Just Between You, Me, and the Bingo Card: Life Lessons from the Assisted Living Facility

I miss the CHOO- Choo Layout stuff!

 

i could understand the trains lol.

 

Sorry to disappoint. I find this particular hobby more challenging and relaxing at the moment.
Sometimes the trains are dormant for years. That last go around in here was after a 12 year hiatus.
As it gets warmer, these will be shelved and the bikes/camper/fishing poles will get some love.
Then hunting season rolls around. It's a vicious cycle.

 

i've always wanted an outdoor train like this My backyard train layout #ogauge #modeltrains #backyardoasis #mancave #mancaveideas #woodworking - YouTube

 

That 3 rail would be easy to do. Those are pretty durable as well. Good father/daughter project.
If mine and the neighbors dogs weren't constantly trying to knock the fence over, I would have done this years ago.

 

Design/Machine/Build tiny engines all day? Yes please.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVbr6ehp3wc

 

Made a legit belt, 4mm, and picked up a new pulley.
Same outer diameter of 32mm, but the groove will sit the belt closer to the shaft, so should increase speed a small amount. The belt is some kind of urethane that is super easy to work with. Cut to length, melt the ends slightly with a candle, lighter, soldering gun, then press and hold together for a few minutes until it sets. Was just like splicing paracord. Has a small amount of stretch to it.
Was like $8 for 16'.

And made some accessories. Small fan because it's cool and a bore scope.
Fan base is Rosa Peroba hardwood and the bore scope is a landing skid from a helicopter.

 

because i dont need to be saving for a pony??

 

no, you still gotta get the pony.

 

The little dynamo's were cute and made me realize that less is more.
So the mock up board has just become the board. Really happy i didn't need to make a bigger one. The modular design works perfect.
Running 3 dynamo's to power a small fan and LED was ridiculous and way too much going on.
So in the box of RC shit, I found a motor that had low spinning resistance and was big enough to look like it belonged. Fitted a small brass drum pulley to it to keep with the theme.

Made a bracket and did this.

Decided the board didn't need to be that big anymore, and did this.

This is pretty much the finished product. The CV drive is just for looks atm. It can still spin something, but until i find a suitable water pump, it's just there.
The single DC motor puts out enough voltage to run the fan just fine and overdrive the LED which promptly flickered and went dim when the engine was cranked up to it's fastest. So at idle or mid rpm, it'll be fine. It's easy enough to replace the bulb.

Section of 1" copper pipe, cut down the side fit perfect over the motor. Just for dress up.

Of course I got marks all over my new bracket trying to center the flat belt. It is very touchy.
Had to tighten it down, then used a crescent wrench to "adjust" it.
It stays on riding on either end of the drum, but I WANT IT CENTERED.


And addressed the fan. It got a big boy set of blades. Looks like it serves a purpose now and not just for blowing dandelion seeds.
Tail rotor of another helicopter. Moves a bit more air now.
Doesn't spin with enough force to nick ya, I tried, it just stops.
Edit: also added three .45 caliber lead balls to the fan base, it wanted to blow over.

 

This might could easily power the Z scale train.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qgD6k3hcVA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fc054Up6qOE

 

New project. The little SAM h&m needs a cooling fan. It is too under powered to run a dynamo and it would be cluttered worse than mom's basement.
This may be a bit intricate for such a simple thing.

And it spins the wrong way with a pulley, so direct drive off the flywheel.
Maybe a bracket off the cylinder screws. Set the bearings, make a drum to hit the flywheel...
Carbon fiber rod, used to be part of a tailshaft asembly on a helicopter. Prolly where the blade came from on the fan from above.

Still need enough room for my fat fingers to start the thing without flinging the fan across the room.

 

Maybe this will tide you guys over for a few.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TH_kAxAjhsg
The green locomotive won't run with the generator. i think it's because it has an incandescent headlamp, draining the power from the motor. There aren't too many amps to play with here, it ran fine on a power pack.
The little switcher has no light.

 

Now that gave me another idea. Running a train is way better than some stupid fan.
Will need thicker plywood, and if the groundhog sees it shadow, it may be completed before the spring of deception.
Maybe I'll call it the Flywheel Short Line.

 

https://www.enginediy.com/
Put a jet turbine on that baby

 

Home Depot has shitty wood.
Bought a board and put a border around the board. Plywood is still expensive, 1/2" pine was in the budget.
Flywheel is centered end to end, but not side to side.

I'll prolly mind fuck this for an hour, moving it just a tad each way until i find just the perfect spot.

 

This may not take that long. Got the little fan on it drying the midwest prairie. Next is to paint the center outline black, then ballast the track. A few rocks and bushes, some greener patches of living grass and maybe wild flowers and it'll be done.

 

Decided to throw up some mother nature while the whole thing is wet and leave the engine set on it overnight so hopefully the board doesn't warp. I'll paint and ballast tomorrow. This will be my first attempt at ballast for the Z scale.

 

Lighting sucks today. Contrast isn't the best, I only have the brown and a small bag of gray to mix together in the fine ballast. It's slightly heavier than dust, but behaves pretty well.

 

That's enough train for this year. There is one slightly troublesome spot, and of course it shows. I spent a couple hours trying to find out why just that spot is fucked. Flex track is so much better than snap track. But now the original Z scale train I bought has a place to show it's stuff. The green one will run after all I found out, it just needs maximum current to move at all. Maybe a larger pulley off the engine will get the higher generator rpm's needed and keep the gas engine at a more respectable speed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nViEDMFc6ls