Most useful...

[Hugh Norwood]

As a bit of light-hearted discussion, I've been wondering what you might consider to be the most useful:

a) Tool

b) non-tool item

For kick-off I propose
a) my most useful tool would have to be my binocular magnifiers, without which everything else is so much "stuff" (althought the electric paint stirrer is a pretty good tool.

b) Most useful non-tool item would probably be brass handrail wire. Many uses (apart from the obvious). Use it to hold figures down on the layout and elsewhere - by drastic orthopaedic surgery to one leg (not for the squeamish); holding errant chimney pots onto chimney stacks; fixing couplings onto locos. etc etc.

[Graeme Dunbar]

I can't contradict your choice of tool. I'd not manage to do anything without my Optivisor. Gone are the days when I could take off my glasses (I'm short-sighted) and hold things close to my face to see incredible detail. Now I am far less short-sighted but my range of focus or accommodation is useless.

As an adjunct to that I'd add:

(a) a good strong light, though I'd like it to count as my non-tool (b) as it is essential for seeing detail in the finished product too.

For my tool (a) I think I'd like to choose a decent set of files (which I have yet to buy). Within the limits of my skills, I manage with various craft knives or scalpels, saws and drills, but the one process where the outcome is strongly affected by the choice of tool is filing. With the right file, a touch of it can clean and smooth an edge, but hacking away with an unsuitable (or ruined) one leaves a horrible rounded uneven result. Often it is choosing a file that is too small and too fine that causes problems, tempting me to rasp away at the piece. I have yet to find the correct pairing of file and job, or perhaps more accurately I find a file I like and then go and do something stupid like use it on a job that ruins it.

[Whitworth]

Gone are the days when I could take off my glasses (I'm short-sighted) and hold things close to my face to see incredible detail. Now I am far less short-sighted but my range of focus or accommodation is useless.

Not just me then  ;D

Would agree with the optivisor great invention. I got quite a nice thing as a Christmas prezzie. It consists of a very fine hypodermic needle set into a thin tube. You put the tube in your bottle of plastic cement and capillary action draws up the fluid. You then invert and dispense the glue from the needle end. Very neat and tidy applicator.

Non tool would be my giant cutting mat which stops me destroying the coffee table!

[Tigger]

Gone are the days when I could take off my glasses (I'm short-sighted) and hold things close to my face to see incredible detail. Now I am far less short-sighted but my range of focus or accommodation is useless.

Not just me then  ;D

Yep!  I'd agree with that sentiment!  Suddenly my eyes don't work like the used to!  (a) A pair of cheap close-focus specs from Boots and suddenly I could see what I was doing again!

As for (b), 'non-tool' I think decent lighting - I use a 22W circular flu tube and only when I had to replace it recently did I realise how valuable it was.

If you'd like to specify the most useful (c) material [so, Hugh that'd be your (b) category - follow?] then I'm undecided between artist's card or sheet styrene.

[pilotfriend]

Without question, for me a digital camera

[Brandyman]

My (a) would be my faithful stanley knife, its close to hand when building a model between opening the package and lining the stock-box.

(b) as a non tool it would have to be my imagination, everything else is only a tool as a means to an end.

Jeff

[membership]

most useful tool --  digital display vernier -- being able to measure to 0.001 of an inch is amazing!

[Tigger]

most useful tool --  digital display vernier -- being able to measure to 0.001 of an inch is amazing!

Ah - as a matter of pedantry, if it's a digital display, it isn't a vernier!  (Ducks swiftly to avoid whistling scalpel ;D)

[tat2drod]

a) Stanley knife - I cut pretty much everything with it

b) my imagination

--
Rod

[membership]

most useful tool --  digital display vernier -- being able to measure to 0.001 of an inch is amazing!

Ah - as a matter of pedantry, if it's a digital display, it isn't a vernier!  (Ducks swiftly to avoid whistling scalpel ;D)

Engineer "I cant use this, its bent like a banana"
Storeman "no it isnt, its 3 thou out of alignment"

Now I now why I hate engineer's

[Tigger]

Engineer "I cant use this, its bent like a banana"
Storeman "no it isnt, its 3 thou out of alignment"
Now I now why I hate engineer's

;D ;D ;D
And there's nothing worse than a smart-alec pedantic one!!!!
We're drifting a bit - would someone out there care to take up my other note about the most useful material?

[membership]

most useful material -- I had been thinking about araldite, cos that is really useful but the other day I stumbled across
a website offering electrically conductive epoxy - now that sounds like it could have some uses, I'm going to get some

[Tigger]

Still undecided between sheet styrene or good quality artist's card.
(Hugh, please note a spirited attempt at a partial hi-jack of your original topic!! ;D)

[Hugh Norwood]

I must admit that I prefer card for producing buildings. I have three bulidings I made while at school (they are not on "Angst") and they have stood the test of time (we're talking around 40 years).

Most of the buildings on Angst are made out of cereal packets!

I would have thought the bog-standard (BS number?) Staney knife was too big for use in all but the biggest/toughest jobs. After years of using Xacto blades I went over to Swann-morton scalpel blades. They last longer and are cheaper, too.

[Tigger]

Oh, most definitely card for buildings; no question!  Some of my Superquick models must be 45 years old and the majority of the buildings on the L&TR date from 1974/5.  I've built some rolling stock in card and it's very durable but I find styrene better for that purpose - I feel it's cleaner, neater, a joy to work and for me it's easier to get the fine detail I like.  All that said, when I built the loco shed for Buccabury I used a mixture of Wills sheets, sheet and strip styrene, thoroughly enjoyed it and it turned out nicely AND my first scratchbuilt loco which became L&TR no 15 was built from card!  Don't knock the quality!  This was only intended as a mock-up to try out the shape and various ideas and techniques on painting and lining and somehow ended up in the service fleet!!