I have been vacuuming my 90’ Walthers DCC turntable before every use. Upon close inspection, we found a lot of “smutz” on the gears under the bridge.
I have been looking for a cake cover larger than 12.5 inches but have had no luck.
What do YOU use to cover your TT?
I don’t cover mine, but If I had a need to, I’d look into hat boxes, made for womens hats. I think I’ve seen them at craft stores.
I don’t cover mine either.
I just vacuum the pit before each use.
That has served me well for 11+ years.
Rich
A bakery or cake shop may be able to help with a larger cover.
Will the bridge allow a 12.5" cover mounted to a ring of foamcore cut large enough to cover that small gap work? Perhaps even several stacked rings of foamcore, each succesively larger, will allow clearance?
The average cake cover can be flimsy, so cutting the hole in the foamcore so that the cover plugs into it from below would also allow the foamcore to stiffen and strengthen the cover.
I purchased a large cake or party tray cover from my local Party Time store. I don’t know the diameter’s dimension but it completely covers my Walthers 90’ TT including the center tower. If I recall correctly it cost about $5. I put a drawer pull knob on the top of mine to grab onto when removing or placing it.
Bruce
I don’t have a Walthers Turntable, I didn’t know the gears would be above the turntable pit. Is there a way to house the gears to protect them from dust? I have a 135’ CMR Turntable and the gears are enclosed and below the layout. I built a slip-ring assembly for lighting and indexing below the pit and it’s open to dust but it isn’t a problem under the pit.
Mel
My Model Railroad
http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/
Bakersfield, California
Tea towel, Bruce. I just take my time to lift it off so as not to snag the power cable arch astride the center of the bridge.
Just talked to party time. They have a 14" cake cover for less than $2. I will pick up a couple and reinforce if necessary. Crandell, tea towel??? Thanks gang!
Any clean light lint-free towel, the kind one would dry tea cups and glass tumblers with. I use several to dry my eyeglasses after I wash them. I drape a tea towel over my turntable to keep the dust out of the pit. Works for me, Bruce.
I posted pics of my tt cover on this thread a couple of years ago and can’t find the pics on my Photobucket files except this one. It is from Party City and was about $4 for a 19" dia cake cover. I cut the center out and cemented a clear plastic ‘bubble’ from another container I got at Walmart and it makes a perfect handle. Will try to find the other photos. This one is the cover as purchased.
-Bob
Found them:
I just put a brown paper bag over my pond with still water to keep the dust off.
Good luck,
Richard
I use a piece of foam core shaped to match my “Magic Water” creek to keep dust from forming. The wife wants to have our living room floors sanded and I suspect I will be looking for many ideas to cover key scenes - it not light tarps over the entire layout.
These cake cover shots are making me hungry …
Dave Nelson
My Bowser TT doesn’t have gears, only a plywood disk that the geared down motor’s tire turns against. The motor/gear box is under the table and doesn’t need a dust cover. I’m surprised at how maintenance free this system is. My ring rail could probably use a good cleaning with a Bright Boy; but, other than that, the TT has never given me any trouble.
I use a Subway large sandwich tray cover for mine. I just went in and told the counter person I wanted the top of the tray and how much. She looked at me funny and said $3.00 and the deal was done. Really works great. Doug