What is a good design and material to make car card holders with (3"x5" in size)? What I am using now, plastic box for index cards, is sufficient but not ideal. Any help is greatly appreciated!
Hi, Vipertodd. I just,today, built 4 more carcard holders:
You can see one below the yard.I used 1/8 masonite and 1x2 lumber. The back is 53/4" high, the front 21/2". I cut 1x2 for the bottom length first, then the dividers.Remember to subtract 3/4" for the dividers or they will be that much too long!I used plain yellow carpenter’s glue(I is one!) and clamped it all together overnight.Paint and glue to facia.I used PL400 construction adhesive, but liquid nails for projects would also work.
Hope this helps!
Terry
Fantastic! Great idea and they look super. Explain to me the bit about cutting the dividers 3/4" short. How would that make them too long?
Vipertodd: The front piece of masonite is 21/2", the bottom 1x2 is 3/4". That’d make your 1x2 dividers13/4".You could make the front piece any height you want,but remember to cut the dividers taking in to account the bottom 1x2. I wasn’t very clear in the first post, sorry!
I broke down and bought a starter set from Micro Mark, they have such fine boxes.
I got it now. No problem at all. Again, they look super. I will give them a try!
Being addicted to inexpensive (oKAY, already…cheap) solutions, I made my car card boxes from corrugated cardboard, held together with glue and wire. Back of the box is 6" high, bottom fold is 1" (can be varied to suit,) front fold is 3", slots are 3.5" wide. The extreme ends are folded in and glued. Intermediate dividers are the same width as the bottom, corrugations running horizontally. A loop of wire, visible on the front, holds each intermediate divider in position - the wire runs from front to back through corrugation channels and is twisted snug in back.
While not as elegant as some, that meets my simple needs. (I have not been tempted to fabricate one out of steel stud material!)
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
Yea, I looked at those,too. But I’m cheap and had the scrap material laying around. Figured to use it than landfill it[(-D]
The thing I didn’t mention is to build it with enough spaces for your needs. The one in the picture has a space for each yard track plus an empty one for pens,uncoupler sticks,etc.
For the ones at towns, some had 3 spaces for each industry(set-out,hold,pick-up), some just 2(set-out, pick-up) depending on the frequency of shipments.I built seperate boxes for the engine service and station tracks at Spooner Yard.
Seems like the spaces fill up with other stuff if they’re empty, though![:-^]
Enjoy,
Terry
I use computer diskette pockets at each of my online industries. They can be found at stores like Staples.
They are self-adhesive. I stick a computer-printed label on each.
I looked at those. They are very nice and pretty inexpensive. I may go that route now.
Zounds. Diskette covers and labels… what an idea!
*Pouts… now I have to look at the 20 dollars I thought I was spending wisely on that box lol.
By the way, I did enjoy the photo very much. Nice work! I dont know about you but it would be high time to fill it with cards, pick up a throttle and make it go.
I just screw binder clips to the fascia…
Lee
What I am using is the blue plastic electrical work boxes. The holes that hold the screws for the face plate make nice dividers also. They are a little big but I use them for whole trains in the staging yard.
Mike Dickinson
Ummm… I just cut about a 2.5 inch section off each end of a plain white envelope. Holding the cut off and sealed part with the open end up, I cut down 1/4 inch on each side and fold the front in. Then tape to the edge of my layout. This makes pockets to hold the cards. I use 3 for each scene. One for a 3-day stay, one for a 2-day stay, and 1 for pick-up next session.
jim
Thanks for the information. I ordered a starter set + some extra card boxes from Micro-Mark. You all have been very helpful.
Great idea!
See ya…I am off to Lowes for some blue plastic electrical boxes.
Jamnest. If you get the kind with the nails in the sides, they will just nail to the wood in that area. I had to redo mine because they were not fitting right. I drilled small holes in the back and larger holes to accomadate the screwhead and driver.
Mike Dickinson
I made my own. I used pine and plexiglass, cut with a miter saw, but a table saw would work too.
I may add a lip to the bottom so one could sort the cards while operating.
Hey everybody, In the Valu Home Centers ad. They have the blue work boxes an sale for 17¢. That is a great deal. 5 for a buck.
Mike Dickinson
You know, this thread is a great example of how this forum should work.
In just a few days, we’ve seen 6 or 7 great variations. No-one claimed his was the best, everyone just added their idea.
Very nice.
Mike Tennent