Alternative materials


Hey Stoker,

That was real genius on the corrugated tin! I have seen some other guys try something, but you really hit it here.

I went back to post 6 where you compared the different types of tarpaper. I think you are right about the grocery bag. My wife reminded me that I used paper towels on my first projects for the same reason. I was getting the old fashioned brownish ones from some of the gas station bathrooms.

I use some stuff called wb weld or something like that, two epoxy tubes, to make the pastey asphalt. For the building next to the sawmill, sprinkling with fine ash looks like some of the dried moldy places I have seen up here in Minnesota. Organic matter flies up to the roof via wind and rots a little, then dries, leaving spotted areas.

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logandsawman
 
I have found that using the metal tape for HVAC is great for corrugated metal. I'm not sure if the best part is it metal or its tape. I picked up a roll at Harbor Freight Hardware and I think I have enough for all I would ever need in HO after I taped all the leaking joint on the HVAC unit.

Dave
 
Hey Dave,

Thanks for the HVAC tape idea. Do you corrugate it like Stoker? I wonder if you could put up a photo?


Thanks, lasm
 
A product excellent for use in construction and repair of plastic or metal objects, sets up like hard plastic also has applications as a decorative binder is JB weld. I used this in a previous post to simulate thick asphalt patching materials.

I used this item in repair of heavy logging machinery and found it holds up year after year even under heavy impacts. I do not sell this item, but have found it to be extremely useful. It is at the hardware store.

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In initially constructing the building, I use it in the corners of the foundation to make a perfect right angle which is extremely rigid.

Also, where weak pieces attach, I use it like weld to build up an area

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When fabricating the frame, I use it out of view to make a solid bond. The vehicle is much more durable.

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Now the vehicle can be moved around without fear of something falling off. It also worked to attach the tiny steering wheel. I also used it to build up broken plastic on my old locomotive trucks. (CAUTION it is not meant to be a conductor or insulator of electricity.)

After 2,000 hours of service in a radiator repair in logging machinery, this substance still had not failed.

I hope this helps someone in their construction and repair efforts.


logandsawman
 
Yes, I do corrugate the tape as well. I use a jig I got from eBay that is made from a hard plastic and I just press them together. I will need to get the details together and post soon. I've not done much hobby stuff with summer and a 1 year old son but will try to get more posted soon.

Dave

Hey Dave,

Thanks for the HVAC tape idea. Do you corrugate it like Stoker? I wonder if you could put up a photo?


Thanks, lasm
 
Chet, talking about JB Weld. My Dad was a heavy carpenter, meaning he built things like dams, sewer plants, and hospitals. His favorite hammer, a True Temper 16oz form hammer, with a round fiberglass handle, (one of the first FG ones made), came apart, and he was very disappointed, as it wasn't a cheap hammer.

I mixed up a good batch of the JBW, and reattached the head to the handle. That hammer was still in real good shape 10 years after the repair in 1981, when Dad passed. I still have the hammer, and use it often when having to do minor work around the house.
 
Stoker, did you create 2 part mold? how did you get the backside of the catus done if not?
Thanks for the good post with nice photos.

Dave
 
To make the corrugated metal I used a tool from http://www.fassettstudios.com/ Tom Fassett on eBay. I didn't see the tools online any more but not sure if that's a temp thing or not. Best thing is to contact Tom from his web site. I would use his tool and the metal furnace tape and bang I have corrugared sheets. I'll get some photos for you. I'm thinking it looks a little large for HO scale but still not bad for the price.

Dave
 
metal furnace tape and bang I have corrugated sheets. I'll get some photos for you. I'm thinking it looks a little large for HO scale but still not bad for the price.

Dave


Hey, looking forward to seeing the photos. Put something HO in there if possible so I can get an idea of the size you are talking.

Someone with an EDM machine or working in a machine shop could probably whip up the exact right thing and put it out there. Even make the standing seam metal roof. Deliver a couple options on metal roofing, and we could probably use the HVAC tape or beer cans.


Thanks for your expertise. lasm
 
Pulpwood sticks and 16" sawlogs can be made from a common weed, goldenrod. When it dries naturally, it has a thin shell around a spongy pith. The diameter of the material is authentic for lake states sized trees most commonly harvested from the 1920's to present day. The flowers, when dried, also make a nice medium for attaching Woodlands Scenic products to make trees. Hence, you can get both the tree and the log from the same material. I have some pictures of this in my album.

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This first shot shows how the weed looks in August, and the old stems from last year. The stems look the best when picked in December or later, when they have fully naturally dried.

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This shot shows how I cut them. You have to roll around the entire stem several times, each time sinking the blade a little further into the weed. When you hit the spongy pith, it cuts all the way through. You should end up with a nice clean cut.

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This shows an authentic pulpwood load for Minnesota and Wisconsin. The sticks are 100" long. We loaded gond's like this from the 40's to present day. This is how we made a full load, it would take about 24 cords to fill a gondola, the wood weighing about 80,000 pounds.

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Here is a load of 16' wood, too. If you want to be more artsy, you could coat the logs to make them look like a different type of wood.

I like using this item because each log looks different, and the log ends have a natural sapwood and heartwood effect. This weed grows all over in the ditches and can be covertly picked without arousing too much suspicion. It is not an endangered species. It is great for modelers on a budget.

I hope this helps someone in their layout!

logandsawman
 
Here is a pretty easy way to make a replacement door for that stock car you won on ebay. I used scotch tape or postage tape and laid the wood on it. I ran a small drop of glue at each end where the horizontal piece intersected the vertical piece.

When measuring, my door was a bit long, but I was able to shave a little off the end and make it fit. It slides up into the top rail, and the new bottom rail is made from two pieces of wood forming an L glued together to make the slot.


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Here is the before photo. I liked the color and the natural weathering. It must have been in a sandbox.

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I cut the pieces and laid them out on a piece of postage tape. I use the razor blade for all my cuts. The chopper is useful for getting square cuts, but not essential.

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I ran CCA glue down each end where the horizontal meets the vertical. I put a tiny dot at every intersection. Then, I cut a narrow strip and put that over the glue, meeting both the vertical piece and horizontal piece.

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I used some JB weld on each end of the bottom rail. This covered the hole that used to connect the original bottom rail, and also made an extremely strong bond for the new rail to the train car.

I have won a lot of stock cars on ebay and want to make a cattle train. I guess I first have to make a stock car door company to build replacement doors.

I hope this helps someone on their model railroad project!

logandsawman
 
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Nice work on those stock car doors, LASM, and the timber as well... I will make a note of those ideas.

On the subject of alternative materials, a completely useless idea that I was, nonetheless, very proud of when I figured it out a long... long... time ago...

Back when I was a teenager, I made a water tower from plans published in RMC. It was a very unconventional water tower -- a brick base, and a very narrow, metal tank.

Believe it or not... the cardboard tube wrapped around... ummm... one of my older sister's 'monthly supplies' .... was exactly the right diameter to fit the water tower tank. I kid you not.

I fished the tube out of the trash (understand it was perfectly clean, the tube was removed before the product it held was put to use...), trimmed it to the proper height following the plan, and then built the base using cardstock and brick paper.

As for the metal for the tank... I knew aluminum foil wouldn't work. But one night we had Shake - N -Bake for chicken. In those days, the seasoning came in a packet that had a plasticized foil interior. It was ideal -- metallic, but not "crinkly" like foil. So I took the now-empty seasoning packet -- which was large enough for the job -- and carefully wiped off any remaining crumbs of seasoning from it. (There weren't many because the way it was made, the seasoning didn't stick to it.)

I wrapped it around the tube, cut a piece to fit the top, trimmed it to size, then took it back off so I could poke it from the underside to simulate rivets. Once that was done, I glued it to the tube, and the job was done. (The prototype used a separate standpipe, I think, but I honestly might not have ever finished that part.)

Anyhow, that is long gone, long with all the other stuff I made in those days... :(

If this helps someone on their model railroad project I'll be completely stunned...:)
 
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Hey DairyStateDad,

Too bad those plans didn't turn out into something really cool.

Anyway, thanks for visiting my thread and the kind words!


logandsawman
 
Too bad those plans didn't turn out into something really cool.
-- Hey, I thought it was pretty cool, when I made it all those years ago! :rolleyes: :)

It was definitely inexpensive!

Wish I knew whatever happened to it, though...
 
Sorry I read your description wrong. Anyway, I tried drawing a picture of your project and came up with this:


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Let me know how the real one differed!


Thanks, logandsawman
 
Pretty close. The building part had flat walls (ie, it was a cube, not a cylinder). And the other day I found myself thinking one part of my recollection may have been incorrect -- I think the lower part might have been concrete block, not brick (and thus used gray concrete block style paper, not red brick paper).

After I went away to college, my nephews got a lot of my train stuff. I am wondering if the things I made were among them....

Sometime I will tell you about the coal mine made from toothpicks and then painted with brown shoe polish...
 
Drawing of a railroad layout during the steam era, running through a rural farming community. Historical data collected from small town historical societies, libraries, or other unconventional sources can add a lot for those interested in modelling a prototypical railroad.



Sanborn RR.JPG


Although the population of the town was small, it served a rich agricultural area. Using a photograph taken from the coal shutes, and some early undated plat maps (maps of the town), the layout of trackside buildings and track design is recreated.

I was surprised that there were three separate grain elevators. The building labelled as feed mill was simply called the mill, and it may have been a flour mill. It wasn't a sawmill because there was no sawdust.

Another surprise, the passenger depot was located between the tracks. There was a road running along one side of the depot. The building called the engine house was a long rectangular, tall building suitable for housing two engines with tender, with room to spare. It was called a roundhouse in many of the newspaper articles, but it was not round and there was no turntable. Maybe there was one there originally, burned down, and they called the new structure erected there by the same name (speculation)

Anyway, I hope this gives you some ideas for your model railroad!


logandsawman
 

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