The SawZaw

[FJ and G]

Did I spell this correctly? I think another name for it is reciprocating saw. I never thought I'd find much use for it in toy trains but on saturday while constructing my benchwork, it came in really handy.

I had all of my along-the-wall shelving, 25 feet worth, in place. My plan was to make the entire shelf a giant curving structure on the outside edge, with not straight line, to mimic the curving river and gentle curving trackwork I'm planning, which will have no sweeping curve less than about 0120.

I decided to put two sheets of half inch particle board over the shelving. Measuring it would have been a nightmare, so I simply layed down the sheets, screwed them together and into the shelving, then using a pencil, I drew the curves I wanted (the particle boards extended past the edge of the brackets). The width of the shelf was between about 18 inches and 33 inches.

At first, I tried my jigsaw, but the going was slow and it overheated cutting thru the 1" thick stuff. So, I grabbed my sawzaw and simply walked it up from one end of the shelving down 25 feet to the other end, sawing from the bottom up. The whole operation took about 3 minutes.

BTW, the shelf is 43 inches and goes up to about 50 inches. What is particularly neat about this gradient is that when you are sitting at the 43-inch end, you can get a great view lengthwise as you look up. Of course the grade is there because Abo Canyon has the same grade that I'm modeling and I want my real water to flow down thru the canyon.

Dave Vergun

[Anonymous]

David:

I've seen the tool's name spelled "Sawzall." Every tool manufacturer's site & catalog I've seen spells it that way.

Sounds like the tool came in handy, indeed!

Tony

[eZAK]

The 'Sawzall' is a Millwaukee Tools trade mark for their reciprocating saw.
Although it is widely used for every recip saw.

I also have the battery powered one with a folding handle called 'The Hatchet'

Gotta have 'em [:D]

[jkerklo]

The right tool always makes the difference.

I have a newspaper cartoon in my workshop:

"It is not about the right tool for the job ... it is about the most tools for the job."

My motto.

John Kerklo
TCA 94-38455
www.Three-Rail.com

[Anonymous]

As somebody who works in the construction business I have been reading your posts about building this layout. You have 1 inch of shelving board plus other supports and you are going to put concrete and epoxy resin and more concrete and trains and scenery and other stuff on closet shelf "L" brackets an you think it will hold? I don't think it is going to take the load. Even if it doesn't fail right away it will fail! Then all of your expensive trains and all of your work will be gone. You really should get some help from somebody in the trades to build your train benches. Also you said that you were going to run your trains around the HVAC cabinet. You shouldn't do that because you will have problems with temperature changes and condensation near the unit even in a well built house. Also the HVAC man needs to service the unit and needs a good work area not just a tiny space. Oh yeah it's SAW'SALL by Milwaukee Tools. I have one.

[FJ and G]

Pease,

It is mostly styrofoam and the concrete will be thin. Shelving is spaced 16 inches apart. I've seen photos in MR of layouts like this that other modelers have done, using heavier materials, i.e. plaster or hydrocal.

I plan to build it myself, not have others do it for me. I don't plan to store the trains in the HVAC room. Also I've taken into consideration all of the access requirements.

If I dealt on all of the negatives, such as the possibilities of trains falling off the table and being eaten by the beagle, I'd turn into a mass of quivering jelly.

If you live in N. Va., I'd invite you over to take a look, seeing you're into construction.

[jkerklo]

By concrete, do you mean "stucco."

I lived in California for a while, and they have the stucco technique down to an art. Not only for walls (easy to repair the crack when the earthquake shakes the house) but also for pools and such.

Basicly, it is chicken wire with a motar mix trowelled over it. Might be two different mixes, one over the other.

For your needs, a small grid hardware cloth may make more sense. The mortar mixture is special, maybe one of the construction experts can help here.

Or, how about fiberglass. I helped a friend make a kayak once. The fiberglass part was easy. It won't leak or soak up the riverbed.

John Kerklo
TCA 94-38455
www.Three-Rail.com

[FJ and G]

Thanks for your ideas, John,

I actually built a 16 ft long fiberglass canoe when I was a kid. I will try to keep the weight down.

Also, Pease, thanks for bringing this topic up so I can consider some alternatives.