Dickey

[snapped_bolt]

   OK

     Looking for basic dimensions of the Dickey enginehouse- maybe window details, roof vent placement? It is present on my plan- I need to get to the cutting of lumber!
     

     I am also wondering if anyone out there has a laser that can cut the trim boards for the depot- the ones with the ornamental cutouts. I could probably find a ticket punch to do it. but my wrists don't like the idea!!!

      Thanks!

           Stan

[Rick Steele]

Dillon had no engine house.

Do you mean Dickey?

Rick

[Jim Courtney]

Stan,

I think you had a typo. There was never an engine house at Dillon.

I think you are referring to Dickey. Check Mike Blazek's plans for the Dickey depot and engine house:
http://blazeksplan.com/

He also has plans for the sand house, each set $16-18.00.

[snapped_bolt]

   Heh...

     I often find myself swapping the two stations in Google searches...


         corrected


             Stan

[Todd A Ferguson]

Stan, I have the laser but the last time I tried to turn it on it wouldn't initialize fully...possibly an internal controller computer issue.  Need to talk to Universal Laser I guess.

Best,
Todd

[snapped_bolt]

 Hi Todd,

    I am wondering if your laser could be alternatively driven with a PC. Is there an interface? Update through their website?


       Cheers

         Stan

[Todd A Ferguson]

Stan, actually the laser is not much more than an old pen style plotter.  With the laser you set the focus by raising or lowering the table. Then the mobile mirror moves in the X and Y axis.  It is all really pretty simple.  The colors in the design are associated with a power output level.  So a red line might be set to cut through 1/32" basswood and a blue line may be set to just burn or etch 10 thousandths into the wood surface.  Nothing more sophisticated than a $50 2D CAD software is need to draw what you want to cut for modeling.

I do use an old PC to download the file to the laser from the "printing" like user interface. Once downloaded to the laser it can be printed as many times as you like or you can download different files and use the menu system on the laser to select which file to "print".  But when you turn in the laser machine it goes though an initalization routine moving mirror in the X and Y range and returning to the defined start position. It also starts the onboard menu system, etc.  This what is not working on my machine right now.

My machine was built in about 1998 and probably was $20-25k new.  But it is and has been a dinosaur by the standards of even a few years ago.  Prices have come down a lot and new features are available that my machine doesn't have.  I got the machine in trade for some woodworking equipment I didn't want to move to North Carolina in 2005.  It is fun to play with and can be useful for model building.  It is especially handy if you need multiples of something as you can just run as many as you desire.  Materials are fairly inexpensive.

If you can draw your parts in 2D CAD you can find a service to cut stuff, perhaps even locally.  I have a laser cutting shop about a mile from where I live...  I don't know what costs for cutting a job are but I expect they are cheaper than ever.  15-20 years ago I believe it was about a $1 per minute of laser time.  But many model parts can be cut in a few minutes even on an old machine like mine.  New machines are better and faster with more powerful lasers and other features such as air assist for cooling the cut and auto focus.

I suspect that my issue might be a built in computer or controller issue.  Many computers from the late 90s to early 2000s had issues with capacitors going bad over time.  But I am just speculating until I talk with the manufacturer.