I've been itching to lay down the last of the railroad track around our yard for a very long time. First we had to finish the house and establish the grades in the yard. Then we got Becke's modular home on the property and had to readjust the grades in that area. Once that was done the wonderful weather of summer made it far too warm to do the heavy work of laying track. The fall has been super busy to date but today it was finally time to begin the task. The first order of business was to build a new rail bender as my first attempt worked but the home made tool was a little light for the task and was starting to deform badly as it takes a great deal of force to bend a rail and I had under engineered the tool. We acquired the CNC plasma cutter since my last attempt and that made the task a whole lot easier and quicker! I designed the files on the computer and then let the machine do the cutting from the half inch steel plate. A little grinding, fitting and a bunch of welding completed the task in less than two hours from start to finish. The result is a very sturdy rail bending jig. I'll hook up the hydraulic cylinder tomorrow and start bending some rail. I'll post a video of that tomorrow.
Concept drawing - the old fashioned way
The last big job I designed 'the old fashioned way' (drawn by hand on paper) was back in the late 90's. In those days I would draw my idea with a technical pen and then have it copied with a black and white laser copier. I would then colour the copy using transparent inks and a brush. The results were wonderful but the process was laborious. Mistakes meant I had to start over again as did revisions to the design. When it came time to do the presentations it was another trip to the colour photo copiers in town. If the person behind the counter knew their stuff I got excellent copies but if not then I had to make do with what I got. It was a very expensive and time consuming process. Now the process is a whole lot simpler. I still do all my drawing by hand these days but now it is done with a digital pencil on my computer using an iPad as an interface. The process is a whole lot quicker and changes are instant. There is a colour printer on my desk to create my presentations at any scale I wish in an instant. I love the new ways a whole lot better!
Spectacular fall view
Fall is absolutely beautiful where we live and today was a particularly spectacular fall day. This afternoon after work I looked out the dining room window towards the shop and was struck by the fall colours on the mountain behind it. I had already been enjoying the view as I mowed the lawn this afternoon. I couldn't resist grabbing this picture with my phone. There's five more great days in the weatherman's forecast. I'll be enjoying them for winter is soon on the way.
