OST Publications Blog
Weathered
A few of the older neighborhoods near the tracks in Richmond still feature brick pavement on the streets and alleys. This one next to Purina sneaks between two buildings and showcases a wealth of inspiring details. The asphalt patch is all that remains of a spur track...
The Stuff You Seldom See
You don't see images like this often. We tend to ignore and hide the mistakes and outright failures; a mindset that is fueled even more by the highly curated nature of social media. I think photos like this are important. They reveal the true aspects of what we do....
Discovering The Obvious
Invariably, the obvious solution to a problem shows up after you've tried plenty of other more convoluted ways. Because they are in separate sections, getting the center sills on the car level and straight from one end to the other was harder than I imagined. I tried...
What Motivates You?
What drives your interest in the craft? What keeps you going during the hard times when you feel stuck and don't know why? What brings you true joy? I emphasize craft and precision because those are qualities I'm drawn to and want to see and develop in myself. They...
Thinking About Jig Design
Sometimes it really is as simple as two strips of MDF to provide support for soldering subassemblies together.(Above) I designed this soldering jig so that gravity held the four pieces of each hopper bay in place while heating with a torch. If needed, I could also use...
Going Down The Digital Rabbit Hole?
There's no denying the impact of digital technology on modeling. CAD software and 3d printing have matured and opened a number of doors for those skilled in them. While still expensive, laser cutters, CNC routers and desktop sized 3D printers are becoming staples of...
Problem Solving
You're looking at the better part of three weeks of work that involved multiple restarts and many rounds of problem solving in fabricating these hopper bay assemblies. Here are a few more thoughts about the process. This jig is a simple solution to hold and align the...
What Practice Looks Like
How we model and the standards we apply are a choice each of us makes. These are part of mine.This is an exercise piece to develop my skills in making multiple parts to a specific dimension, soldering and learning to work with more precision. The material is 0.032"...
Buried Treasure
How do you choose a subject for modeling? How do you find meaning in a subject beyond surface appeal? Sorting through my photo collection, unearthed the following treasures. All of them are poor by today's high resolution digital standards but what follows are a...