There are only two screws to undo to release the lead and three soldered connections. Rivets are half etched on the back of the plates. The method is simple enough, clamp the boards together and screw a hinge on the front and back. Mach3 is probably the most popular controller, simple to use at a basic level but also with great depth of features if you need them. Soldering irons are pretty simple tools - just an element in the end of a lead really. A second iron is required for the fix as you have to unsolder the wires from the old element and solder the new one in. But as Sheet Metal Screws can’t bear to throw things away when they can be fixed I ordered a replacement element for 12 quid from Squires and carefully disassembled the iron to replace it. However, nothing lasts forever and my iron packed up. Much to my surprise the 50 watt iron was man enough to attach the beams to the brass footplate.



Machine Screws would work but take longer. Centering it up allows the computer to take any mechanical misalignments present into account. Apart from the fun of writing this stuff, now I have enough of an archive it’s fun to take a look back and see what I was doing a year ago. After carefully putting everything back together a quick test showed all was well and the tool can return to the exhibition box to resume its travels around the country. Anyway, three of us managed to haul the roof panels back into place. Anyway, with the roof secured more solidly than it ever has been, we waited for the wood to dry. The wood was mostly OK at the roof line. On Saturday morning I looked out of the window and noticed that one of the sheds had lost its roof. My rivet press only goes up to 7mm rivets and these looked to be man sized versions. We have implemented the parallel gripper rivet injector on headed rivets, threaded bolts, ribbed swage bolts and unheaded (slug) rivets. It’s an Antex 25W model which I have customised (“pimped” for the MTV generation) with a 8ft long power lead. Here’s a hint. If you want to see a model railway show and have the space to circulate, ask questions and generally enjoy the event in a relaxed manner, go just after lunch on Sunday.

“How about safety? It’s dangerous to travel in space! Self-Drilling Screws how much difference this makes when you struggle to re-solder a switch blade to a tiebar in front of a crowd impatient to see trains run again. Despite it having no track it’s being attached in the same way we’ve attached baseboards to each other for nearly 20 year. Even in Countersunk screw is good enough to sort out all the track alignment which is good news to someone who started his modelling career helping with layouts where 10 minutes alignment at every joint was common. A matter of minutes work but a show stopper if you are fixing the only soldering device you have. Another time I'd consider drilling and soldering a brass pin in the hole to get the size as even these are a bit wimpy. What I hoped is that the heat transfer from the edge soldering would have activated the tinning. I tinned the top and bottom a little and then clamped them together using some clips and ran solder round the edge. These are 12-24. There's a little relief cut in there.

He’d has some success with good but reasonably priced Newtonians, but it was obvious SCTs were the wave of the future, and John decided his little company, not far from the kitchen table stage, would make one. Next day found me climbing around on the roof with a newly charged Bosch screwdriver/drill and some good sharp decking screws from Homebase - hand hint the Focus ones are rubbish whereas Homebase screws go in like a knife through butter. I suppose I ought to try and say something profound but that would just be rubbish or turn into a rant and I have at least one of those lined up for the future anyway. A big (50W) iron, lots of flux and taking things slowly did the job - at least they haven't fallen apart yet ! This December our exhibition is taking on a whole new persona. It you are really unlucky it will shred the whole thing. While I probably pack too many tools when I go to an exhibition, there are some that I definitely wouldn’t go without. The movement of the building while I was on it didn't help either.