RicHamilton wrote: loathar wrote:After warning folks about the dangers of opening stuck paint bottle lids with pliers, I just had one shatter in my hand and cut the crap out me two days ago. LotharRun the cap under hot water when it is stuck on the bottle. Helps quite a bit even when using channel Lock Pliers
loathar wrote:After warning folks about the dangers of opening stuck paint bottle lids with pliers, I just had one shatter in my hand and cut the crap out me two days ago.
Lothar
Run the cap under hot water when it is stuck on the bottle. Helps quite a bit even when using channel Lock Pliers
I use heavy leather welding gloves to hold the bottle, and a pair of curved jaw Channelock pliers, set wide enough to grip the lid, but not apply too much pressure on the bottle. No cuts to the hand, but I do have a bright blue left hand glove now.
Rotor
Jake: How often does the train go by? Elwood: So often you won't even notice ...
Don't airbrush over a concrete floor and expect to change out bottles with different colors, have a scrap rug on the floor in case a bottle falls and meets its doom.
Don't use glue to install windows unless you like your finger prints on display.
Always allow a few inches from edge of your benchwork to tracks, its not fun to watch your trains hit the floor.
if you have a tap and matching drill color code them with paint so you will find them again
When using a dremmel metal wire wheel for polishing, hold the work away from you. the wires can jump under your safety glasses, ouch! And use a magnet to clean loose wires up... they have a habit of traveling on shoes and clothes through out the house.
Paint foam only with acrylics, or water base paints, otherwise you will witness the incredible disapearing mountain.
Do all your wood cutting outside, otherwise the dust ruin your layout.
Hang your backdrops, ceiling tiles and lighting before you start scenery and delicate track work.
turn the power off before you root cause any electronic issues!
Rule of thumb: If the same car derails in the same spot its usually the car, if different cars derail in the same spot its usually the track.
always use rubber bands and two nails at the end of unfinished layout tracks, somebody is sure to run past the end of the layout.
no drinks and no food in the layout area!
Keep your tools off of the layout. A rolling tool cart works well here, all projects go on forever, so clean up when your done for the day, before you run your Malley into a hammer left near the tracks.
Do not use Acid core solder for electrical work. Tempting to do because you can solder track very quickly w/o melting ties and with a smaller watt iron, but it will corrode your wires and NS track.
If you have a hunch, buy a bunch: this goes for bulbs, wire, drill bits, scenery supplies, spikes, small screws and springs, switch rods, couplers, decals, paint, etc. cannot tell you how many projects have ended early because of supplies and tools going missing.
Know how long a project takes, if something takes longer than two hours save it for the week-end. Remember that if your not running trains your not having fun, so bigger projects may need to be taken off a layout and worked elsewhere!
Minimize your use of non approved Kitchen tools, this will keep the women folk happy.....
Good Luck!
markpierce wrote: NEVER get off the boat (in case of tigers.)
NEVER get off the boat (in case of tigers.)
Kurtz got out of the boat...(the horror..)
jackn2mpu wrote: Corollary to that: Always wash your hands before going to the bathroom if you've eaten hot peppers.
Or rubbed Vicks Vaporub on your loved one's back
NEVER get in the water (in case of sharks.)
Mark
pcarrell wrote:Never solder above an exposed body part!
Or, never solder wiring while wearing shorts.
Then, from this past weekend: When changing out a light socket for your layout's lighting, be sure to test and turn off the correct circuit breaker before trying to unscrew the house wiring from the terminal screws. (note: I played it safe and turned off all the breakers and tested the wires since I wasn't able to find the breaker for the light I was working on.)
Kevin
http://chatanuga.org/RailPage.html
http://chatanuga.org/WLMR.html
coalminer3 wrote: Good safety tips and comments in this thread. Here's two more1. Carpets eat coupler springs.2. Buy decals and detail parts when you first think you'll need them because they will either be on back order or not made anymore when you do.work safe
Good safety tips and comments in this thread.
Here's two more
1. Carpets eat coupler springs.
2. Buy decals and detail parts when you first think you'll need them because they will either be on back order or not made anymore when you do.
work safe
1. The Kadee and Micro-Mark "Grabbers" for coupler springs work on the bigger O scale springs, too! And Kadee knows the springs will fly off into the Black Holes that occupy the corners of your workshop and under the workbench, so they give you extras--plus you can buy extras.
2. This rule applies to everything! If you spot a tool in a catalog that you know you're gonna need sooner or later--and you have the money now--BUY IT NOW, just in case of the Hammons Rule (Murphy was a piker!): "Opportunity precludes sufficient funds, and vice-versa." (In other words: "If you find the object of your desires, you won't have the cash to buy it, and when you do have the cash, you won't be able to find it!") Don't tempt fate.
When assembling any kit for the first time look to find the single most important parts. Put these in a brightly cover bag in a safe. You might not lose them.
Robert Beaty
The Laughing Hippie
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The CF-7...a waste of a perfectly good F-unit!
Then it comes to be that the soothing light at the
end of your tunnel, Was just a freight train coming
your way. -Metallica, No Leaf Clover
wcu boy wrote:Don't cut atlas track with Xuron rail nippers without a pair of safety glasses on.
Or Kadee "air hoses". I was lucky enough to be wearing safety goggles.....never will cut without them again!
wcu boy wrote:Don't cut atlas track with Xuron rail nippers without a pair of safety glasses on. The remnants of a piece of rail can end up in your eye. I know so. It happened to me and I was lucky not to have lost my vision in my right eye. It was quick task in which I did not think would be an issue without my safety glasses. I am very lucky to not be blind in one eye.
Don't use 'green' lumber to build your benchwork. It WILL warp as it dries out later. I learned the hard way.
Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running BearSpace Mouse for president!15 year veteran fire fighterCollector of Apple //e'sRunning Bear EnterprisesHistory Channel Club life member.beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam
The track nail you just pulled out that flipped out of the pliers will be completely invisible... until you turn on the track power. It will then glow brilliant red as it lays there across the frog it landed on....
When the wisp of smoke catches your eye, don't attempt to brush it away with your bare hand... Hot metal fuses to your fleshy bits and hurts really bad!
Lee
Route of the Alpha Jets www.wmrywesternlines.net
phatkat64 wrote:While you're waiting for your soldering gun to heat up, don't test it with your fingers if you think it isn't getting hot!
Corollary: Don't test the tip of the hot melt glue gun by letting it fall off the table you're working on and onto your legs.
Also: Never wipe away sweat from your face just after gluing something with cyanocrylic adhesive. Corollary to that: Always wash your hands before going to the bathroom if you've eaten hot peppers.
de N2MPU Jack
Proud NRA Life Member and supporter of the 2nd. Amendment
God, guns, and rock and roll!
Modeling the NYC/NYNH&H in HO and CPRail/D&H in N
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
When opening up a new bottle of CA glue, do so away from the work bench or things of value. Two nearly completed loco shells can get sprayed and ruined. Don't ask me how I know, It still hurts. Wearing safety glasses would be a great idea. I was Lucky on that one.
Wyomingrailfan, check your PM.
Dean-58 wrote:Remember, don't have spare drill bits on hand because you'll never break one on a weekend or holiday, when the LHS is closed--right?
Have at least six of the same suitably-sized drills on hand before starting to drill holes for handgrabs on models HO scale and smaller!
Non-vain people (those that don't wear contact lenses) with poor close-up vision (usually due to age) are fortunate in that they must wear glasses to have a clue what they are doing.
Guilford Guy wrote:X-acto knives, and swiss army knives are not substitutes for Screw Drivers!
You must have been desparate to attempt this!
What is the alternative? I've been using this technique for decades with only one shattered jar, fortunately with no bloody effects. However, I've learned that there are instances when the paint is beyond recovery and toss out jars out when "reasonable" pressure on the pliars is insufficient to remove cap from jar.
Carmine, CEO, CE, and Chief Bottle Washer - the Pacific Belt RR, in HO scale
Founded by myself, 1975!
How are we going to get new recruits, when we ourselves are being priced out of the hobby!! Take your trains out of the box and play with them! That's why they were made!
kog1027 wrote: No project is complete until you have shed blood over it.
No project is complete until you have shed blood over it.
If that were true, my layout would have been complete ages ago!
That little detail that fell over on the mountain is ALWAYS going to be 3" from the farthest over that you can reach even on a stepladder.
Tom
Tom View my layout photos! http://s299.photobucket.com/albums/mm310/TWhite-014/Rio%20Grande%20Yuba%20River%20Sub One can NEVER have too many Articulateds!
( This from 15+ years of assembling computers. X-Acto knives are gentle lambs compared to PC Components. )
Mark Gosdin