Another view.
Large pieces of glass are a challenge to solder together, but it's coming along.
Bought a used table router from the tool guy at one of our weekend markets. All set up and works like a charm. Now I'll easily be able to cut grooves in longer wooden case bases.
This display will feature operational CN 8100 and Illinois Central 1021.
Morning coffee, Bad Company playing on the box, and a five foot long piece of padauk for another large stained glass display. Designing a five foot ultra modern glass case for this project. I'll post pictures when major sections are complete.
All twelve unboxed and they look great.
Amazing detail.
My new Rapido CN 3800 cu ft hoppers have arrived - all 12 road numbers! Going to make a few beautiful display cases for them in the near future.
Alterior motive for the chicken case, my wife will hopefully let me buy more train stuff. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more.
And my wife likes my train cases so much, I made her one for two of her antique chickens. So these cases are becoming popular around our house.
Although I have made six cases for trains, I have made or am making others for other items of interest like my mineral collection - this is dog-tooth calcite from my hikes near Cambridge, Nova Scotia.
The plastic tree stems for the gypsum side of the display can be given more character by splitting the circular bases then using my torch to partially melt and bend all the branches and roots. You can see the effect in this picture.
Six small stained glass cases have been completed for some of my HO scale model trains. I am making many more but most will be similar to the ones I posted here. The last item I will complete in this thread is the large Nova Scotia/Alberta display.
BATMAN This may be a dumb question as I am no Geologist. Could you drill a hole in the crystal up through the bottom and put the light inside the crystal?
This may be a dumb question as I am no Geologist. Could you drill a hole in the crystal up through the bottom and put the light inside the crystal?
Yes if the crystal is significantly thicker than the LED's lateral dimension. Unfortunately, selenite crystals are usually too thin
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
Last application of fall static grass to the large display case.
All great ideas I'll have to explore. Thanks Randy.
Yeah, definitely has to do with the crystal shape and/or alignment in gypsum crystals (frankly, I had no idea gypsum formed clear crystals until seeing this thread). The light seems to scatter much more than it does when beamed through glass or clear acylic. The difference based on wavelength makes a lot of sense and gives some clues to the crystal structure.
Two other things that might produce interesting results - an IR LED (one of these days I need to get some) and an ordinary incandescent bulb (so you have a broad spectrum light going in - not a white LED).
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Well this little experiment shows promise. If I adjust the angles of incidence to the macroscopic sample and/or the crystalline planes, and choose the best wavelength (green to start) I may be able to light up the signs from within (i.e below). Thanks for this question !
And green. This wavelength seems to penetrate deeper into the upper part of the crystal To show the NS.
Amber.
And blue.
Here is red at normal incidence to the bottom of the crystal.
Hmm, guess that's a property of gypsum crystal - with other materials like plastic (acrylic anyway) and glass, if you project light in from an edge and then carve something in from the top (right angles to the light path), the refraction at the 'flaw' makes the carving glow. Before 7 segment LEDs there were a series of edge lit numeric displays used in test gear that used this.
Here is the light in front of the crystal.
rrinker Hmm, I wonder what an LED directly under that gypsum crystal would look like, with the text carved in. --Randy
Hmm, I wonder what an LED directly under that gypsum crystal would look like, with the text carved in.
I have played around with lighting the crystal. If the LED is in front of the crystal it can be read and looks nice. Problem with white or yellow light projected inside the crystal is that the entire crystal glows and the white text disappears. I haven't tried other LED colours but I like your idea so I'll try some - lots of colours in my electronics collection.
chutton01 Old School, I know you normally don't respond directly, but just in case - have you considered embedding the batteries in the wood base?Also, what's on the background shelves in the previous daylit image - rock samples? Vases? other fun stuff?
Old School, I know you normally don't respond directly, but just in case - have you considered embedding the batteries in the wood base?Also, what's on the background shelves in the previous daylit image - rock samples? Vases? other fun stuff?
I have thought of it and would embed the battery pack in the wood on the bottom side and switch mounted on the wood back if I was making a case for someone else. We have a large curio cabinet that my wife is letting me have - over 6' high. I can fit several display cases on each of the six glass shelves. Eventually the display cases will all be wired together with one switch lighting them all.
The background shelves are full of some of my wife's antique porcelain chickens. Good thing we don't live in a seismically active zone. Two of the chickens are special - they were in a kitchen scene in a Tom Sellick movie, filmed here in Nova Scotia.