Giles

Using Autocad (which I use every day) I saved this little file of bricks in - DXF 2004 - which the various programs appear to like, and I had success! I imported a bit of brickwork with no trouble, didn't quite realise I had to select it a 'vectors', but did that eventually,then had a go at engraving (2mm MDF) the slight bit on the left you can see was too much - 5mm/sec at 100% , and very nearly burnt through (there are scorch marks on the other side) the one you can see all of is 10mm/sec at 100%, and is perhaps still a little deep..... (This is a 4W laser). This was all done with one pass. I'm chuffed.

Thank you Gents - DXF 2004 certainly does the trick! I imported a bit of brickwork with no trouble, didn't quite realise I had to select it a 'vectors', but did that eventually,then had a go at engraving (2mm MDF) the slight bit on the left you can see was too much - 5mm/sec at 100% , and very nearly burnt through (there are scorch marks on the other side) the one you can see all of is 10mm/sec at 100%, and is perhaps still a little deep..... (This is a 4W laser) I'm chuffed.

Plus of course shipping and duty - but non the less..... I suspect it's the cheapest genuinely usable and useful laser. It will certainly etch brickwork into MDF (and then cut it out - eventually!)

Absolutely - this is an A4 Emblazer, from Darklylabs, based in Australia Probably the only affordable - but usable - desktop laser cutter on the market. It's got a 4W diode laser at the business end, and comes in kit form (it took me four hours to put it together) https://darklylabs.com/emblaser-overview/ It's certainly well designed in engineering terms, and good value for money, in my opinion. It's no competitor to the 40W CO2 lasers as far as production speed is concerned, but it's a fraction of the price, and takes a fraction of the space.

Perhaps, when I've learned how to drive the damn thing...... Thus far I've had no luck importing anything from autocad - it's going to be a hard learning curve. - but at least I know the hardwares's fine.....

We now have a little desk-top laser which is going to be extremely useful, and provide hours of endless fun!

Well - I've just spent four hours assembling this laser (I'm sure it could be done quicker - but one does want to be careful). It went without a hitch, except the belt instructions weren't quite right, and were referring to the OTHER belt first! But is was no problem.... Anyway, on completion, following the instructions, plugged it all in (frankly expecting nothing to happen) but did everything - and blow me - the thing did a test cut from a down loaded program perfectly! Although this is only a thick card, it is a beautiful cut straight off. It must be said, this is a cracking little machine, and I'm delighted with it before it's done anything useful!

....and it's arrived!

..... DHL have just texted and emailed me to say that it's out for delivery by the end of the day..... No demands for payment.

I'm rather half-heartedly expecting mine tomorrow - I had an email a week ago with a scheduled delivery date, but I've not heard anything since (not even about duty!)

I love the information - and it's incredibly useful - but I hate the b******y spider....... (My one phobia)

I gather it needs tank overlays fitting to be correct for GWR, and therefore would require reprinting anyway - which is why the GW green is not one of the base options. I stand correction, but I think they are including the necessary overlays.

Very nice job indeed! It has a 'depth' to it which is very pleasing!

I should have added the companion shot. My lovely wife gave me a camera for Christmas - a Canon G7X, and I love it! These were at about 0.4 second exposure, stopped down as far as I could go on an overcast day.

Thank you - I've always liked these little things.....

A lilttle something found in a corner or Wales.... (0-14)

Thank you Chris - you are, as as always - a Gentleman.

Finally finished this Wren apart from weathering and couplings (which I'll do later). I'll write this one up in NG&IR with Roy's indulgence. It's about as small as I'm capable of building, and was having quite enough trouble seeing what was going on. How these chaps can see to do 4mm beats me!

In the past, when I've needed to teach point blades 'manners', I've cut a couple of nickel silver strips to make fish-plates, drilled them in the four bolt positions, and then drilled through the rails using one of them as a jig (drilling one at a time...). I put short lengths of N/s wire through the holes and soldered them to the fish plates, thus restraining the switch rail (and also replicating 'fish-plates' and bolts at the same time). Just a thought, should it happen again.

Thank you for that very useful info! Whilst I'm waiting, I ordered a very few sheets of thin Ply and MDF from https://hobarts.com two I can experiment when the time comes.....

Jonathan - thank you very much!! I'll give them a call..... (Yippee...!)

Blimey! I now need to find where I can buy 'Rowmark' (and what kind of Rowmark it is - as they produce all sorts of plastics) in the UK so I can do 'plasticard' stuff as well...... I earn my living as an engineering designer and consultant, and often have to come up with strange linkages and whatnot- so I'm looking forward to being able to make little proving models for myself and Clients...

You're a bad influence on me.... I was showing a video of this to my wife (together with the Glowforge) - and she said 'which one are we going to get...?' So I've just ordered an A4 Emblazer to see how we get on with it. If we love it and use it a lot, we can always upgrade. The Glowforge relies on the Cloud, which always worries me (I do prefer things to be stand-alone, rather than being dependent on a 3rd party to work), although if it turns out to do what it says on the packet, it will be a cracking machine!

You should certainly buy yourself a Fowler..... But be aware, the Heljan 37's can scrub up very nicely too!

That really is great! Excellent results..... The glowforge looks extraordinary, but I see it's not actually there yet....... Interestingly, I see it's a CO2 laser, and not a diode laser -which is great for outright power, but less so for life-span? Keep posting!