General Discussion (Model Railroader)

Hello all.

I was out in the shop earlier tonight when I came across a box car that had the wrong built date on it. At first, I thought I'd just let it go and run it as it was, but then as things like that always seem to do, it started bugging me, so I started trying to figure out a way to erase it. In the past, I've seen a number of methods for removing decals, but instead of those, I decided to try a sharp tooth pick and a little spit (not to be gross) and carefully but quickly rubbed the tiny numbers off of the car without doing any damage to the paint.

If someone else has already posted this method/idea, I sincerely apologize for wasting your time.

Tracklayer

toothpick are one of MR best kept secret in my opinion. You can use them from stirring paint, for checking consistency of plaster, as a sculpting tool, you can use it for painting tiny detail , you can file them to fit as shim anywhere, in a pinch you can use them instead of insulating joiner. Toothpick can also be used as load in N scale and Z , can be use for small lumber in HO. you can  put masking tape and use it as a painting handle for small parts. burn a few toothpick and use the ashes to weather models, you cn use their sharp tip to gently scrape paint splatter, its an excellent glue applicator as well as grease/lube...the flat one can be use to build shipping pallet for pennies.thats only the tip of the iceberg. , if there ever was a tool id have a hard time living without, toothpicks would be right up there with my atlas and zona saws and my ole metal caliper.

 they are cheap, plentyful and if you break one...so what, 99999 more in the box...

all hail the mighty toothpick, puny in size but large in applications

Funny that nobody mentioned sticking one (with a dab of glue on the end) in a stripped-out screw hole.

Only one of the thousands of possible applications.  Another is as the basis of the boom on a light-duty jib crane.

Have fun thinking of more!

Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - box of toothpicks handy)

ranchero wrote:

toothpick are one of MR best kept secret in my opinion. You can use them from stirring paint, for checking consistency of plaster, as a sculpting tool, you can use it for painting tiny detail , you can file them to fit as shim anywhere, in a pinch you can use them instead of insulating joiner. Toothpick can also be used as load in N scale and Z , can be use for small lumber in HO. you can  put masking tape and use it as a painting handle for small parts. burn a few toothpick and use the ashes to weather models, you cn use their sharp tip to gently scrape paint splatter, its an excellent glue applicator as well as grease/lube...the flat one can be use to build shipping pallet for pennies.thats only the tip of the iceberg. , if there ever was a tool id have a hard time living without, toothpicks would be right up there with my atlas and zona saws and my ole metal caliper.  they are cheap, plentyful and if you break one...so what, 99999 more in the box...   all hail the mighty toothpick, puny in size but large in applications

Now that's what I'm talking about...

Tracklayer

As Inch just said, toothpicks can be used for fence posts.  My rural style wire fence is from toothpicks and thread.  It is only about 3/4" in front of my back drop, and it adds the illusion of distance.

It's easy to make. Use round type toothpicks. Paint or stain dark brown.  Cut each tooth pick in half creating two fence posts per toothpick.  At this location I had some styrofoam under the ground foam. So, It was easy to poke the sharp end of each half-toothpick into the scenery. Next I simply wrapped thread around each fencepost while stretching it the length of the fence.

With all the stuff in the foreground, any imperfections with the fence are not noticeable.

Toothpicks, flat, round, or one of the fancy varieties, are great for a multitude of uses.

Then, sometimes, you need something just a little bigger...

Behold the lowly popsicle stick!

Once you've bought the big box of 500 (or whatever size they come in at the craft store), you're set for life, unless you start building something with them.

In my mind, the popsicle stick is just a mega-toothpick, in terms of the many useful purposes it provides. 

Toothpicks rule. 

Good for poking cats when they jump in your chair prior to some op time, and good for trestlework under a mining sluice.

Buy two boxes.

Also, pick up any and all packages of small wood you find at craft or art stores. He who dies with the most stock lumber, wins.

In addition to their many model railroad and household uses, toothpicks are also astoundingly useful in prying bits of food from between your teeth.  try it, it works like magic.  Who would have thought ....

Dave Nelson