Blood, sweat and sawdust

Today I completed the sawing apart of the modules that will form the core of G&M Junction. Last weekend the batteries of my drill had run empty drilling holes for the jigsaw and by the time they were charged again it was too dark and too cold.
I had some problems today which surprised me a bit. It turned out it was more difficult to make a vertical cut through the horizontal piece of plywood that forms the top than I expected. Wasted 2 sawblades on it. Also, the plywood has internal layers that are much harder than the outer onces, complicating matters. I didn't manage to saw in a straight line but that isn't as much of a problem I hope as it sounds as there will be new endplates that have to be affixed to the sawcut.

Also, some nails vibrated loose and I didn't see one in time so I opened the skin of a thumb on one. Needless to say the offending pieces of metal are now history...

I layed out the pieces on my balcony as I intend to use them and used the parts that once where the lower half as stand in for the new segments. I will try to use those pieces first before I build new segments. Money is scarce so it's worth a try.

To do:
- buy and attach new endplates.
- concurrent with the above, remove some material from existing endplates.
- remove material from the sides.
- track and electrics.
- remove material from the top plate where the tracks won't be.
- build the (boring) scenery: a few trees, a road crossing the railroad and another paralleling it and lots and lots of corn and grassy fields mainly.

Oh, and find a way to upload the pictures I took so you all get an idea what I'm talking about. Can't find the software that came with my digital camera (bought it all the way back in december 2008) and I have never used it on this laptop...

Lessons learned:
- 9 mm plywood is plenty strong enough, these modules were build back in 2009 and were otherwise still sound, despite being stored on their endplates since 2011 and my less than perfect construction methods.

- Pay attention when buying plywood. Hardwood is HARD.

- I need a better work environment when working on large items or doing rough work like sawing.

- SAFETY FIRST! I need to buy new safety glasses as I couldn't find the ones I have and flying sawdust is no fun. Not to mention things that could have happened with a nail coming loose enough to fly away.

- And yes, old modules CAN be taken apart and the parts rearranged to make a different module.

- I CAN DO IT

I started G&M Junction

De kop is er af, that is what we say in Dutch if we have started something, literally the head is off. No pictures yet but the first Fremo america-N module is now on a diet and has had the bottom half taken off. The ony reason the other module hasn't been done to that state yet is the fact that I ran out of battery power so couldn't drill more holes so the jigsaw could be used.

The lower half weighs ~700 grams and the top hald still weighs ~2100 grams.

Still to do:

- cutting at a diagonal

- remove more material to save even more on weight, including on top as the modules had a plate on top.

- New ends

- extra support for when I'm cutting through the top plate.

- glue polystyrene to the sides to hide the holes and less than perfect sawcuts.

And of course to lay track, wire everything and build the landscape. But those are other stages. 

Oh well, tomorrow is another day for doing a little bit.

Todos los dias un poco

Every day a little bit isn't just my motto for this year but I actually try to live by it. Today I put up 2 segments of an Ikea Ivar 30 cm deep storage system. Looking at the planks I put in somewhat randomly, I decided to measure the heigth. Turns out the levels are as follows:
- 50 cm
- 82 cm
- 114 cm
- 146 cm
- 180 cm

Both standing, 114 & 146 cm and seated, 82 & 114 cm, the levels were visibe. The 30 cm difference in heigth was pleasing. However, there is a connection between the posts at 119 cm so in practice the 114 cm level would have to be 120 cm high.

More tryouts are of course needed, including both trains and mockups of modules made out of cardboard. But a beginning for a homelayout in whatever shape it will take is there.