Some hounding questions on scratchbuilding

[FJ and G]

I'm nearly half finished with my 11' 6” long warehouse, built to house my trains outdoors. It is my first scratchbuild of a building and the hardest part is and was cutting the windows and cutting the thin scale boards (I stall have to cut all of the boards for the long end of the warehouse and likely will take a day off this week from work to do it (photos depict from raw cedar board, to table saw to cut boards after being stained with Thompson Water Seal and glued onto structure with waterproof wood glue.

Q. Windows are no fun to do. Very tedius and must be all squared or they look funny. I haven't yet finished these windows but they are made from computer vents and one is a telephone keypad. Instead of making more windows, I just want to make some windows that have been shuttered. Has anyone had experience making shuttered windows? If so, I'd be interested in seeing photos and hearing about techniques.

Q. Cutting small boards w/table saw is very difficult. I do use a full-face mask and use larger boards to shove the small ones up against the blade to keep my hands away and use a push stick to prod them thru; but small boards tend to want to lift up and go airborne like a bullet. And furthermore, when the saw hits a knot hole, the board sometimes splinters on its own accord and goes flying. I've learned where to stand and how to pu***hem thru but if anyone has any techniques for cutting wood they'd like to share, I'm willing to listen and learn.

BTW, I just noticed that I posted the "telephone" key pad window upside down as the ledge is at the top. I'm too lazy to go in and change it tho :-)

[trigtrax]

There's a few tricks for cutting small "rippings"
Clamp a 1/4 " plywood to your table top and then with the saw running raise the blade up thru it. The Blade slot on most table saws is too wide to support thin work.
The second trick is the "finger board" This is a piece of scrap cut at an angle with saw cuts along the length but stopping at the end so that it looks like teeth on a comb. You clamp this to the fence so that it act like a spring. pushing your work down onto the table.
It also prevents kick back. Which is what you describe when your blade hits a knot.
Keep using the push sticks and make sure all your setups keep your hands a minimum of 4" from the blade.

Let me guess you do the cutting and the dog does the gluing[:D]

[Anonymous]

Good advise Trigtrax.

Another thing to consider is to add an extension to your tablesaw. The table on most saws are small to be easily transported and be put to different uses. What you are doing, cutting long boards means that once the material has passed by the blade there is nothing to support it except the material that has yet to go though. A simple table at the same hight as the saw on the outbound side would help support the cut wood. It would prevent some of the pulling up from the blade as you get to the end of the cut.

[Jumijo]

David,

Many shutters, especially those used on commercial properties, are just a set of vertical boards held together with some "Z" or "X" bracing on one side. A common practice in my area is to just board up windows in mills and warehouses with plywood. Yet another approach is to simulate corregated metal or even the security metal doors and window coverings that roll up and down like a roll top desk.

All approaches are easily scratchbuilt, and do not require any special talents.

Jim

[FJ and G]

Thanks, guys, the clamps will save me at least one less hand to hold the boards and the tooth thing sounds good but having trouble visualizing so I did a primative sketch.

also need to get an extension to the table or make one. I do notice that wood "likes" to be pushed rather than pulled thru, as when you pull it thru, it acts really nasty and tries to pull your arm in. An extension would cut some of that down.

Another problem that arises is when the leading edge of the wood passes thru the saw, it tends to try to rise up. The extra free hand will let me poke the lead end down with a stick and push it thru with the saw stick on the other end.

Also, thanks, Jim for the shutter tip. Guess can just use "plywood" or something as warehouses aren't too concerned w/appearances; at least the old warehouses. BTW, the shutters on my house are the cheesy nonfunctional ones. So much fake stuff in buildings today, like brick fronts only, fake shutters and fake balconies that lead nowheres. Where's practicality and common sense these days?

[FJ and G]

During lunch I went to the poor end of Crystal City and photo'd some “shuttered” windows. Modeling on these looks easy. Here they are with some notes jotted down.

The 1st 2 photos are not really windows but are vents. They look easy to model with vents closed, esp. the 2nd photo. I possibly could use aluminum foil or even ductwork; although the latter might be prone to rust? But the rust could add some weathering outside.





The next 3 photos use plywood as Jim mentioned. VERY easy to model; and the air conditioner adds a touch. But I don't know if they had these same looking units in the 1950s?????







This really is a bricked up loading dock. Since my warehouse is wood, I'll likely pass on this and save the idea for a brick building.



These door windows are not exactly boarded up but they do provide an easy solution for a building that you don't want to cut any more holes in. I could use some clear plastic with white paper glued behind it for this effect.



I'll post photos of shuttered windows and doorways by next week if I get the project near completion by then.

[Anonymous]

David,
Common windows found in warehouses, shops etc. have steel frame mutins. For a durable, weatherproof representation of this might I suggest using the square wire mesh (found at places like Home Depot), the type of mesh commonly used on small animal cage construction. Cut panes of plexiglass to fit your window openings. Cut pieces of wire mesh a quarter of an inch larger than the glass all around then fold the mesh edges over the glass. If the inside walls of your warehouse have recessed openings around your window frames, installing the windows could be as simple as pressing them into place if you play with the dimensions a bit. The way I figure it, the time saved laying in individual mutins is worth it when you consider the windows look pretty realistic from only a few feet back....and you can make one honkin warehouse load of windows in an afternoon. Hope this helps.

Bruce Webster

[Anonymous]

David,
As for the shutters. Aluminum roof flashing available at ( you guessed it ) Home Depot is thin enough to work with easily. You could score the ribbed sections into the aluminum by using a cheap glass cutter. Cut to size with tin snips, paint to suit and presto! Instant shutters.

Bruce Webster

P.S. I do not work for, nor am I affiliated with Home Depot...and I don't own stock!

P.S.S. 11' 6" is 552 scale feet....one impressive building! What did you use for roofing material?

[FJ and G]

Thanks, Bruce for the excellent tips.

For roofing materials; for the office (square) end, it is sand, which scales down to tiny rocks I've noticed on buildings. The flash photos do not adequately show the nice texture. The sand is embedded in exterior latex paint and given a final coating of wood glue (exterior type) diluted w/water and rubbing alcohol.

I pondered a long time about the black roofing material. Black, course sandpaper had the coreect texture but I was afraid it would deteriorate over time. There's a "wet" black sandpaper that would have lasted longer but the texture was way too fine so I was stumped until at Home Depot I located rolls of 3-M non-skid material used for outside steps and even skateboards. At $20 a roll, it took 3 rolls and was way higher priced than what I originally intended but it did the trick and appears that it will pretty much last forever. Caution: don't let 2 pieces of the material stick together cause impossible to separate.

No, you've got me wondering if this is the longest warehouse ever built for O scale and below. I know it is not for G scale because I patterned the warehouse after one built by a fellow named Richard Smith on the LargeScale forum. I believe his is 6 inches longer but that would still make mine longer in scale feet. His only has 2 tracks inside and mine has 3. His workmanship is much better than mine and he appears to be a much more experienced scratchbuilder.

I asked him if it was OK to copy his style and he said imitation is the greatest form of flattery. Anyway, mine does look a bit different, but there's much more detailing I'll be doing to it.

I'm taking off Thursday to try to finish all the wood trim and perhaps by this weekend I'll emplace it in the back yard over 6 cinder blocks embedded in gravel. Cinder blocks will be waterproofed with either resin or waterproof cement fluid.

[Anonymous]

I had no idea there was a poor end to Crystal City. I grew up in Alexandria VA til 1994 and always though of C.C. as a big office park.

Do you mean Del Ray? I'm sure it is all quite valuable land now because of the closeness to DC. It sure beats a two hour plus commute that so many people make these days in that area.

[FJ and G]

emm,

Referring to the run-down warehouse area abutting I-395; where the above shuttered windows were taken. Poorly maintained area, compared to the glitzy glass hi-rises that we soon will be evicted from and sent packing to Ft. Meade thanks to BRAC. A while back I also took photos of abandoned railroad tracks there and posted to CTT.

Also, there's a field with warnings not to trespass as there's dangerous objects lying around.

[Anonymous]

Ft Meade has a fun little museum you should check out on a lunch break after the office moves . The National Criptography Museum is on the campus of the NSA. It is a former Holiday Inn converted to a museum of code breaking and spying. It is actually pretty interesting but the VRE won't take you there.

Do you know if those tracks were former Washington and Old Dominion RR? I think they operated in this area. The only active track of thiers that I know of is the short spur that crosses the G.W. Parkway serving the Vepco plant in old town. This was at one time the start of the switchback to climb up and over the Potomac Yard. Oh, and if you are looking for some good old rail infrastucture I think it's on Duke street close to the water is the old tunnel of the Orange and Alexandria RR (precursor to the Southern RR). You can walk or bike through it, no rails. There is a park on the waterside with sidewalks in the shape of the old wye that was there. It predates the Civil War and was in use up to the early 1970's serving the Interarms Warehouses at the water.

[FJ and G]

emmaandy

I actually contacted the Na'tl Criptography Museum this month when I did a feature on Comanche Code Talkers: http://www4.army.mil/ocpa/read.php?story_id_key=8139

I'm a bit concerned about moving there b/c it would be a very long commute; an hour on VRE train and then an hour on MARC train and I don't know how close MARC even goes to Ft Meade. The move may be a couple years away or sooner so may request flex hours and telecommuting.

Old Dominion connected w/RF&P in Alexandria, I think. When I worked in old towne, I used to use that tunnel to jog thru. It was always nice and cool even on summer days. I believe that may be one of the oldest tunnels in Virginia.

On my commute home, when the leaves are off the trees, I can spot the very very old roadbed of The Southern Railway, perhaps from the early 20th century when there were lots of twists and turns and the roadbed was much closer to the streams it follows from Alexandria, out to Manassas and Broad Run. I've many times tried to imagine the trains that must have run along these abandoned routes.

Well, tomorrow taking a day off to try & fini***hat little warehouse project and start laying tracks in the backyard before the snows come.