Yes SN.. I can and do now use a pinvise.. now that I have one. The real reason I got the milling plate and the drill press is so I can mill out the tail lights on my favorite body, the 66 GTO. Drilling holes is easy enough. The tail light slots on the GTO are only about .020 of an inch and there are 8 of them on the tail panel. I'll get to them when I get over the fear of breaking the bits (very expensive) and have the body clamp to put in the vise. I did find out one bad thing about the press (I had a feeling before, but found out for sure today) is the chuck has a minimum 1/8" bit restriction. My milling bits are ok, but the smaller bits in my index will be dremelable only. I do have some other bits coming that are the smaller sizes with a 1/8 shaft so it's all good.

As for the Yamaha 12 string, I picked it up in a pawn shop with case for 125.00 down in FL. As with all my guitars, it needs a neck adjustment. The action is a bit too high. She has a beautiful sound and I had gotten quite good at making some noise with it until my hands started giving me problems. My fingers are so weak now I doubt I can make a bar chord on it. I used to have fun making up my own chords (half open stuff and odd ball stretches). I haven't really been able to play it in 3 years..:cry:

i also own an old 12 string,a daion 80/12...if the action is a problem,try shaving the saddle down carefully,and the nut aswell.a truss rod adjustment should be done professionally,as you can really bugger it up if you don't know what you're doing.another way to go is to tune it down to D standard,giving more give to the strings.
oh yeah!and just to keep the slotties happy,is there a conversion collet available to recieve smaller bits,that you could retrofit to the drill press chuck??

I have a Danelectro 12 string, and it rocks! That things has really nice actions and stays in tune for weeks.

I'd ike to get an acoustic 12 string, but I already have 8 guitars and they're not as easy to hide from the wife as slot cars are

hehehehe

i would like a danelectro baritone electric,but i still got a tele and a fender hotrod deville 60 w tube amp to pay off!

As much as I would love to have a Jimmy Page signature double neck Gibson.... Oh.. never mind.. you know the rest!! :lol:

By request, here's a picture of the MM 66 GTO so you can get an idea of why I blew so much money on a drill press, milling plate and bits....

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/slotcarman12078/dab64544.jpg
This is my ultimate favoritest car in my fleet. It's not perfect, there's a slight defect in the paint on the hood, but it is still perfect in my eyes. IMHO Harrison Woodrow did an exquisite job detailing this car. If I could shrink myself down to HO scale, this is what you'd find me driving!! I just want to finish it so I can cruise it at night!! :thumbsup:

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/slotcarman12078/312299ae.jpg
I would also like to take a stab at this one too. It actually should be fairly easy once the tail light lenses are milled out.. They are slightly larger than the 2.0mm LED base, so some sort of filler will be required...

ok,wait a minute!yer gonna mill out the entire back end of the gto???????

Nope!! Just the tail lights!!! LOL The 4 slots on the left, and the 4 slots on the right.


Here... This will explain it way better than putting it in words..

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/slotcarman12078/5fab6433.jpg

Nope!! Just the tail lights!!! LOL The 4 slots on the left, and the 4 slots on the right.


Here... This will explain it way better than putting it in words..

Holy Toledo....that is gonna be Sweeeeeet!

Bob...That is going to be one nice rear end...zilla

oh only the four,eh?oh,well that sounds much simpler!:p:rolleyes:

I checked out Bob's Moons, and now he's checkin my rear end too!! What is this world coming to???? :tongue:

Sweet job on them!! WOW!.. :thumbsup:

Wes

Sltman, I'll admit, the tailights do look good, but man that's looks like a lot of work. Not much room to play with!!! Go ahead a drill out the backup lights too. It use to big a thang, to drive forward with your back up lights on. I had a switch for mine. I remember seeing cars go down the strip with the backup's on...RM

hot knife?

Hot knife maybe for someone who doesn't shake like a 7.5 on the richter scale like I do. I estimate the taillight slits to be between .020 and .025. My milling bits are .015 and .020 so I should be able to squeak these out. The only thing holding me back from doing anything is the need for a clamp being fabricated to hold the body rigid while milling. With work this fine, the slightest bit of vibration will throw off the whole process. I have the design for the clamp pretty much down. I just need to find a machine shop who can make it happen. It's pretty simple really. I need two 2" X 3" X 1/4" steel plates with 2 holes drilled in each corner on one, and one hole drilled in each corner on the other. One set are tapped on one with the corresponding holes oversized on the 2nd. These will be the clamping holes. The extra set of holes are tapped and the machine bolts in them are the stops. Those will keep the milling vise from crushing the body, and the other bolts will make the clamp tighter.

All the cars will require some type of milling operation on them so the clamp needs to be fairly rugged to handle the constant use. Something like the 59 Chevy will need the AW taillights to be removed so the resin cast ones I make can fit in. The older Mustang is an easy project too by making a mold of the tail lights and removing the factory ones and casting 1.6mm LEDs into the new lens. On those, 2 slits will be milled into the body to run the electricals to the inside. These processes are clear in my mind but trying to put them into words is tough, and I'm sure trying to translate them into something you can visualize is even harder. All I can say is be patient, and we'll see how many screw ups I can knock out before I have something worth posting pic's of.

Speaking of pic's.... Here's a quick peek at the production line so far...

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/slotcarman12078/c4a526a9.jpg

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/slotcarman12078/898c06e1.jpg

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/slotcarman12078/c7e22b82.jpg

http://http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/slotcarman12078/20fc12b0.jpg

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/slotcarman12078/20fc12b0.jpg

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/slotcarman12078/3e6593fd.jpg

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/slotcarman12078/6dbb6016.jpg

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/slotcarman12078/be65cb0b.jpg

I been busy with the LED sleds!! Nothing lit yet other than the black one, but that's tomorrow's job.. By the way, the pinkish/ purplish one is magenta. The colors are off and I'm not sure if it's the camera, my monitor, or the kodak software that's causing it. The bluegreen one with the scallops is a bright aqua color, the 2 tone is a mint green with a medium metallic green. I adjusted the colors to look right on mine. Hopefully they are correct on your screens too.

I am really liking this new spraybomb paint I found at autozone, etc. that is fun to experiment with. It's called metalcast and is intended to paint chrome, but all it really is, is a candy transparent paint. It has proved compatible with duplicolor silver and gold when used as a base coat. It comes in a rainbow of colors: purple, red, blue, green, orange, gold, yellow and silver. I've got the purple (on the magenta car.. would have been darker with more coats), and the orange on the (duh) orange car, and a can of blue which I have yet to try. I really want the green so next trip it's on the list. I just wish I could get around to getting the lacquer thinner so I can fire up the airbrush. I believe these paints used with that will be really cool!! They all still need at least a dunk or two more in the future to help hide the decals.

:thumbsup:wow an electrican and a painter you are way to talented for me

WHOOOOAAAAHHH!! SWEET PAINT JOBS !!! :thumbsup:

Wes

:thumbsup:wow an electrican and a painter you are way to talented for me

Plus an apprentice machinist with a musical background!!! RM

The two-tone paints are killer, Ujoe!
Hide the green ones from Bill if he comes over for a visit....and ya better hide them from me too, hey! LOL

The flamed s'Led looks magenta enough to me. Maybe my screen darkens all the colors?
At any rate, it is a great looking car! :thumbsup:

I see where you are going with your clamp design. I hope you find someone to help.

Just to fool Joez I'm gonna go with magenta and the flame stripes....that .....and cuz I likes it!

I'm gonna guess that you have too much light for that shot. I've found that a little less light or a backlight effect helps when trying to get a good pic of a metallic.

Even then those darn metallic paticles cornfuse your camera's tiny brain.

I promise to try some different lighting soon! don't have enough natural light in the shop to get a decent picture, and it appears to only be a couple colors that are off. It don't like anything in the green family (make them all blue) and the purples are screwy also. I had a feeling there would be a color shift somewhere along the path!!! LOLOL!!

The Dash purples, blue and pink took a bath in the bucket today as I'm having way too much fun painting. I still have a couple colors to try on the sleds and I'm going to shoot a couple more two tones with them. I will be trying to do 2 simple colors too that aren't really in Dashes arsenal to make a couple certain individuals drool.. I know your colors and I can fight dirty when need be..:tongue:

In the meantime, I decided to give the milling plate a little exercise (myself too) since it has been a good 20 years since I really played with one. I got my cheaper milling bits in yesterday and have been tinkering with a JL cobra with the possibility of lighting it. The one thing I didn't like about the JL cobra is the grille. Now I don't know if I butchered a JL masterpiece by doing this, but I couldn't stand to look at it as it was. So off came the grille, and into the vise it went. I broke a bit right off the bat Doh! and remembered it's a slow process.. I'm not cutting cheese with this thing. No troubles after the first bit bit the dust. Here's a peek at the final result....

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/slotcarman12078/29a094d9.jpg

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/slotcarman12078/27362564.jpg

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/slotcarman12078/84620c75.jpg

I still gotta light it and it will require some thought in the taillight dept. We'll just have to wait 'n see what develops..

Phssssssssssssssssssssssshting Fan-tas-tic!

You are a busy bee Mr.slotcarman...bit bit the dust guy...who makes lots of neat little cars.

I love the silver Cobra with the green interior and scallops. Oooooooh and it has lights...Whooooooooooooah!

Bob...beep, beep,_______beep, beep the car went beep, beep, beep...zilla

Bob's right... you have been busy. All looking good :thumbsup::thumbsup:... now let there be light. nd

Progress in the milling department! WOOT!

Ujoe, beyond the broken bit, did the milling work out like you thought it would?

Looking great so far! :thumbsup:

Grille Is Sweet! No Light Shining Thru It Will Be The Ticket With The Led's

This looks like a ledsled dealership!!! So many to choose from or order your own color possibilities!!! Looking good Sltman!!! RM

Yes Joez, worked out great. The old days playing on the big Bridgeport came back to me rather quickly. I never did an extensive amount of work on it, just odds and ends when the model guy wasn't busy. He was trying to steer me in that direction and I should have listened. Sadly, while I was working at this company, they would have paid for ANY tech school training or college as long as I passed the courses; they would have footed the bill. Stupid me and my even dumber priorities nixed that idea. At the time the mill was just a big toy to play with when my regular duties were caught up. I was the engineering dept. gopher, odd job man, display maker, circuit board potting compound maker, drive these parts to UL in Melville, NY guy, and blueprint tech. I wore a few hats at that job. I also got to play on the CAD/CAM modifying blueprints for the specials dept, and helped out in the model shop and the test lab.

The most important lesson learned was the one I forgot which led to the broken bit. Take little bites and go slow. It takes a bit of getting used to working the cranks to move the mill.. especially doing the curved parts which requires cranking both at once to have the mill go on an angle or mill out a curve. This was primarily an excercize to get myself in the swing again. And yes, it was fun!!!

There should not be any glow with these LEDs TJ, other than where there is supposed to be. The silver paint blocks the light quite well, and therein lies the reason I stripped all the sleds except the flamed ones. On them I will need to paint inside the bodies to keep the light from leaking. I was shocked to see how badly the solid blue, purple and pink bodies glowed just with a desk lamp. The magenta one is candy over the factory pearl so this will need a touch up inside too. I will not create another version of a "Lamethrower"!!! Never!!!

Quote joez870 "The two-tone paints are killer, Ujoe!"

Yes they are when they work!!! When they don't though, what a mess!! I finally have the last 4 painted up, after yesterday's snafu with the two tones. Thankfully, the TM sent me to KFC which just happens to be one block away from Autozone and Advance Auto... Heeheehee!! One little detour won't kill me!!! I snagged a can of Metalcast red and green basically completing the set and got a good sized can of acetone and lacquer thinner!! Good thing I stopped as I soon learned Pinesol don't touch lacquer. It'll eat up enamel good nuf, but lacquer just kinda laughs at it. The lacquer thinner and a paper towel and a few minutes scrubbing and I had both bodies stripped again. Rather than take a chance of another screwed up two tone, I decided to dig right into the new "candies" and promptly shot one of each. OF course, my colorblind camera has a hard time making it look green so you'll have to trust me on the color descriptions. (I kinda fixed the green in the group shot, but the magenta looks purple in these so again, I'm sorry you'll just have to take my word!!

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/slotcarman12078/f379c5d6.jpg
Here's a breakdown on the colors from top left: Dark blue flake, 2 tone mint /medium green, black/multicolor pearl, std dash orange/yellow flames, std dash yellow/red flames, yellow/ red flames, candy green, candy red, candy orange, candy magenta/gold flames, aqua/silver scallops, red/ maltese crosses.


http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/slotcarman12078/1d1f8993.jpg

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/slotcarman12078/9121a463.jpg
I'm really going nuts about these paints as if you can't tell!!! I shot the red and green over silver duplicolor out on the front porch and when the sunlight hit it I amost stepped on my tongue they looked so good!!!

I can't resist tempting a couple people here so watch out you two!! (you know who you are):lol:


http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/slotcarman12078/b1fb7950.jpg

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/slotcarman12078/7db1e7e0.jpg

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/slotcarman12078/01aa4518.jpg

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/slotcarman12078/96298c65.jpg

Tomorrow I'll finish dipping in future and start the lighting process.. I am going to give it my best shot to have these all lit by tomorrow night.. Can't promise anything, but I'll try.

Those look awesome :eek:


:thumbsup::thumbsup:

I like the ambulance. Can you put some numbers on the lead sleds?

Looking good UJOE.. the flame jobs look killer..
Chris

Are we having fun or what??? I can see you got all excited!!! Those got me a excited, looking good...guess I'll go to the parts store!!! RM

UtherJoe,

You are simply driving me nuts with that Red Merc Slickster with the Iron Cross theme...aaaaaaaah man wait till Wes sees this!! Only wish that I would have thought about doing one up like that myself now. Holy Shietzkas that is Kewl.

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/slotcarman12078/7db1e7e0.jpg

You are on a roll with all these fine paint jobs with holes in them. Love them all.

Bob...Iron Cross decals forever...zilla

Next on Fox, Mercury lead sleds are invading Up State New York! Keep the kids inside or they'll never ride in your Prius again!

That is one fine looking herd of sleds, SCMan! When you've got 'em all lit up and on your city streets track, it's goona be a Frank Miller graphic novel moment!!! I'm talkin' a build it and they will come full of villians and super heros kinda moment!

12! the movie - 12 brave and outrageous sleds take on the boredom of modern day econoboxes... Based on the Frank Miller graphic novel which was based on a TRUE EVENT.

We don't use sano any more but back in the day, we would've all shouted SANO! I'm just sayin...

:drunk::hat::freak::dude:

PS: mixing vicodin and tequlia is reccomended to best understand the preceding ramble. Kids, don't try this at all.

yep! i like the one with iron cross!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! honestly they all look SWWWEETTTT!!!! cant wait to see them done!!! :thumbsup:

Wes

Nice Joe.... Colors are bitch'n. I gotta try some of that auto paint soon. :thumbsup::thumbsup: nd

Great goddess, man!

I think those paint jobs look fantastic through the PC! WOW WOW WOW! :thumbsup:

hey uther!those leadsleds rock!really nice work!:thumbsup::thumbsup:

Been a while since I posted anything here, so I guess it's time to bump it back to the first page.

I am almost LED Sledded out!!! There are 3 more on the table and all have destinations in mind. The happy new owners will either let you know or they won't.. It's up to them!!! (One of them is ME :lol:) While I can't please everyone here, I do my best to accomodate special needs cases on a car by car basis. I can't picture honda driving anything but a Camaro...Sooooo....


http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/slotcarman12078/f8627a9a.jpg

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/slotcarman12078/f361743b.jpg


I had done this body back around October in an ill fated attempt using fiber optics. After ripping all the F.O. cable out and a thorough cleanup the LEDs were installed (3rd time was the charm) and I think it came out alright.

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/slotcarman12078/437b5998.jpg

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/slotcarman12078/93d053ea.jpg

Testing continues because I'm always fearful of something going wrong on it's first few laps at a new track!!

In other news, I am releasing a couple previews of my LED Sled, and a Bad Dawg project I'm fooling with... Both are almost ready for the phssssssssssst treatment, and they deserve it as they have both been taunting me!! :tongue:

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/slotcarman12078/d1b5e21b.jpg


http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/slotcarman12078/4224b76c.jpg
Yes, it's the roaming gnome!!! Teminal Velocity II is in da house!!!!
I'm still itching to try out my new airbrush, but I'm awaiting a telephone lesson from the master painter. (Yes I am pathetic when it comes to trying something new!!)

Ujoe..
That should make Honda happy... lookin good!!!:thumbsup:
CJ

Uther Joe,

O.K. Honda is going to be doing back flips when he sees this Camaro...Boing, boing, boing...Yippeeeeee!!! You are da man.

Love that Gnome Terminal Velocity II and chop top Merc!! :thumbsup::thumbsup: You can't make everyone happy but, at least you can try...screeeeew em' if they can't realize that.

Fletcher has been wanting to race slot cars all the time since his M & M Lifelike racer came in the mail a few days ago. After seeing the real deal at M & M world in Las Vegas I just had to get it...he wanted me to make one up for him...for about $13.00 From tubtrack on the bay it was just easier to buy it. Ooooh and a few other parts while I was in the world of everything slot stuff for sale land.

http://i525.photobucket.com/albums/cc339/1970peaches/aablasvegas17.jpg

Bob...Going to call you today (right after Fletcher and I race Slickster I)...zilla

I guess I 'll start with the bad news.. Honda's camaro died. Well the body did. After performing it's 6th LEDectomy the body done gave up. They can only handle so much abuse before the finish says "enough"!!! Chrome red was peeling off in chunks so I gave Darrell the option of another color and he accepted. At least the body graciously donated it's chassis so another camaro can live!!!

OK, now the mostly good news... It seems to be a Monday night into Tuesday thing lately.. Couldn't fall asleep and after 2 hours tossing and turning I crawled into the slot cave for some late night antics. I got all the details painted up on the Terminator II Bad Dawg LRW, and got the detail work (for the most part) done on the drop top sLED.. Here we go!!

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/slotcarman12078/3ed3e7ba.jpg

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/slotcarman12078/93b4e610.jpg
Other views are available on the Bad Dawg Sexy Party Thread..

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/slotcarman12078/c9a3bd7a.jpg

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/slotcarman12078/9ab115ed.jpg

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/slotcarman12078/3a210b5a.jpg

Paint recipe for the LRW is available on the sexy party thread for those interested.. I did a little experiment with the sled too.. Silver base coat followed by 2 coats candy green, 1 coat candy blue, and 1 final coat candy green. This metalcast paint really knocks my socks off!!! The multi colored layers add so much depth to the paint, and the effect is very close to a flip flop. The blue shows up without the direct light and aqua's out the green just right where the light hits it. Sadly, as previously determined, my camera just can't figure out the blue/green differential and it all looks the same.

Surfs up! :thumbsup: I'm lovin' it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Been a while since I posted anything here, so I guess it's time to bump it back to the first page.

(Yes I am pathetic when it comes to trying something new!!)

Would you be intersted in some clear wheels? I have turned a couple of sets of wheels from Lucite plastic. I thought it would be cool to have the tires look like they were floating. Turns out the clear rims just took the color from the chassis. I always wanted to backlight a set for a cool look but never got around to it.
Rob
Mongrel Racing

Great stuff slot!!!!!!:thumbsup::thumbsup:

Clear wheels would be different, but finding a place to locate the LEDs would be challenge... Do you have a type of car in mind Rob?? Rims fit Tyco/AFX/TJet??

Thanks guys!!!

Clear wheels would be different, but finding a place to locate the LEDs would be challenge... Do you have a type of car in mind Rob?? Rims fit Tyco/AFX/TJet??

Thanks guys!!!
Nothing in particular comes to mind. I can make the wheels any size for any car. I just would like to see it done. I'd show you pics but they don't show up well.
Rob

Well I finally made one for me!! As seen previously, the teal green convert Sled is finally finished!! QC is continuing on the last 3 sleds as I ran into an LED blow out party here with the previous two. Here's a couple pics of the ragtop sled..

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/slotcarman12078/d92ae96d.jpg

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/slotcarman12078/a282a838.jpg

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/slotcarman12078/e27356a9-1.jpg

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/slotcarman12078/0815915d.jpg

Also, I have finally got going on doing some scenery on the table, starting with the easiest section (and the greenest also).

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/slotcarman12078/9a44d8ba.jpg

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/slotcarman12078/8e592530.jpg

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/slotcarman12078/f1b1c982.jpg

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/slotcarman12078/580b4380.jpg

OK!!! Kastleburg it's not! But it's been a while since I did this kinda stuff!! I'm glad it came out as good as it did! Next time I'll need to find a better way to do the transitions between track and grass, but for now it's good enough. I promise to do a much cleaner job on my table's next life!!

wow is all i can say about that. and your scenery looks great too keep posting pics as you go down the road:thumbsup:

Nice sled, great custom.:thumbsup: Kudos on all the scenery as well.
Is that Barracuda in the back a slot car? If so where did you get it?

Nice sled, great custom.:thumbsup: Kudos on all the scenery as well.
Is that Barracuda in the back a slot car? If so where did you get it?

The cuda is a JL diecast, but I believe the mead brothers make a resin cuda for T Jet.. Here's where to find them...

http://www.tm427dragbodies.com/TMMUSCLECARS.html

Not a bad kit for sure. I'm not tickled with the lexan window material, and there was an issue with wheel alignment on the older kits. Before you drill the posts check to see how the back wheels center in the wheel wells.. A slight trimming on the back post may be required especially if using larger wheels. They do make nice bodys though, and I would let it stop you from getting one. I did one with no major issues. The back isn't perfectly centered but not really noticable. An Aurora chassis will fit better than an AW so keep that in mind if getting one..

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/slotcarman12078/100_0507.jpg

I have one more of them left and plan on making a top down version one of these days...