Silhouette SD

[Ian MacMillan]

Dumpster Diving!  Hah!  I've made a career out of that!  I might just sign up for that one!!
Thanks, Phil.  Now how about those shopping carts?

Lee

Reminds me of the people that hang out at the town dump aka "town store" as they raid your vehicle when you pull in. Hey, whatever, now I don't have to unload it!

[SkipGear]

SkipGear you might try shrink casting the body with the hydro shrink material? You can get it close to n with some playing. I haven't done it personally but I've seen many go from ho to n scale vehicles lately done that way.

It's easier to build it. It only took an hour or so to build and paint, and that was the test shot. I would rather built a proper N scale version and then make a mold of it. The only problem is the mold would no longer be hollow and wall thickness on parts would be unacceptable.

[DKS]

The only problem is the mold would no longer be hollow and wall thickness on parts would be unacceptable.

Not necessarily. The only edges that are visible are the sides of the main body toward the front, which are already thick, and the hopper, where the edges can be tapered to look thinner than they are.

[SkipGear]

You are looking at an HO version. The N scale version will be .020 - .030 at that point when converted and that is only the edge. The edging on the HO version is .030 x .030 strip + .015 thick styrene. I will probably cut the N version out of .010 sheet and the edge strips will be .010 x .010 because the .030 on the HO version was a bit thicker than I wanted.

BTW - Model Tech studios just announced resin garbage trucks in two other styles than this one...

http://modeltechstudios.com/hoscale1940s-50seragarbagetruck-loadedwithgarbagelayoutready-1.aspx. They are $19 and come on a CMW chassis already. The resin castings look a little rough though and the windows are falling out of the cabs.

[pnolan48]

Anyone looked at the next level up from the Silhouette? I'm looking at the Black Cat Cougar for about $700, but their website isn't even constructed, although the cutter was introduced four years ago. Makes me queasy, to say the leasty. Anyone looked at even higher end cutters? Any recs? I'm trying to do my own research, but living part-time in Alabama with a slow link is frustrating. And being a newbie to this stuff doesn't help!

[Zox]

Anyone looked at the next level up from the Silhouette?

http://knkusa.com/

This company's product line looks interesting, and their cutters have already gone through a couple of generations of development, so they seem to be in it for the long term.

The specs on their $399 "Zing" look like it would be a good upgrade from the Silhouette.

[Dave Schneider]

Has anyone tried to cut the .03 chipboard that is advertised on the KNKUSA site? This might make a nice substrate on which to overlay styrene cutouts. I would think that this is more rigid than styrene of a similar thickness.

http://knkusa.com/?shopp_product=12-x12-chipboard-5-pk

Best wishes, Dave

[pnolan48]

Zox,

The Zing looks just OK. Its own rating for .020 styrene is "limited", which I think is about the reality for the Silhouete HD and new Cameo. I think there's not a lot of truth in advertising in these ratings. I'm not sure the max pressure is a realistic measurement. If the SD has about 230 grams of pressure, then why is the scale one (1) through 33? Six or seven grams each step? I'm not sure the manufacturers want you to know! Like, back in the days of the speed of a daisywheel printer? And the cutting speeds seem unreal. Maybe my blade has lasted so long because I've dialed the speed down to 3 cm/s?

Dave,

Isn't .03 chipboard basically cereal box cardboard? If so, not sure this would be a good stiffener (unless there is some sort of distressed layer effect. )

For the amount of cutting I'm doing, I'll pay quite a bit to upgrade. Hey, that little SD has cut a lot of styrene without a whimper (or other noise of breaking down or snapping.) I suspect that styrene is actually not a blade duller compared to paper.

[SkipGear]

The garbage body complete. I have to make two more in HO now. I have a sheet cut for an N scale version but have yet to test assemble it. I have a bash together of a F-350 body on a White Super chassis to put it on. The F-350 wheel base and wheels are too small. The white sets too high to be a garbage truck. The Ford body sets lower and would be more reasonable for a guy climing in and out of the truck all day.

[wazzou]

That's really great Tony.  Good job.

[Zox]

Has anyone else switched over to the new Cameo-style blades for the Silhouette yet? And if so, have you had any problems with them?

I think I may have gotten a bad one--the worn-out blade I'm replacing cuts better than this new one does.

[Dave Schneider]

I haven't tried the new blades yet as I have a decent supply of the old ones....actually a lifetime supply given how little I have used it recently. Has anyone tried sharpening these blades. Seems like a sharpening stone might bring them back to life.


Why did you change blades? Old ones no longer available?

Best wishes, Dave

[Zox]

Why did you change blades? Old ones no longer available?

Basically, yes--they're no longer manufacturing the interchangeable-cap style blades, nor the replacement cutter-and-bearing assemblies for them. The new blades have a 10-step depth adjustment dial in place of the caps, which should be more convenient.

I've seen comments elsewhere that some early Cameo purchasers received bad blades with their machines, but I would have expected the problems to be ironed out by the time they got around to making replacements.

If the problems with the Cameo blades persist, I may look into this:

http://www.specialty-graphics.com/sgs-silhouette-craft-robo-replacement-blade-holder.html

...but I hate to dump that kind of money if I don't have to.

[SkipGear]

The N scale version is underway....



CMW F-350 body
CMW R-190 Frame and wheels shortened behind the rear axle

I need to cut another garbage bed with thinner material so it will make the curve of the roof better.

[Philip H]

Nicely done Tony.