Busy cutting "pulpwood"


F

frog

Member
After reading past posts here I decided at last to add pulpwood to my cars. I am glad I have only 3 of them at the moment as this is not a quick project.

We have cedar here and I wanted a southern pine look so that's what I am going with.

First, I made a mold if you will out of the type cardboard you see on 12 pack soda pop. I wanted to be able to remove my loads so I elected not to glue them to the car. The mold fits like a glove into the car, measured everything beforehand with a micrometer, added masking tape to the inside and applied a brush coat of coconut oil to allow easy release of the completed load. (Didn't want my superglue sticking to the cardboard afterward, and the backing on the tape along with the oil prevented this.)

Rather than cut the wood with shears I used my dremel with a cutoff wheel, setting it up with spacers and a deck turning it into a small table saw. I didn't want to have a "pinched" look on the ends of the wood, and the dremel worked nicely for that. Taped 2 cardboard ends to my mold to hold it slightly tilted back on my work deck, and went at it.

So far after 4 hours I have cut wood for 1/2 a carload and have ran out of glue (2 tubes). Each log of course has to be glued and I am using different sizes of logs as this is what I have seen on cars in the past. I am 2/3rds through with one side and the logs release from the mold with no problem and fit into the car nicely. A toothpick is nice for seating the wood with.

So, until I get to town and raid the store of a large amount of superglue I am on hold.

Looking ahead, I am going to weigh each side and ensure they are as close as possible for balance. Weight wise, my cars are going to be on the heavy side but I am hoping this will not be a problem. I am cutting green wood and as soon as it dries it will be quite a bit lighter.

I probably going to have to give the ends a very light dusting with orange chalk to give the appearance of freshly cut pine, then seal with dull coat but other than that all should be good.

All in all a fun project, the expense has been with superglue, tried white glue first on a sample, didn't cut it.

I thank you guys for your ideas, was getting tired of looking at empty pulpwood cars and the store-bought ones I have seen are not very impressive.
 
If you have a woodworking store (Woodcraft, Rockler, etc.) close you can get CA glue (same thing as superglue) in 1 or 2 oz. bottles a lot cheaper than the little tubes. The big box stores often have it also. a couple of oz. goes a long way.
 
We'll be looking for pics when you get one done!
I was thinking of glueing pictures of pulp loads to styrofoam shapes that fit into the cars.
A friend of mine used grape vines cut and glued to the out sides of the styrofoam that comes with the cars.
Maybe he'll chime in here... hint hint
 
Wood glue didn't work?

I'm asking because I'm slowly doing the same thing. I am using a small coping saw instead of the dremel.
 
I found 12 tubes of superglue at WallyWorld for 3 bucks, good deal IMO.

The cashier gave me a thoughtful look as I laid down the glue and a 12 pack of beer (for my wife). No telling what she thought.

Trey, white glue might work for you, I had mine watered down a bit and it left a visible residue. You might try glue on a few pieces and leave overnight, then see how well it holds by trying to break them apart. The superglue just dried much faster and I don't want the logs to come apart if I can help it. Using a coping saw does take time but at least you will have that "sawed off" look.

With cedar it has a loose covering over the bark, have to remove this with my fingernail. Afterwards the wood "bark' is smooth, much too much for pine. I am going to try to use rough sandpaper, cradle the wood in it much as you would if you were rolling a cigarette, and with smooth pliers press on it. Maybe the imprint from the sandpaper will leave a rough bark like appearance on the wood. Then I'll dust lightly with a blue/purple chalk to give the look of a pine tree. Good thing I only have to do this on the top logs, ones that can be seen.

I'll try to get pictures with one of our cheap 35mm cameras, no zoom on them. I have been hinting for someone to get me a zoom digital for Christmas or my Bday but they mostly get me golf balls which in the case of my game is a very good thing, better than a tie or aftershave.
 
Well, two cars completed and one more to go. Oh the horror of it all! I haven't counted how many logs go onto a pulpwood car but it is keeping me busy. The couple I have done look good, can lift them out with ease. Have held off on the detailing as far as color to appear as pine for them to dry some (green wood). Will probably remove weights on these cars, loaded they are quite heavy although they pull with no problem.

Will get pics when they are done, glad I don't have a fleet of them although I would like a couple more to give me a total of 5, a decent load.
 
CA (superglue) on wood? Didn't it get too warm to hold? CA reacts with cellulose (which is what wood is made of)
 
I didn't notice any heat buildup, they hold together very good at present. Superglue just allowed me to progress faster, just hold in place for a few seconds with a toothpick and move on to the next one.

I found a good deal on the glue, 4 tubes for about a dollar. Went through a lot of wood, you would think it grows on trees or something!
 
Frog:

Those 3 bulkhead flats look like they are loaded with green pulp wood. Oh yeah, that's what they're supposed to look like! :) Good job.

Just a thought, and it may be too much trouble. I would be tempted to cut each log to about 1/3 normal length and glue them together for each of the sides, with full length pulp wood logs on the ends and two rows on the top. This would decrease the weight by about 60% and visually look fine. As a matter of fact I and I think we all have seen, and have some, pre-made store-bought loads of various kinds that were cast/molded like this - hollowed out.

DougC
 
Fantastic! But, if you are seen buying a lot of hopper cars and pieces of real coal and a hammer, I'd suggest getting help! :D
 
Frog, is there any kind of a hobby shop in your area? No matter what they specialize in, most LHS's I've been in sell superglue in bottles from 1/2 oz to 2oz in size. Generally its of better quality than the $3 Walmart tubes.

To keep it from drying out before its all used, just keep in the refrigerator. I've got some I bought 3 yrs ago, that's still as good as the day I bought it.
 
We recently got a Hobby Lobby in. Been there once, some models (I also enjoy planes) and paint, basic items. No setting soultion for decals, which surprised me.

As for model trains, no shop at all. Years back a good one was about 100 miles away, but he has long since closed. Lucky for me I got most of my stuff back then, plus picked up lots of "how to" tips from him.

He also had a great Bar-B-Q place as well, (yummy) so he was glad to see us stop by. This was in Columbus, GA BTW.

I'll check out their glue next time I am in H L.
 
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