7mm Pencarrow - Cornish BR(S)

[Osgood]

While you wait for a reply from PC, FWIW I obtained a DeWalt DW088CG laser level - a green light horizontal / vertical type, mainly for outside work (drainage, ditches, et al).
Nice unit, plenty of mounting options (magnetic etc) - stuff inside is gimbal-mounted so can just plonk the case down on a reasonably flat surface.

Red light laser levels can be a fair bit cheaper and fine for internal work, but for outside use green is much easier to see outside, and over much greater distances (check out red v. green laser levels online).
I was hoping for a longer visible range but you find workarounds - even so you might find yourself setting out at dawn or dusk!
This unit emits a horizontal datum line 55mm off the base.

 

[MarkR]

Hi,
Many thanks for your posting, DeWalt DW088CG laser level added to my shopping cart. I always buy DeWalt products when I am able. Thank you also for the green verse red advice.
Mark

 

[Dave Holt]

It's reassuring, in this age of computers and CAD, to see someone else still resorting to paper and pencil to plan before launching into construction. I have extensive files of sketches for all my more recent locos.
Love the bridge developments.

Dave.

 

[simond]

O have extensive files of sketches for all my more recent locos.

I thought you’d gone all poetic, then realised it was probably a typo…

 

[Pencarrow]

It's reassuring, in this age of computers and CAD, to see someone else still resorting to paper and pencil to plan before launching into construction. O have extensive files of sketches for all my more recent locos.
Love the bridge developments.

Dave.

Thanks Dave, I spend many hours at work using a computer and being at the constant mercy of demanding emails, messages and Teams calls. Unless absolutely necessary, I can't bring myself to spend more hours doing hobby stuff on the computer. So, where possible, I revert to old school fag packet sketches. And yes, I have a whole pile of them in my Pencarrow folder. Quite nice to flick through from time to time.

 

[Dave Holt]

I and O keys are next to each other, so fat finger syndrome, plain incompetence or dyslexia - take you pick. Definitely not poetic, but corrected anyway.
Dave.

 

[Pencarrow]

Hi Paul,
Can you recommend a laser level and digital level. I have a garden fence to put up in the spring!
Many thanks.
Mark

Hi Mark

Didn't immediately realise you were asking me (Chris)!

The Digital level I have is this one. The link is to Amazon but it's available from many places. Unlike some cheaper models, it seems to get consistently good reviews and is accurate enough for my needs. It's magnetic on the base, so will attach to a long metal spirit level for improved accuracy.

https://amzn.eu/d/iexIsYp



I see you're sorted for the laser level. Mine was a reasonably cheap buy, but by luck, is green rather than red light. It does have a great range and has been used for house, garden and modelling. If I'd known how much use it was I'd have bought one with more mounting options, perhaps the DeWalt.

 

[NHY 581]

Hi Mark

Didn't immediately realise you were asking me (Chris)!

The Digital level I have is this one. The link is to Amazon but it's available from many places. Unlike some cheaper models, it seems to get consistently good reviews and is accurate enough for my needs. It's magnetic on the base, so will attach to a long metal spirit level for improved accuracy.

https://amzn.eu/d/iexIsYp

View attachment 233249

I see you're sorted for the laser level. Mine was a reasonably cheap buy, but by luck, is green rather than red light. It does have a great range and has been used for house, garden and modelling. If I'd known how much use it was I'd have bought one with more mounting options, perhaps the DeWalt.

Thanks, Rodney.

Dave.

 

[Pencarrow]

Thanks, Rodney.

Dave.

Good morning to you too!

 

[Pencarrow]

Hi,
Many thanks for your posting, DeWalt DW088CG laser level added to my shopping cart. I always buy DeWalt products when I am able. Thank you also for the green verse red advice.
Mark

Just been looking on various locations, including a well known auction site, for a three plane laser level for some future planned works. An incredible number of models available with DeWalt logos which then say in the very small print "unbranded" or similar. Slightly surprised that a big company like DeWalt hasn't taken action against these blatant knock offs. (And with prices of £100 Vs £300+ they are definitely knock offs!)

 

[MarkR]

Didn't immediately realise you were asking me (Chris)!

Hi Chris,
Many thanks for your recommendations,
I thought it might have been the Trend product, how added to my Amazon basket.
Please accept my apologies for using the wrong name!
Best regards
Mark

 

[Pencarrow]

Hi Chris,
Many thanks for your recommendations,
I thought it might have been the Trend product, how added to my Amazon basket.
Please accept my apologies for using the wrong name!
Best regards
Mark

No probs.

 

[Osgood]

Hi Chris,
Many thanks for your recommendations,
I thought it might have been the Trend product, how added to my Amazon basket.

Well isn't that just dandy - another tool I hadn't realised I needed

 

[Pencarrow]

Doesn't look like I've done much, other than stick some polystyrene sheet on the board to start building up the levels around the bridge, but...





Getting this far this morning has involved:
- exactly positioning the far abutment
- realigning the rear buildings horizontally - they are now parallel to the rear track which meant taking 15mm off the rear of the RHS
- finalising the vertical level of the end building - it has been raised 15mm
- working out the location and width of the alleyway running around the buildings
- sorting out how much the road will drop away at the rear, and the embankment profile

Bit of a 3D puzzle.

 

[mickoo]

Just been looking on various locations, including a well known auction site, for a three plane laser level for some future planned works. An incredible number of models available with DeWalt logos which then say in the very small print "unbranded" or similar. Slightly surprised that a big company like DeWalt hasn't taken action against these blatant knock offs. (And with prices of £100 Vs £300+ they are definitely knock offs!)

Well I picked up the same level as yours and angle indicator, yes they're cheap and perhaps don't have the attachement point others have but they work for me too.

Tried the level in the back garden in sunlight and it did everything I needed to do, but like you it showed that pretty much everything else wasn't so kind of seems a mute point using one to make something that shows up everything else that's out.

Encouragingly the house brick courses are level....or they used the same level way back when it was built, that's a relief as we feared one corner was sinking due to the sandy ground we have around here, there are cracks in the mortar but no massive shift.

All in all a happy camper just no need to find the time to use them for their intended usage, aka the train set.

 

[Pencarrow]

And we continue with the stonework. The lefthand side buttress tarty stone is going on and the Wills infill progressing. I'm also trying to show that the girder bridge was a later addition with a degree of bodgery in the wall between the buttresses.




Hopefully the different finish of stone in the top left triangle is noticeable. The Wills has been sanded down a bit and re-roughed up again (solvent and a wire brush). Will be painted a slightly different shade to emphasize the difference.





And the fiddle yard side is also seeing stonework spreading too.



Some bits are waiting for the odds and sods leftover bits of Wills. Better using up the scraps than new sheets.

Just ordered 6 more packets, so that's 24 more sheets to work through. Seems a lot but there's 8 sheets already on the bridge so far. Used to be £2.50 a pack, but now anything between £6 and £8, with some places adding £4 postage too. Got a 'bargain' from a model shop - 6 packs for £32.

 

[Osgood]

Can we read anything into your use of Wills rather than Slaters stone sheets?

 

[Pencarrow]

Can we read anything into your use of Wills rather than Slaters stone sheets?

Yes, the Slaters sheets are either very flat or very regular and don't really look anything like rugged Cornish stonework. The Wills coarse stone sheets are the closest I can find without resorting to scribing. I've used Slaters in a few situations, but to me, the majority of their stone sheets just don't look like stone.

Edit, the other reason is that the Wills sheets are quite 'robust'. This makes cutting to size a bit more testing but it also means they can take a lot of abuse. And by abuse I mean 'customising' - sanding, reshaping, altering the coursing, adding filler etc. By using these techniques you can end up with something that doesn't immediately look like Wills coarse stone.

 

[Osgood]

Understood, thanks!