I have a Micro Mark drill press with a chuck that handles down to a #80 bit. I also use a clip-on "mag lite" sort of gizmo that shines a cone of light in the area to be drilled. Spindle RPM is about

Group, my father just showed me the best trick of all time for avoiding breakage of drill bits. Once your bit is in the vise, dip it in beeswax. Drilling then goes 3x as fast, and I have yet to break

Doug, I use my Dremel that I got back in the late-1970s. It is plugged into a special outlet that is wired to a light dimmer. I use the dimmer to regulate the Dremel speed. This operation has eased

I have the same drill that Brian speaks of that I purchased from him at the "Nashville Depot" about 15 years ago. I use a small variable speed power pack to juice it. One quirk I have experienced is

The best way I know of and use to prevent drill breakage is the chuck the drill bit into the pin vise, Dremel or drill press so only a ¼” or so is sticking out. If the drill is too long to chuck

I use a hand drill holder, the new one is from Otto Frei and it works like a charm and their drills are by far the best that i have used. Zero drill breaks on 5 Westerfield Great Northern truss rod

I make sure I "locate" the hole accurately and well with a scriber or sewing needle in a pin vice. Small amounts or stuff that can't be laid flat, I use a pin vice but when possible, I use an Albrecht

Hi Doug, I use two tools, both powered. Most often I use a Dremel Moto tool with a foot-operated speed control, as I explained in "Building resin freight car kits" in the February "Model Railroader."

Beeswax available from Caboose Hobbies, Micro Mark, elsewhere. And bees! Jerry Michels

Doug, I've been using a cordless Dremel tool for years now for drilling holes in resin and plastic. Basically I stopped breaking bits once I started using the tool. Dremel sells a small 3 jaw chuck

Doug.   I am on the higher end. Pricey, that is.  I use a Foredom for all the drilling. Higher the RPM the better. I do 30 cars at a clip and I use about 1 bit each  block of cars. Keep the drill

I gave up on trying to drill #78 and smaller holes manually a long time ago. I went through bits way to fast. A good drill press is the best solution in my opinion (other than some trouble

Sam and Tim, Thank you for your help in addressing a difficult problem with these Oriental units. Back in the mid-80s, using draw bars between the "A" and "B" units was the acceptable way of getting

If the model *doesn't* have cast dimples, I have good luck using a straight pin as a mini center punch. Al Brown, Melbourne, Fla.

Doug, I use the pin vise with the ball handle. It fits nicely in the palm, and allows good control. If the model has pre-cast dimples, and there are lot of them, I'll plug a dremel into a variac

I use a homemade drill. I took a "Holland" motor (such as A-Line still sells for an outrageous price, as I got mine for $3 apiece years ago), added a flywheel at one end, and made a brass fitting to

I have had some set backs with plastic and resin kits drilling holes for grabs and such i either brake the bit or it gets broken off in the model. Do you have any tips on how to do this? I'm using a

Mr. Hawkins thank you for the clarification. Back to wonderment on this series of cars. Sure wish there was a drawing of the ends and roofs. The body is available and a duryea underframe can be built.

I am shouting that everyone contact me off-list, and then I send two private responses back to this list. I am sorry, and will strive to be more vigilant. -Andy Carlson Ojai CA

Mark, Stan's flat-panel riveted roof was similar to but unlike the B&O M-55/A/B box cars, which had a rather unusual roof comprised of flat riveted sheets with depressed roof sheets adjacent to the