What a Wazer to Go

The Wazer: https://wazer.com/

 

I retired last month after working 44 years at a large university. Woo hoo! Some people worried that I’d stay at home, just resting and rusting. Pffft! I've already found a couple new hobbies, one of which is stained glass work.

Nice clean edges, and simple pieces for beginners

The first step on the learning curve was to be certified to operate the Wazer, a water jet cutter, at our nearby makerspace. It was intimidating! It seemed there were so many steps to getting it set up, but after a few runs I gained confidence. Other than glass, the Wazer can cut steel, stone, and tile. When cutting glass, the edges are smooth and no grinding is needed, nor do I need to trace patterns and scribe the glass for manual cutting.

 

Having learned to operate the Wazer, I now needed supplies: solder, copper tape, a fid (to firmly press the copper tape onto each cut piece), flux, flux brushes, flux remover, and a carborundum stone to smooth the one area the Wazer leaves to hold the cut piece in place during the high pressure cutting process.

Ready to assemble? Not yet. The PDF designs I purchased from Etsy needed to be converted into the DXF file format Wazer uses. I thought wrapping copper foil around each piece with only a millimeter of play was difficult, but learning to convert files took much more trial and error! Fortunately, my husband is a wiz with various software applications and patiently walked through the process with me over two days.

So, in addition to learning how to solder stained glass pieces, I’ve now learned to use Inkscape to convert files for the Wazer, create the Wazer files, and save them to an SD card. Whew!

Finally, some completed pieces! My foiling and soldering skills have a Waze to go, but I’m enjoying this new hobby. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why Trains ~ by Patrick Webb

Have you ever unexpectedly fallen in love with something? That was me with trains. However, there were some moments in my childhood that shaped it.

When I was nine years old, my family visited a local miniature railway, the Old Wakarusa Railroad. I was ecstatic to ride on the tiny train that was only slightly taller than me! The ride around the simple figure eight railway was one of the happiest moments of my childhood. 

Sadly, the Old Wakarusa Railroad was sold in 2008, but one of the engines that used to work there, No. 98, has been preserved at the Riverside & Great Northern Railroad in the Dells, Wisconsin. 

Another influence was a certain cheeky blue tank engine on TV. I’m sure plenty of parents are familiar with Thomas and Friends, whether watching it themselves or with their children.

Thomas the Tank Engine, Image Credit the Thomas Wiki. 

For me, Thomas represented a form of escapism in my childhood from the struggles of daily life. Following the engines on the island of Sodor gave me a way to relax and inspiration for my own writing. My first attempt at telling a story was based on a PBS news challenge, (I naturally chose Thomas for the subject). While four-year-old me couldn’t figure out if “One day” was spelled with “one” or “won,” it sparked my creativity.

The more I learned online about “The Railway Series,” the books which inspired the show, the more inspired I became. The Reverend Wilbert Awdry spent a great deal of time working on the backstory of Sodor to make it seem like a real place. Worldbuilding for a series with talking engines may seem silly, but that’s part of what made Thomas work: Awdry treated it as stories of a real railway, with real engines who just so happen to talk.

As I grew older, my interest in trains shifted towards preservation. If you’ve ever seen or ridden behind a steam locomotive, you likely have the work of preservation to thank for them still being around. 

Restoring steam locomotives can take years or even decades! 

One of the longest restorations in my current memory is of the Flying Scotsman. Built in 1923, Flying Scotsman is the last locomotive of its class in existence. And what a life it’s lived. Flying Scotsman was one of the first steam locomotives bought for preservation in the United Kingdom. It has traveled to North America and Australia, holds two world records (first steam engine to officially reach 100 mph, and the longest nonstop run of a steam locomotive). Flying Scotsman is now owned by the National Railway Museum (UK). It’s arguably one of the most famous steam engines in the world.  

            Flying Scotsman on display after its newest restoration. 

               Image Credit: David Moyle - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, 

It took a decade for Flying Scotsman to get restored, appearing (controversy, depending on who you ask) in its 1960’s appearance before it was preserved. While it’s not her most famous livery of apple green, Flying Scotsman still looks smart. She’s still running today, providing people entertainment and a fun ride into history. Not a bad fate for a nearly 100-year-old engine.

Trains are a more niche interest. Sadly, the community is often seen as a hobby for old men. However, trains are for everyone.

An example is Jennifer Kirk, who reviews model trains and does livestreams on Monday for people to have a community space. You can check out one of her reviews here. 

It’s hard to imagine me without liking trains. Had I never caught the train bug, I wouldn’t be the same person I am. And I’m certainly glad that my interest in trains has survived beyond my childhood.

My hope, once I graduate and the Pandemic ends, is to travel to various museums and excursion railways, to get up close and personal with the iron giants of the past. And you don’t have to know everything about trains to enjoy them. Look up your nearest excursion/heritage railway or museum and consider going for a ride back in history.

 The Jacobite excursion train on a bridge made famous by the Harry Potter films. Image Credit: Unsplash

Patrick Webb is a Writing Major, minoring in Communication. He enjoys reading Comics (mostly superheroes, but also slice of life), Fantasy, and Science Fiction. You can find him on Twitter, @ConductorPat, and follow his blog, tugandtramblogging

Fun at the Track ~ by Author Jennifer Daniels

 TRX-4 Sport – Green Truck/Vaterra Ascender – Yellow Truck

Picture this… Me, the only woman sitting in the pits with her

husband and son watching them practice and play with their RC-- remote-control race cars. You would think this is a hobby for just the young, but oh no, most of the people that go there are regulars-- grown men hiding from their wives.

It’s a 2 ½ hour drive to get to the track, so we combined the trips.

TRAAXAS Slash - Pink and Black truck 

We all had appointments in Syracuse, NY and decided to stop at Underground RC in Clay, NY at the Great Northern Mall after our appointments.

Some of you would be tickled to be at the mall, but not me. I hate
to shop. It would have been perfect had there been a bookstore, but nope, nothing. And you can only shop at Bath and Body for so long, so back to the track I go.

My son and husband both have several different varieties of RC

cars. Today they brought their TRAXXAS 4-TEC. The guys always make a day of it. So, for one day I suck it up and deal with it. After waiting five hours, watching everyone practice, the race was cancelled. Did we leave? Oh no, we stuck around for two more hours. Now, remember folks, we still have a drive home and need something to eat.

My husband’s car is the white '71 Camaro and my son's is the black

 4-Tec – Black Trans-AM and White Camaro before

'71 Pontiac Trans-AM. This was our son's Christmas present and my husband painted them both. They often buy the car bodies and paint them together.

There are two tracks at this course. One is a road course track and the other is a short course track with tons of jumps laid out throughout the course. But for as much as I complain, I love watching the short course races. They are lot of fun.

I will show the before and after pictures of just the practice on the

4-Tec – Black Trans-AM and White Camaro  After

road course. This wasn’t even the bashing races.

For anyone who has young or "adult" children, this is a fun sport to spend time with your kids. It can be pricey, but for those of us who live in the country, it’s a fun hobby and something that a father and son can work on together.

If you want to watch any of their shenanigans you can look on my son's YouTube Channel @ Maximum RPM.


Happy Racing!





 

A puzzling hobby ~ by Kristine Raymond

For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved jigsaw puzzles.  Something about the myriad of colors and shapes fitting together precisely to form a picture is both enthralling and relaxing to me. 

In my teen years, jigsaw puzzles were a big part of my life.  While my classmates were at the movies or partying or whatever they were doing on Friday and Saturday nights, I was sprawled out on the floor of my bedroom listening to George Winston and Scott Cossu albums, patiently snapping cardboard shapes into place into the wee hours of the morning.  Excitement building as the image began to take shape, it wasn’t unheard of for me to finally crawl into bed at two or three in the morning, not wanting to stop but unable to keep my eyes open a moment longer.

Over the years, my interest in my hobby waned as full-time jobs and day-to-day life and a husband filled my time, though, on occasion, I’d still pick up a puzzle that caught my eye, one with kaleidoscope colors or peaceful scenery.  Not having the time or space to adequately pursue puzzling, boxes and Ziploc bags filled with jumbled pieces took up multiple dresser drawers in my closet.

When I began writing a little over five years ago, I found myself consumed with my craft, literally spending seven days a week at my desk working on some sort of book-related project – writing, proofing, designing covers or promotions, interacting on social media, writing blog posts – anything and everything you can imagine, and that pace slowly but surely caught up with me.  I decided I needed to break up my work day (or night) and shift gears now and again.  Focus on something I enjoyed that would still keep my mind active.  So, into the closet I went, randomly opening a drawer and withdrawing the first jigsaw puzzle I laid my hand on.  Since my office is a pet-free zone (well, it’s supposed to be, but that’s another post), I set out my mat on the table behind my desk and dumped all of those glossy pieces out of the box.                                                                                                          

Though my days of sprawling on the floor are behind me (waaay behind me!) my soul hasn’t forgotten how much it enjoys the satisfying sound of interlocking pieces clicking into place or the slow, yet steady, emergence of a picturesque scene.  When my mind gets bogged down or the words won’t come, I swivel around in my chair and spend a few minutes sorting colors or matching up odd shapes, the respite clearing my head, allowing my thoughts to flow freely, and I realize how much I've missed this hobby of mine.

 Now, how about a little Scott Cossu?