Broithe

There are Chinese copies* on eBay at around four quid, but they look a bit rough. As bizarrely expensive as the US ones are, the material is top class stuff. *a 'spring punch' search will bring them up. There are ones out there that will take a masonry nail as a replaceable point. I would say that, for site use, as the nail-punches would probably be used, they are a very 'losable' item, and it's no fun at the full price. I'm also a fan of having a square somewhere on things than don't need to be fully circular. Screwfix are good for what they're good for - and there's a shop at the end of my road now, so no 'building an order' is necessary..

Two small points, surely? One each end...

Eek! You're not going to like these prices.... This is the same principle, although this set is intended for nail-setting. https://www.screwfix.com/p/spring-tools-wwa1105-spring-tools-woodworking-set-5-pieces/8831X?kpid=8831X&ds_kid=92700031336051899&ds_rl=1245250&ds_rl=1249484&ds_rl=1249796&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIj8vVjbLK3QIVAuh3Ch2fcgV6EAQYASABEgK7gfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CLeoxpCyyt0CFYnk1Qod96UNRA I think I paid four quid for my centre-punch/chisel set. http://springtools.co.uk/ (Screwfix is not always the cheapest...)

Ah - I got mine at the boot sale about fifteen years ago. They were a set of four, in a red vinyl wallet, including the chisel, which is actually the most used. I will go hunting - I'm fairly sure that they were an indigenously produced US product.

Broaches will often also produce a much better finish on the inside of a hole than a plain drill will, especially useful when the hole is a bearing surface. Drill a touch under-size and open up as appropriate with a broach, where it really matters. There will be a very slight taper on a broached hole, but it's rarely of any practical significance. Doing it from both sides can be an idea, if it's possible.

Practising on stuff you're not too bothered about first is often a good idea. It's not easy to explain how to avoid excessive side-loads on the finer drills, but gentle practise will reveal it fairly quickly.

As I said, "Not immediately useful in this application".

Not immediately useful in this application, perhaps, but this sort of centre-punch / chisel set-up can be very useful. You hold the working end exactly where you want it and then pull back the 'loose' end, letting it go to provide the impact. It can be used as lightly as you like, depending on how far back you pull the 'firing end' and can act rather more delicately than the 'compression' centre-punches that are a bit more common.

A handy weathering exercise, when IRM produce the models....

No more jokes about the wind...

It'll come in handy for the landscape gardeners after the wind today...

If it is a tool that you use often, there is something to be said, sometimes, for having a 'good' one and a 'cheapo rough' one...

Thanks! That could be very useful - some really nice things there. In the piercing saw section, I feel it's (almost) always worth having an adjustable frame - you can still use a broken blade then.. http://www.dixequipment.com/products/saw-frames-best-quality-german-made/

I have a wobbly wheel on a 201, if they ever come into your system.

If it is these people, https://mattessons.co.uk/ , then it is double-t, double-s, and no h or r...

I would want sound - with selectable bacon sizzle, kettle whistle and spoon stirring tin mug.

I remember that day well - I just don't remember much of the evening or the following morning...

You could fix the point near the place where the moving bar is - the actuating pin will flex to take up any extra motion then.

It would put a stop to all the arguments about the gauge...

Crossing the tracks at Ballybrophy was accepted, when necessary, before the lift bridge arrived. I did it a few times with bulky items, by agreement. The longer southbound trains would stop with the loco on the crossing, which meant waiting until it really was clear was made even more obvious - and visibility in both directions was more than adequate.

Ah - I had a cursory look for the word 'Shop' and soon gave up, not spotting that - Thanks.

There is a Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/Irish-Freight-Models-1252098201500518/ . It has this note on it currently - Please note the Irish Freight Models website is currently offline, the shop area can be accessed from the shop link on this Facebook page, Thanks - although, I'm not quite sure what that means.

I've never had much trouble in railway situations, but I'm not a regular attender. Plane-spotting, on the other hand, can be much more 'serious'. I will confess to having been inside, but only for a couple of hours. I was either side of thirteen at the time and was apprehended at gun-point - in fact, bayonet-point, which I remember thinking seemed rather quaint. My father and I spent a couple of hours in military custody and were released without charges. The time in the cell was certainly less stressful than the time spent being initially searched and questioned by a very twitchy chap with an SLR. His two companions were rather more amenable. The twenty minute journey back to their base, over dirt roads, was very entertaining - with me being 'held hostage' and my father following on his motorbike, being covered by Mr Twitchy lying on the back bench of the Land Rover that by this stage had no floor left, due to the radio batteries leaking during the emergency run to capture us. It didn't take long to convince the Interrogating Officer that we were not PLO terrorists, when he finally arrived. I had a few more armed detentions, but only for as long as it took to explain oneself. The one above escalated because they had buggered their radio and so couldn't get guidance on what to do with us, and there were NATO allies in the vicinity who needed to be impressed by the level of security they were being afforded.

Intuitive? I once had the woman nextdoor ring the bell one night and ask me if I knew "the phone number for the ambulance"? Initially, I thought that it was going to lead to a joke, but it turned out that her daughter, who lived a couple of miles away had just rung her with the same question and she had come round to see if I knew. The old chap who lived nextdoor to the daughter had collapsed and they were at a loss as to how to proceed. Rather than risk any further delay, I rang and, although it must have sounded like the most bizarre of hoax calls, they attended fairly sharpish and picked up the victim.. These were people who watched Casualty, Holby City, etc., almost religiously. Never overestimate the public.