>I have been thinking lately that it would be cool to design one of those hand-cranked >valve gear models to laser-cut from wood. Is that something that would interest anyone >else?
Vance, Sounds like a great idea. I have a very artistic kinetic sculpture on my wall made mostly of plywood and bobbins, and a valve gear model on the mantel would be nice. Can we have some attractive wood - cherry or maple ply perhaps? While you are thinking of valv gear models, there was a guy in the UK making dummy Stephenson's valve gear parts to fit between the frames on gauge O locos, pimarily for cosmetic effects reasons. I've often thought about making cosmetic enhancements to my sparkies, many of which have stationary valve rods and rockers. Pete