Welcome

Thank you for visiting Phil's Narrow Gauge. The cars and accessories found on these pages are built in 1:20.3 scale now recognized as F scale and represent Colorado Narrow Gauge. All cars and parts are individually manufactured in my shop.

***************************************************************************************************************************

Effective September 14, 2014 and for the Foreseeable Future

I have no kits in stock nor do I plan to manufacture any in the near future other than what's posted in the current update. Any kits produced will be of a limited run nature. No kits will be produced for the sake of having kits on the shelf for random purchases. After 16 years of doing just that, it's time for me to focus on my projects with the occasional run of a "limited run" kit. Watch for updates.

***************************************************************************************************************************

December 18, 2024 Update

Another really short update.............. I have 7/8ths Caboose kit #'s 13, 14, 15, and 16 finished but I'm working on the trucks. They're almost as complicated as all the parts in the kits. While I was making parts for kits 13 thru 16, I went ahead and made most of the parts for kits 17 thru 20. Once I finish 8 pair of trucks, I'll finish the remaining parts for 17 thru 20. Pretty sure most already have Xmas all figured out so I'm concentrating on being finished with the caboose kits and not meeting a completion date. Have done some preliminary counting of remaining 7/8ths parts. Looks like I will be able to produce 6 each of the 147 type box, 6 each of the 85 type box and a dozen or so of the flatcars, with or without the rack Those will be produced after the first of the year. Looking forward to completing the 7/8ths project and getting back to the tiny scale of 1:20.3.

I made a couple repairs to my old laser power supply with a 10% hope I could get it back working. No luck. When I powered it up, got a mini mushroom cloud out of it. 20 years of service isn't bad for a 5-6 year life expectancy. I finished up the new interface between my existing controller and the new power supply. Powered it up and could use the test button on it to fire my existing 50 watt tube. But, my control signal would not fire the laser. More research and I found that the high and low triggers on the new supply are used to put the power supply in a standby position and then a PWM or analog signal in the "In" pin will fire the laser. A few wiring changes in my interface and the laser is back working. I use a small aquarium pump and a medium size aquarium chiller to circulate cooling water for the laser tube. It takes 25,000 volts at 20 milliamps to fire the tube. That 500 watts of power (power = voltage times current). The tube is rated at 50 watts of output power so the other 450 watts goes up in heat. Hence the water circulation and cooling equipment. Without cooling, a laser tube will last 2-3 seconds. By adding the water flow switch in the water line for cutout protection, should I lose water, it added just enough more resistance to the flow that the switch is a little flaky staying on. I ordered a higher power pump last Sunday. Should be here Friday or Saturday. Once in, should be 100% back in laser business. Taken a while as once back in the shop, got hit with a once in a decade snow storm dumping a couple feet of snow and snow drifts. Plus several other "homeowner repairs". No rest for the wicked.

My old control deck looked like this "pic-1" Hit your Return or Esc button to return to this page. From the left, the controller. My laptop feeds the controller via the parallel port (laptops made after 2008 only have USD ports). Inside the box is a breakout board that send motion / X & Y movement to the Gecko drivers to run the Gecko stepping motors. One pin turns on and off the red dot laser pointer that combined with the laser beam so I know where the laser will start. Another pin turns on and off an air solenoid to provide air assist at the focusing nozzle to clear the cutting curf. Another pin puts the power supply into or out of standby mode. Another pin turns the laser on or off. In front of the controller are the 2 Gecko stepping motor drivers. To the right of the controller are the 2, 48 volt DC power supplies for the drivers. In the center is the old high voltage laser power supply. And, at the left is the aquarium water chiller. Behind the chiller is a 1 gallon tank with the submersible water pump inside.

The new setup looks like this "pic-2". Big difference is the center. The new interface is in front of the new power supply. The new supply is less than half the size of the old. Power is off.

New setup with power on looks like this "pic-3". And the biggie, cutting caboose rafters "pic-3A"

I set the current flow on the old via the front panel "pic-4".

I set it now with an external unit mounted in the interface "pic-5".

The water switch is an inline device I put in the return path to the tank "pic-6".

My laser tube is mounted behind the table inside a 6" acrylic tube "pic-7"

Pretty much all commercial laser machine are a cabinet mount. Cutting surfaces run from approximately 8" by 16" up to 24" by 36". Some of the diode lasers are desktop to larger. Mine, being a DIY of my design has a 2' by 4' cutting surface. Aircraft plywood, which I buy bulk, comes in a 1' by 4' size. I buy basswood in 4" by 36" and 1/32" to 1/4" thickness. It comes in larger sizes but 4" by 36" seems to be the most cost efficient size.

For those on the caboose list, I will not be including any instructions in the kits. You will need to download both part 1 and part 2 from the caboose page and save them on you computer. They are in color and in pdf format. If an error shows up, I do correct the instructions and exchange the pdf file with the corrected file on my site. Be sure to download or re-download the files just as you start the assembly to be sure you're using the most current set.

I sold out of all 7/8ths kits last fall. Once the last caboose kit ships, I will inventory freight truck hardware to determine how many more flats, box 85 and box 147 I can produce. That will close out the 7/8ths project.

With ISP's doubling down on unwanted emails and spam, frequently philsnarrowgauge.com emails end up in your spam folder. If you email me and don't get a response, check your spam folder. I answer ALL emails that aren't trying to sell me swamp land. Sometimes, when I respond, the receiving ISP will return a message to me that my email has been blocked for xyz reasons. I'll try a couple of times and then move on. If you're emailing me via your work email, unless you own the company, the IT department will most likely block me.

Another important item. I can't control shipping cost. I have kept my product line sale prices close to straight line. Material cost have gone up and in some cases, I have had to increase my prices but no more than 20% over the past 24 years and only the Harpstands in the last 10 years. The small flatrate box I use for small orders has just increased from $9.45 to $10.20. FedEx Ground has also increased shipping for kits but is still the cheapest method available. Fortunately, the post office has introduced Ground Advantage as a shipping alternative which is a little cheaper than priority mail but takes a little longer to reach the destination. It does have tracking and insurance.

Another cost that is increasing is processing fees for PayPal and credit cards. I will discuss payment options with you as orders reach the shipping stage. I prefer bank transfers first and personal checks second as there is no fee attached......as of yet. I am quoting a small processing fee if you are using PayPal or a credit card. It's either that or I increase the price on all products or implement a S&H fee. Either of those increases would not be fair to those paying cash. Inflation is everywhere........ I'm trying not to be part of it.

RPO 66 Update

Many are asking the status of the RPO. My initial plan was to do the RPO and then move to the 7/8ths kits. The covid disruption of everything in the spring of 2020 changed those plans. I couldn't get masters made for it so started working on the trucks for the 7/8ths cars. As delays persisted, I began work on the actual 7/8ths kits and just "parked" the RPO project for a later date. I am a one horse operation. As I like to say, one dog, one bone. The RPO project will happen, I just can't say when. Producing kits is secondary to my other responsibilities. While many of my colleagues have bailed from the manufacturing scene, I'm doing my best to hang in there another couple of years.

I have all 50 spots signed up for an RPO kit. At present, I have 6 on the waiting list should any of the 50 change their minds. We'll see how that works out. I have almost all the brass masters I need for the RPO. I do need 1 more of the side steps laser cut in brass. Also need the time to make spin casting molds and silicon molds for the resin parts. I'm now thinking the fall of 2022 at this point. The 7/8ths project I took on is proving to be bigger than anticipated.

A change to this site is now in effect. I have moved the limited run short passenger cars from the Future Projects page to Rolling Stock > Freelance > Short Passenger. They are now fully retired. In the place of the short passenger cars is a new button for the SR&RL 7/8ths kits I'm working on.

7/8ths Update

I've added a "7/8ths SR&RL" button to the main bank of buttons at the top of this page. A few were having problems finding those kits.

All the 7/8ths kits are sold out at this point. I will be making a few more flats and boxcars but the 7/8ths project will be concluding in the next few months. I do think I have reached the saturation point of those wanting 7/8ths kits in the SR&RL flavor.

Hope all are staying healthy and happy.

This page was last updated on 12/18/2024

You are visitor #
Know Total Visits

Counter provided by  www.webcounter.com