The next installment is up. This time we put on some zee and angle, to rough out the rest of the car end.
Hi all,
I’ve been lurking here off and on for a while and following progress on this thread. I would like to get involved with a couple of cars but I think the cost to post the acrylic to South Australia may be prohibitive. Perhaps, Bob,if you could you post the sizes of the pieces you have had cut out and I can try to scource the stuff locally. It may still be a case of having it shipped out if the costs here are exhorbitant.
Thanks,
Dave
when you guys finish up…will you post a complete list (I have seen a few that were said to be almost complete) of extras needed…my scrap bin consist of wood products…prod numbers, style, size, amount needed, etc…would rock…it’ll prob be 6mo+ before I get started (and that is a low number)
thanks
cale
Cale, Bob posted a parts list in the article itself.
I just ordered my 1:20.3 rulers from scalecard he told me he is getting low on rulers so call soon if you want one
Sorry the next installment is late in getting done. I’ve been pretty busy with work and other stuff. Ill get to it this weekend.
Anyone making progress yet?
My stuff isn’t here yet but I’ve been reading along as you write. I figure when it gets here and I start, your explanation will make far more sense as it’s had time to soak in…
If I were working along live I would be fixing quite a few “Senior Moments”. 
I’ve done a bit of updating on page 7, the car ends. I’ve added the wood piece on the end. I’m also framing out the next two pages, which deal with the car sides and roof. I hope to have photos of that up a bit later today.
Bob,
Finally getting caught up now that my mill is finally done. I had built the basic box earlier and have just now finished the frame and cross members section. Very nice instructions and the pictures are great. It’s neat to see my own model match the pictures. (OK, maybe I’m a little off. 
)
One thing I’d recommend is to mark the bottom piece BEFORE you build the basic box. The sides tend to get in the way of accurate measurements. (Yeah, that must be why mine is a bit off! ) It’s not critical, just easier.
I’m really enjoying building this; I hope I’m not alone! Has anyone else started yet?
Now, on page 6, the end beams, it says to use some .010 or .020 for the top piece; how about the end piece? No size is mentioned. And, should that be cut for the coupler now, before it’s glued on? Or do you have something else in store for us?
Now, the only other thing is that it gets a little awkward to navigate through the pages. Maybe the first page could have the major topic headings so you could jump right to the appropriate page? It’s a few clicks to get to page 7, for instance.
So, there I was putting these little 5/16 x 3/8 spacers on the end beams. One side fits great. The other they stick out. What’s going on? I measured right - these things were pretty dang close to the same size. And I had checked and re-checked the 3/8" overhang for the floor beams.
It didn’t dawn on me until I was ready to put some .020 stuff across them and I noticed a gap!
Remember back on page 3 of building the basic box? “There may be some overlap of the side. Thats OK, we’ll remove that in the future.”
Well, you should probably even up things as soon as you finish the basic box. It had been awhile since I did the box, so I had just plain forgot to do this. The future is now.
Ill fix up the end beam stuff. its .060 (or .062), and, yep, I forgot to go back and file down the end overlap. Youre right! The coupler will get cut out after we mount the trucks. Depending on your coupler height, the end beam may be cut slightly differently. Stay tuned!
Interesting about the navigation. I havent had many multi-page articles, so the nav problems hadnt shown up till now.
Of course what I would really like is a PDF - or something that would just take fewer sheets. I could probably go with smaller pictures; I like having them, but don’t need much more than a reminder. But, that will have to wait until you’ve completed everything. I guess I’m just thinking ahead for when I build a few more. Anyway, that’s sort of a nit.
I finished the wood and angles on page 7 tonight. Again, I must congratulate Bob on his excellent instructions and pictures. This is a neat and fun project.
Bruce Chandler said:That's a good idea Bruce. I'm not able to build along at the moment so I was planning on printing and saving the article when it's done. Making it into a PDF would be even better.
Of course what I would really like is a PDF - or something that would just take fewer sheets. [i][/i] I finished the wood and angles on page 7 tonight. Again, I must congratulate Bob on his excellent instructions and pictures. This is a neat and fun project.
I have the tools to do it and would be happy to share the completed PDF. I’d include this thread as well as it addresses some questions. It might take some prodding to get me to do it, but feel free to remind me 
Jon
Jon, you finished with that PDF yet?
Maybe I should have waited a day or two before I reminded him 
I am planning on a PDF when Im done tweaking the instructions. I’ll get feedback from you all, and include any comments in the instructions, then convert it to a PDF.
With the snow here today, I should have time to finish up the next couple of pages this weekend!
Bob needs feedback! That means you guys need to get going.
Now, watch me be the last to finish…
And you started how many weeks ago…
Warren Mumpower said:
Jon, you finished with that PDF yet? :DMaybe I should have waited a day or two before I reminded him
Page 1 is done. Well almost. Fonts too big and page breaks need work, but it ain’t bad.
http://lsc.cvsry.com/LSC-EBT-Box-Car-1E.pdf
JR
PS - The link is good, but it won’t open in my browser. I might have broken my Adobe Reader 9 browser plug-in when I installed Acrobat CS.
Works fine on my reader. It just covered 2 pages and a tiny bit onto the 3rd.
Warren & All -
Since Bob is going to make changes to the article as building progresses, and he wants to make his own PDF, I won’t continue with my PDF project unless asked by Bob.
What I posted above is just a proof-of-concept. I spent very little time on editing. What I proved to myself was that with some simple software, web pages can be harvested & stored locally. Then with some web editing tools tweaks made to remove the navigation links, etc. and finally Adobe Acrobat converts the resulting HTML into a PDF.
Of course one could just use Acrobat to convert the page on-the-fly from the web, but the formatting is not up to my standards 
BTW - If fixed my Browser/PDF problem. I had Adobe Reader Ver. 8 installed prior to installing Adobe Creative Suite. CS installed Reader Ver. 6 messing up Ver 8. I unintslled Ver. 6 and reinstalled 8, now it works as advertised.
JR