Not that I skimp on quality mind, I just don't like paying out mega bucks for things I can do myself for very little cost.
I use plastic card quite a lot for buildings and some rolling stock construction and one of the things I find a pain to do is marking out lines parallel to the edge of the sheet before cutting.
Thinking about a way of making the job easier, quicker and more accurate I came up with this.
Made from odds and ends out of my "junk" box this simple marking gauge has found lots of use when marking out Plasticard and even brass sheet. The results are repeatable so marking out quantity parts is a snip. The point scribes a nice score line so when I come to use the craft knife the blade follows the scribed line without wandering off. Great stuff!
Another useful tool I find is a series of sanding blocks.
Just off cuts of ply or softwood with various grades of abrasive papers attached using double sided sticky tape. Just great for squaring up or trimming plastic or brass sheet to size, shaping corners or cleaning up stuff when soldering or gluing together.
More simple home made tools in a future post.
Cheers
Frank
The marking gauge is genius...especially as the blade follows the line...and at a fraction of the cost of a bespoke tool.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your encouragement Iain, much appreciated, The hobby costs enough as it is and making things like this saves both time and money.
DeleteCheers!
Frank
You can use re-ground broken drill bits for making the cutting part of the tool, after all they are made for the purpose!
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