Giles

I've had a phone call from Joanne at Trotec UK, who has been really nice and helpful throughout. She has had a response from Austria (the factory who actually manufacture the ADA stuff) . They have tested it and pronounced it fine - on CO2 lasers - which is what they are now saying it is intended for, and that I was 'lucky' that earlier batches worked with a diode laser. Joanne was rather embarrassed at having to deliver this message. There is no intention to make anything suitable for the diode laser. This means that Trotec is 'out' for the likes of us, which is a great shame, as I used it more than any other material - even down to axles for vehicles. It may be that Rowmark do something we can use, I shall try to look into it, but I'm rather knackered. Do please pass the word to interested parties. Best Giles

I progressively straightened out the footplate, pulling out the cab top strips as I went, until the whole thing was basically the correct shape again. I then laid each side against a flat wooden block and burnished from the inside to smooth out all the wrinkles and dents till everything was smooth again. I used a combination of odd items to burnish, the common denominator being that they were rounded and smooth. Larger in radius where I could get them in, but smaller to get into corners etc. Taking it gently and with a little patience and it gets there......

The fun part was transforming big dents into little dents by burnishing - rather too difficult to get rid of them entirely - but rubbing them out does scale them down!

Next up is Manning Wardle "Jubilee 1987" From the North Wales quarries. An Aganoria kit, which will have one of my own RC chassis underneath it. It's not been an easy build, but worth it. Half way through it took a dive to the floor- after the tank was filled with lead! That surprisingly only took about 40 minutes to repair, once I had calmed down..... Final details such as spectacles, chains etc added, together with some weathering. Ready for the chassis now. It does look big next to Gwynedd, which isn't the smallest Hunslet! This is the last remaining damage from the Great Fall. I had considered making a new back-sheet, which would have been no great thing, but actually I rather liked this bruised and battered panel. It's perhaps not something I would be brave enough to do intentionally, but it being there, I want to keep it. The spectacles are CNCd from 1mm perspex, with a 0.4mm rim on the inside. She's got a very Victorian look to her.

No actually - I came at it from a completely different direction, working it from first principles, as I made an uncoupling device for the magnetic couplings I made for myself, using a single this cam and follower, and repurposed it into this motor. This in turn was inspired by the Walking Man automaton I made last year, which employed a double sided cam with 180 degree offset.

Yeah - but you've got a proper one!

I have a hood over my Emblaser 1, with an in-line fan and flexible hose extracting through what was an air-brick. With that running I do get a smell but not much more - certainly nothing to create dust etc.... running it without any extraction would certainly leave a film of dust over everything - but not the lens.... I never have to clean the lens. In the very early days I did try making an enclosure from a plastic box, and everything inside got filthy - including the lens! (The laser is in the house..... I get away with it....) With an enclosure you need a lot of airflow to prevent any dust from being recirculated - which I think has always been a problem with the E2.

May I ask where you got the matetial from? I regularly use 2mm laser grade MDF from hobarts with no problem, but I bought somewhere of 1mm laser MDF from 4D model shop, and have never been able to cut it!

Trotec have very kindly offered to send me a repeat order - but I've asked them just to send me one sheet so I can try it (from a different batch) which they're putting in the post - so we will see whether that cuts properly or not, as I really don't want them or me to waste materials unnecessarily . My guess is that it won't..... but Trotec are being really good about it. They've forwarded all the information to the factory is Austria for their comment, including what type of laser I'm using, what settings etc....

Just to keep people informed - it seems my email with the batch numbers went astray, so when I phoned them today they said they still needed them! So I've given them over the phone.... The sales team seem to think it's a manufacturing problem, which I find encouraging, but apparently the stuff is manufactured in Austria, so now they have the batch number they are going to contact the factory. During the next contact I shall ask them to send me some samples of any more recent stuff they have.... For info, the dodgy stuff I have is.... The LS401-103 is Lot no. 0401004857169 the LT404-102 is 0101004750102 Hope this helps! Giles

I like an output speed of around 100rpm https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6mm-DC-3V-3-7V-100RPM-Mini-Coreless-Gear-Motor-Micro-Planetary-Gearbox-DIY-Robot/264556809887?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649 It's the receiver that I reprogram (the PWM) to make the motor perform better. Best, Giles

It's on going...... I will phone them again on Monday. Certainly it's an issue that affects more than just me! Yes, ADA signage. I'll post what results I get!

Finally a Jpg file. The narrow gauge is 14mm, with a single spur of 32, which will potentially allow the use of a standard gauge crane - or simply posing! Roads and 32mm come down one side of the river, whilst 14mm comes down the other bank and across. The road will fiddle at a higher level, and descend to the quay side Unusually for me, this layout will involve running round, and for the fun of it, I shall use my own magnetic couplings and my Scotch uncoupling mechanisms.

Sort of - I' ve built up four narrow gauge locos for it (radio control) : a Bagnall, two Pecketts and quarry Hunslet. Ive got round to buying the rail, and I've finally decided on the track plan after so very many hours of working through different ideas and permutations...! The SPARROW(1)(1)(1).pdf

Small lettering is never as easy as one would think, as anywhere the letter thins out - like the middle arm of the 'E' for instance - over heats far too quickly, scorching or melting, where the rest of the letter may be fine. Small holes can create similar difficulties, and it can take a lot of experimentation in cutting path as well as speed and power to achieve a clear hole - certainly never as simple as cutting a circle or square when below a certain size.

Hmmmm. I very much doubt it was your fault - I've never had a problem except sometimes with 1mm, but even that was better than what I'm getting with 0.5mm now. I'll speak to them on Monday. I had bought £150 worth in December, so it's not very pleasing....!

It's supposedly exactly the same stuff..... it's as if the composition has changed slightly.

Oh........ when did you buy yours, Martin?

As an aside, I just tried cutting some components from my latest batch of Trotec ADA, and I can't get a clean cut, try as I might....... It ends up with furry edges. I put a but of my older stuff in, and perfect.... New stuff, rubbish.... I've dropped Trotec an email, but until I find out what's going on, I couldn't recommend the stuff - and I can't make anything!

Yes, I am!

The jab doesn't necessarily stop you from spreading the virus. An excerpt from an article on the BBC "It was 17 June 2009. An 11-year-old boy returned to the US from the UK – and inadvertently brought something with him. Later that week, while attending a religious education programme in Sullivan County, New York, he developed a mysterious swelling of his salivary glands. He had mumps, a respiratory infection spread by contact with droplets in the air. Meanwhile, the religious course continued. The 400 children in attendance spent hours each day engaging in prolonged face-to-face contact – specifically, a kind of Orthodox Jewish education involving facing a study partner, a chavrusa, across a narrow table, while analysing and debating text from the Talmud. By the time the programme ended, 22 others had been infected, along with three adults. As the students went back to their homes, the virus spread to Brooklyn and Rockland County, then on to Ocean County and Orange County. In all, the outbreak lasted a year, and at least 3,502 people developed the disease. When scientists analysed what had happened, they suggested that the chavrusa style of learning might have allowed for "particularly efficient transmission of mumps virus". What might seem most surprising in this case is that the accidental super-spreader had received a full course of the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine. It's likely that he did have some immunity – like the other vaccinated children, he developed relatively mild symptoms with no complications – but he was still able to carry the virus and transmit it to others. In fact, most vaccines don't fully protect against infection, even if they can block symptoms from appearing. As a result, vaccinated people can unknowingly carry and spread pathogens. Occasionally, they can even start epidemics. " It goes on to say that the Covid virus has been engineered primarily to minimise the symptoms of the disease, and the effects on transmission are unknown as yet.

Have gusset plates top and bottom on the flat, slot and tab - so you transition to the flat plane at each end for the connection. This will also beef up the corner joints and set the corner angle nicely if you design it right.

Just an instinctive warning. I note that the number of suppliers of 6mm gearmotors has greatly reduced and the prices have doubled. It may be that the supply is drying up. It might also be due to other global factors, but if you wanted some, now may be the time?

On Denton Brook, the gate is operated via an ESU SwitchPilot Servo Controller (and servo!) which was quite easy to set up.