Latest tool project. It’s an aluminum base for painting clips. Made from 6061 so it has enough weight to be pretty stable.

Well, now you're just showing off, Paul!

Hah! Definitely not that! If the hobby shop in Lubbock had the appropriate base for these clips I bought from them, I would have bought it and been done with it. Unfortunately, they didn’t and I didn’t want to have to figure out how to weight what they did have to prevent it tipping over. We’ll see how this one works in use before I declare victory...

Cheers,
Paul H

Paul,
You should name that base 'Thor's Hammer!' That thing ain't tipping — no way, now how! 🥴🔨

Cheers!🍺
—mike

Yeah, I know. It’s a little overkill, but I had to test out the new digital readout setup for my mill that my wife got me for my birthday.

As I said, It’s fairly heavy, but If it turns out not to be stable enough, I’ll turn it upside down and take 1/4” off the bottom to lower the center of gravity.

in that case - Mjolnir

Paul, that puts my cocktail sticks, Blu-tack and Styrofoam paint rig to shame....

Was growing tired of all the eyewear clutter on my workbench.🤔 hmmm...


My simple DIY solution:💡‼️
1. Saw an old over-the-door hook in half. 🔪
2. Drill holes. 🕳🕳
3. Run to Lowe's for bolt/washer/washer/lock-nut hardware.🔩
4. Attach to floor lamp and crank it down!🔧

Insta Optivisor hanger. I think that should hold 'em! 🥽🥽 😁

Cheers!😎
—mike

Nice! The floor lamp would just be a tripping hazard for clumsy me...

I like the idea. Congrats on the new clutter-free spot! My problem is I always seen to re-clutter as soon as I gain any ground.

Thank’s, guys!
As always, it’s been good for me to peruse the BAT pages for inspiration.💡

BTW: My entire home set-up operates through Apple HomeKit now, especially my office/model building room: Workbench (Smart Outlet and two build/photography Smart Lights); Airbrush Table (Smart Outlet, Smart Light, and spray booth), all of which can be controlled with Siri commands — not to mention, a really sick computer desktop set-up. ... You could say I kinda’ geeked-out with tech in the past year. Now that everything works, I just need to recall how to build models again.🤔

Cheers!🍺
—mike

I know what you mean. However, I have a wife that constantly says "Clean up the Plastic Junk", so de=cluttering is regular around here.

Mike, I have a jeweller's lamp to supplement the glasses (and the old Mk 1 eyeballs) so I haven't progressed as far down the eye support path as you, but a great idea.

Does it count when your friend asks you to make him one of the tools you just made?

I made a few changes to the design. I added a V cutout to enable working with small flat stock and PE and I changed the shape of the rear end of the clamp to match the V cutout.

all,
Some very interesting and useful tools being produced here.
I hadn't really planned on joining this, however I had a need for a tool today so here I am . I was in need of another height marking gauge so after a quick play on the lathe here's a very quick and nasty marking gauge. I was being lazy and didn't even swap to soft chuck jaws hence some jaw indents and as you can tell I haven't even bevelled the edges (function over form, maybe tomorrow). Not pretty but does the job required of it:



and doing it's intended task:



Right now to see if I can get the photo's into the Campaign gallery .

I’m stuck in an endless loop trying to find the Campaign Gallery for ‘BAT 5’ completed tools? 📸
Somebody really should build a tool o fix that. 💻🔧 🤔

—mike

Nice idea on the DIY height gauge. Most are really too large to be of any use for modeling. May have to build/make a miniature one myself. Should be much easier than using the large one I have when dealing with 1/48 scale stuff.

Congrats,
Paul H

I can't get a new folder to stick them in for some reason... Host them wherever... for the time being....

For what it’s worth, I never really liked the process of linking images to the gallery which runs out of storage space in no time at all. So, I’m fine with just calling it good here, if that works.

Cheers!🍺
—mike

Yes, hosting within the thread makes sense at the moment.

I also agree re the storage limitations. What is the point of a Gallery if you have to delete most of the pics for past posts when you have to make room for new ones... and deleting one by one is a pain. Makes more sense to host externally and link to the Gallery to keep the Gallery, just that, pictures for posterity...

Nice work on the 'Mark 2' Paul. Good to see that use gave you ideas for the improvements.

Simple but effective Roger. One of my club guys has something similar but he has a second hole for a scriber blade to be inserted in it. His bottom block has two parallel holes drilled through them for two rods to go through. These rods are secured at each end inside two blocks with matching holes. These blocks are attached to two corners of a large flat plate. This means his version of the base of your tool has guides to travel along.

He also has a rig to hold his model parts in, which he clamps to the flat plate to hold the kit part firm while he marks out in pencil and then scribes.

He uses it to scribe panel lines in the aircraft models he builds. It makes sure that all wing surfaces and both sides of the fuselage are identically placed.

I went back and read the campaign notes again. It never mentions posting to a gallery, just to the campaign thread... I think we’re all good to go.

Paul H

Nothing as fancy as the other entries but here are a couple of my homemade tools for this campaign.

First. A pair of double clamps made from clothes pins. It took a total of three clothes pins to make one clamp. As you can see in the photographs they can be used for different size items and are easily adjustable for whatever you need to hold together.









The second is a hand held turntable I made out of scrap bits and pieces that can be used to paint items such as roadwheels. The handle is a piece of scrap dowel that I had on hand. The bearing is a piece of a bristle holder from a paint brush, the gear is from some toy or something that I took apart years back and added to the scrap box and the turn table is a piece of plastic card stock and the sifter portion from a spice bottle. I drilled a small hole in the handle and inserted the bearing. I glued the other pieces together and inserted them into the bearing. The item is secured to the turntable by a piece of double sided tape and then can be turned with your finger or thumb while using the other hand to paint with.















Nothing fancy but they do work.

Thank you,
Randy

Nice ideas Randy. We are not looking for fancy here, utilitarian all the way!

Thank you Peter, I appreciate it.

I'm not sure why the last two pictures are sideways, that isn't how they were uploaded.

Thanks again,
Randy