the edge of the decal, making it more difficult to hide once applied. Chopping, on the other hand, pushes the edge of the decal downward). If you're cutting wire with a knife, it needs to be firmly supported - on a cutting mat, the blade will bend the wire, rather than cutting it.I'm sure that there are uses for cutting mats, but they're apparently ones with which I'm not familiar.
Wayne
Forgive my "naivishness", but why are the soft mats no good for precision cutting?
T e d
I found a piece of plate glass, approx. 1 1/2' X 3', about 3/8" thick, of all places, laying beside a dumpster. I use it for all my cutting and all my other work too. It's a permanent fixture on my work bench.
Thanks, all. I'll check this for another day or two and then forge ahead. Hadn't thought about using glass. Thanks for that idea, Wayne and Mike.
I use a mirror for precision cutting, like thin brass and decals. I also use a plastic board for other stuff, like sheet styrene. I don't know what type of plastic they are, but we buy them at a restaurant supply store, as the wife buys her's there. I think they are polypropylene. I don't need the scaled square thing.
Get what you want!
I suppose that it depends on what you need to cut. I have one, but seldom use it. I generally work with styrene, so it's score-and-snap...no cutting necessary. I do cut decals with my X-Acto, but a cutting mat is pretty-well useless for that if you want any accuracy. I also cut small diameter wire (up to about .030" for brass), and thin sheet brass with a knife, but all of those applications require working on a hard surface. I use a sheet of glass, and it's my usual work surface, too. It does require that the blades need to be sharpened more often, but for accuracy, can't be beat.For those reasons, I can't recommend any brand of cutting mat, other than it should be reasonably priced.
https://www.hobbico.com/shop/tools/hcar0454.php
12x18" metric and inch. I have not cut through it and it has no smell, $10
Not sure how this fits into the prototype forum though.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
I was in the same position myself, less than a year ago, John. I cleaned off my work table and decided to treat myself to a fresh surface.
I can offer a suggestion for which mat NOT to buy:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007VTP9TK/ref=s9_acsd_hps_bw_c_x_2_w
After six months this thing is still giving off an eye-watering odor that is pretty pervasive. Otherwise it works pretty well although for most cutting I still place a scrap of shirt-cardboard under my work. I don't particularly find the printed markings of much use in the model work that I do. Maybe it is handy for some sheet-goods.
It could have been a certain batch or perhaps they made changes to the formula. I worked 38 years in a factory that used some pretty stinky chemicals so I'm not immune to foul odors... but this thing
Good Luck, Ed
Well, Santa asked for a list. So he (really, she) doesn't pick the wrong one, I'd like to provide a supplier and size for one of those "self-healing" modeling mats. Seems like there's lots of photos of bashed and detailed power and rolling stock that have appeared on these forums with these mats as a backdrop and so I'm sure there's a healthy spectrum of opinion out there.
I'm inclined to go with a 12x18, with ruled scales in both English and metric, and also with the apparently standard half inch grid. I've run across notices that at least some of them produce carcinogenic vapors when inhaled by California lab rats over a period of 600 years. Not so sure this is a make or break issue as I'm jaded enough to assume anything that doesn't smell won't fry my brain further than it already is. Please cough up your preferences. Time's a wastin'.
Thanks!