Cantgetthatanywhere

Lima Class 31 OO Scale With CD Rom Motor This Lima Class 31 OO Scale model train was inoperable and needed a new motor. This video shows how I found and harvested an old computer CD Rom motor that I...

CantGetThatAnywhere.ca hit a big milestone today!
I track all of my sales, along with addresses and shipping information, and just for fun have had a running total of the amount of kilometres that my products have been shipped...
Today's orders added 6017 kilometres to the total and far surpassed the distance to the moon!

I just received a box of chocolates and a thank you card from a customer that I shipped two dog barrels to Australia for!
Wow! That's absolutely wonderful and a huge surprise!

Model train scenery is quickly getting more popular, so I needed to pick up another Resin Printer. This one can print bigger, more, faster, and higher resolution.
Exciting times! 😀

I seem to have found a niche with Model Train Scenery! What started out as a hobby has unexpectedly turned into a business opportunity!
I'm in the process of designing and listing HO Model Train Scenery, printed in ABS resin. Early signs seem to indicate that it's taking off with the hobbyists! So far I've got perfect reviews (knock on wood 🙄)
These are some of my early designs, listed on Etsy. I'll be adding new ones frequently.

These are some of my 3D Printed Whiskey Barrels for Dog Collars (not Chihuahuas, Teacup Poodles, Pomeranians, or other hors d'oeuvres for larger dogs).
So far, they're my largest seller online and have shipped all over the world.
I'm proud to say that I have thirty 5-star reviews on Etsy as of today.
Many thanks go out to all of my customers! 😁

I'm a little proud to see one of my Dog Barrels going overseas to Sarzeau, France!

I made a diorama to show the abilities of 3D printing. I 3D printed every piece of the "hard" scenery here. Obviously not the loco and coach.
I think the whole model railway world is way behind in taking advantage of custom design and printing.

Instead of buying a $200 Resin Print Curing Box, I decided to make one. I got a $25 405nm UV Lamp and 4 adhesive mirror tiles from Amazon. I stuck it all together on some Dollar-Store press-board with packing tape as the corners and "hinges". I 3D printed a bracket/stand for a 20rpm motor and put a makeup mirror on top.
Voila! Perfectly functional for under $40.

Thank you Pattie for this great picture of Vincent with his new Whiskey Barrel!

Another Whiskey Barrel going out the door to Pennsylvania.
I'm glad these are popular items... They're fun to make and always great to see them modelled!
I hope Vincent likes his!

We had fun at the Kitchener model train show this past weekend... Had a lot of great engagements with vendors and attendees. People were very interested in seeing the 3D printers in action. Many of them had never seen or heard of 3D printing.

Sent one of my Whiskey Barrels to the Yukon and Rue models it like he's the product's poster boy!

I designed these two track laying gauges for parallel HO tracks. Once the first track is down, fit the gauge over both tracks and the unattached track is guaranteed to be accurately spaced.
Comes in 2" centre-to-centre standard for straight runs, and 2½" centre-to-centre for curved track.

I have a soft spot for HO model trains. I got into it in 1978 in East Germany when I spent the summer visiting relatives. My uncle had an enormous HO layout in intricate detail with dozens of circuits running simultaneously, all in the Deutsche Reichsbahn livery.
I was mesmerized with the realism, detail and lighting. It burned a permanent image into my synapses.
I got into HO model trains, collecting Fleischmann, Roco and Piko.
When I had kids in the 90s, I boxed up everything and couldn't afford the time or the cost anymore.
It didn't take long for 3D design and 3D printing to wake up the old synapses and the sleepless nights began!
Thingiverse has a great resource of HO designs which I borrow off of. In many cases, they're great on the screen, but not suitable for printing, so mesh repairs, remixes or redesigns are necessary.
These bridges are redesigns inspired by a great HO designer named Kim Brumble.
I've added piers to the steel bridges, disassembled the designs for print, did repairs to the Stone Arch bridge, and did the painting to amp up the realism.
I thoroughly enjoyed these projects and the hours of free therapy!

After I created my LED LIT LIQUOR LID LIGHTS (LOL), I thought... when it comes to booze, more is better, right? 🙄
No?
I meant the lights, of course!
I love the industrial look of black pipe, so I figured I'd give it a go. It's got a real industrial blue collar bar look to it. Great look for a man cave. You can run these G4 bulbs non-stop for a year and might be out $10 in electricity!

https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/1339527279/mancave-essentials-bar-light

My girlfriend's son adopted this giant "puppy" St Bernard crossed with a Yeti.
I took one look at Gibson and flashed back to a Bugs Bunny cartoon rerun from 1957 called Piker's Peak. There was a St Bernard with a whiskey barrel around his neck saving Yosemite Sam in an avalanche.
Well... I have an imagination. I have a CAD program. I have 3D printers!
The resulting sleepless night of designing, printing and painting resulted in this whiskey barrel.
Yes... it looks big but it's only 146g (5oz). Gibson doesn't even notice it!
It's also made out of my favourite plastic... PETG (coincidence that it has PET in the name?)
Very strong and non-toxic. Even the paint is water based.
As a neat "twist", I designed a threaded lid so that the dog can carry its own supply of p**p bags, or you have somewhere to put your car keys when you're running in spandex along side your dog!
This design is easy to personalize with the dog's name or just put the cliché red cross on the barrel.

No idea why, but I was wondering if any kind of light socket and bulb could fit inside the standard 18mm (11/16") liquor bottle opening. I did a little bit of Googling and Amazon browsing and found that 12v G4 LED bulbs and sockets are 17mm in diameter!
Since "small" was the word of the day, I decided to try to make the smallest LED LIT LIQUOR LID... LOL
A couple of elements that bore consideration were; it should be made out of strong PETG plastic because of the obvious hazard of heavy glass and electricity, it would have to include a junction box to connect the socket's wires to the source wires, and the chain loop would have to rotate so you could aim the face of the liquor bottle once screwed on and hung.
My design included a conic core in a slightly larger conic void to allow the turning mechanism to be printed as one piece. A 0.3mm gap would be enough to allow the print overhangs but not have full fusion of the two pieces.
I also used elliptical chambers so I wouldn't need to print supports.
(I have an unreasonable dislike for supports and most of my designs avoid them one way or another)
The finished product is small, strong and works like a charm. Old liquor bottles can be décor after all!

I Designed a couple of tunnel openings for single and double tracks. My primary concern was that I made the openings tall enough for my overhead catenary wires. So much North American stuff doesn't clear European electric locomotives' pantographs.
The openings are also wide enough to allow my 11" rolling stock to clear the walls in 16" radius curves.
The diagonal walls slope down at 30º and are separate from the portal so you can place them in any angle you want.
This PLA plastic takes paint really well too!

My current setup is my original Anet ET5 and another Anet ET5x which I've picked up in the last year. The two machines run 24/7 and when I can justify it, I'll likely expand again.
I really like the Anet ET5 for it's rugged construction and big print size. I can print 300mm x 300mm prints as much as 400mm tall!
Both machines have been upgraded with Micro Swiss all-metal Hotends.

As a 3D Design and 3D Printing enthusiast, I've finally got the tools to be able to turn inventions and ideas into reality!
I've spent my life constantly using phrases like "there should be a thing" or "I have an invention!" or...
"YOU CAN'T GET THAT ANYWHERE!".
Back in January of 2022, my girlfriend bought me my first 3D Printer and nothing has been the same since!
She likes to remind me that it was the greatest birthday present ever, and all she has to do from that day forward is say "make yourself something nice" for each special occasion... 😅