Switching wheels stops drops

[thomasjmdavis]

Thanks Bob!
It had never occurred to me to use calipers to scribe paint. That solves a problem for me.

[peteski]

Thanks Bob!
It had never occurred to me to use calipers to scribe paint. That solves a problem for me.

Sure is!  I suspect Bob and I are not the only ones doing this. Make sure to hold the caliper perpendicular to the edge of the scribed piece or you will introduce an error. It works really well when scribing sheet metal coated with layout fluid.

[packers#1]

I would go with "Swap Wheels, Stop Drop"

Cheerio!
Bob Gilmore

Why not “Stop, Swap, and Roll(s better)”?

[Missaberoad]

It sounds like a railroader's story about switching cars doing a running drop and running off the end of track.

Switching, Wheel Stops and Drops
By Boomer Peete 

[Dwight in Toronto]

I just picked up 6” digital calipers from a local supplier of things related to electronics, robotics and those sorts of hobbies.  $39 Cdn, which would be on par with the $20 US units you guys have been suggesting.

Resolution = .01mm/.0005in.  In addition to inside and outside measuring faces, it also has a depth gauge, which I can already see as being handy (“so, is this shell going to be deep enough to fit over that decoder and speaker …”).  I gotta say, seems to be a pretty impressive and robust little device for the money.

[peteski]

I just picked up 6” digital calipers from a local supplier of things related to electronics, robotics and those sorts of hobbies.  $39 Cdn, which would be on par with the $20 US units you guys have been suggesting.

Resolution = .01mm/.0005in.  In addition to inside and outside measuring faces, it also has a depth gauge, which I can already see as being handy (“so, is this shell going to be deep enough to fit over that decoder and speaker …”).  I gotta say, seems to be a pretty impressive and robust little device for the money.

Yes, they are extremely handy tools for modeling.  The features you mention are standard for all the "standard" machinist's calipers.  And of course we can thank Chinese with their ability to crank them out by millions for the low prices.  Back in the day, similar calipers used to sell for hundreds of dollars.  Some high-end brand-name ones still sell for those prices.

[Dwight in Toronto]

Digital caliper noob here, hat in hand, asking for a bit more clarification on how the heck one might scribe lines on a convoluted surface such as down the sides of one of those N scale locomotives? 

I’m not grasping what you would use to keep the scoring edge steady, straight and firm as you slide it along.  ie - what does the guiding/“riding” edge slide on?

[peteski]

Digital caliper noob here, hat in hand, asking for a bit more clarification on how the heck one might scribe lines on a convoluted surface such as down the sides of one of those N scale locomotives? 

I’m not grasping what you would use to keep the scoring edge steady, straight and firm as you slide it along.  ie - what does the guiding/“riding” edge slide on?

One of the jaws has to  rest or slide against the edge of the ascribed item. It is mostly used when scribing flat sheets. 
On the locomotive, usually shells have smooth bottom edge. You run the jaw along that edge.

Not directly related, bit a nifty feature of digital caliper is that they can make relative measurements.  You measure some distance, then hit the reset button to czero out the diplay and from that point on, the measurements will be relative to the original distance.