(jeb@oscalemag.com). - O Scale Trains Magazine Online

The Art of FinescaleMichael CougillJigsAs outlined in the last issue, I’m scratchbuilding amodern boxcar. I’m also taking the time up front tobuild (and, in some cases, rebuild) several jigs that willhelp the project go much smoother.A lot has been written about using jigs as modelingaids when scratchbuilding, and I couldn’t agree withthe practice more. Some folks may feel that constructinga jig is a waste of time. Nonsense! Anytime youhave to make more than one of an item, you’ll actuallysave time by using a jig. For example, I’ve made jigsfor doing grab irons, one right- and one left-hand jigfor aligning and drilling the holes in the car sides, anda third for forming the grab iron itself. The hole-drillingjigs have stops on the back to line them up properlyon the car side. I’ll do another one for the stirrup stepsand maybe one for the door components. I’ve eventhought of doing up a jig to line up the ribs for the carsides. None of them are fancy, just some scraps of styrenebuilt to the proper dimension. The photos will tellyou all you need to know.The jigs are a good place to record the size of wireused for the grabs and the drill bit size needed for theholes; just write it all down on the jig face with a sharppermanent marker. All sorts of other useful informationcould be noted on them as well. If you’re like me,your memory gets creative as the years pass, and theselittle bits of information get lost.If you do build a jig or two for a project, there’sno sense in building one if it’s inaccurate in someway. You’ll just be duplicating your error throughoutthe model. Take the time to get it right in the firstplace, even if it means having to redo the thing severaltimes. I’ll have to do that with the drilling jig, asI found an error in the rib spacing on my mockup ofthe carside. Time spent up front to get things right willbe time well spent, and make the modeling processmore enjoyable.u32 • O Scale Trains - Mar/Apr ’07