I had a container of these brass paper fasteners laying around for years.  Looking at them, they shouted "roof vents!"  Here is how I used them for ventilator caps:

In my introductory post, http://http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/20963 I talked about my satisfaction with using steel stud material for benchwork, mentioning the favorable characteristics of strength, stability, light weight, ease of use, and economy.  I first learned of using steel studs from and article by Jonathan Miner in April 2000 Model Railroader Magazine.   Materials are easily obtained at most home and building centers.  Follow along as I describe this technique.

I have been toying with this idea of a blog of my model railroad hobby for a while now and with the start of the new year, here I go.  This is the second iteration of the Chicago Yellowstone and Pacific began about 2002.  It is far from any real completeness.  The nickname, Yellowstone Road, springs from a local newspaper article that described an early 20th century system of roads strung together as an automobile route from the East coast to the Northwest through the Northern states, the Yellowstone Trail.  My town is on that route, hence the article.  I thought, &