Author Topic: Handy tools: sanders, lights and knife  (Read 2785 times)

Offline Frank3k

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Handy tools: sanders, lights and knife
« on: June 08, 2015, 10:00:42 AM »
I've recently added a few tools that I've found to greatly help my modeling work.

The first is lighting. I have two desk lamps with white LED bulbs and an Optivisor with an LED frame (really handy for close up work) but I needed more light. My computer desk lamp died, so I replaced it with a TaoTronics Elune Dimmable LED Desk Lamp (Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00APAQSP6?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s01). It's puts out a very bright and white light, so I got a second one for my hobby room. Since the LEDs are on an arm, I can place them right over my work area, eliminating most shadows. The LEDs are cool, so the extra light isn't heating up the place.

I also bought some flexible files to replace the ones I had worn out. I couldn't find a replacement for my set, but I found an even better one, with grits going from 60 to 12000: http://www.micromark.com/dual-angle-sanding-file-set-multiple-grits-set-of-9,11555.html

Lastly, I have a great  hobby knife now. I saw a post on Hobbytalk on "Make a Better Hobby Knife", which led me indirectly to Paul Budzik's site (http://paulbudzik.com/index.html). He has a section on alternative hobby knives: http://paulbudzik.com/tools-techniques/Outside%20the%20Box/scale_modeling_addtional_information.html

My Mom owned a Dental Lab, and I inherited many of her tools. After reading the article above, I realized I still had my Mom's Bard-Parker #6 handle. A few days later, I had the blades I needed for the knife. The handle is very comfortable, allowing precise cuts as well as regular cutting. My had was getting tired of slicing styrene sheets with my Olfa and Xacto knives, This B&P handle should make it a lot easier. It's also gratifying to use a tool that my Mom used in her lab.
The BP handles are expensive, but the Hobbytalk post describes making the equivalent out of wood.


Offline Kerick

  • Reportedly finished with a stripper...
Re: Handy tools: sanders, lights and knife
« Reply #1 on: June 08, 2015, 10:42:29 AM »
This looks very helpful. I'll look into this further ASAP.