Trailer transport

Tools

In order to make the building of the model railroad easier I have bought som tools for this occasion..

Hot wire

The base of the model railroad is made of extruded foam so I needed good tools to cut with. To use a hot wire I know from before. When I found Hot Wire Foam Factory's tools I bought three tools; hot knife, sculpting tool and a free hand router. They comes in a kit with a powersupply and, in my case, a 220 V adapter.

The tools I have used most is the freehand router and the cutting table I made myself.

Freehandrouter

The freehand router I have used to make cuttings where the rails are going under the table surface. I formed the hot wire to fit the width of the cutting. In order to keep a constant deep I added a piece of corrugated cardboard at an apropriate distance from the lowest part of the hot wire.

Freehandrouter Freehandrouter Freehandrouter

Cutting table

The cutting table is a hot wire alternative for a table saw. Because it is my intention to use it only for the period I build the railroad it is a very primitive design.

The cutting table is a a piece of plywood with a hoop made of wood that holds a hot wire from the sculpting tool. The wire is connected to the power supply via the freehand routers handle.

Cutting table Cutting table

When I needed to cut a circular arch I pinned a piece of corrugated cardboard to the foam. The cardboard I fastened with one screw to the cutting table at an apropriate distance from the hot wire.

Cutting table

Resistance soldering

Coming later!