shingles

[traintrax4]

how can I make scale shingles for my station? In all the pictures ive seen they all look perfectly to scale. how do I make these? (maybe Im not as clever as some of you- Im only 13 :D )

[Anonymous]

well, if you have the money they DO make shingles (and a lot of other useful things) for 1:24 scale dollhouses.

[traintrax4]

Is there a simple/standard way to make them? I would like to put them on a number of my buildings, and I do not want to spend the money on the commercially availiable shingles.

[bman36]

Hi there,

I purchased mine from Smith Pond Junction in Minnesota. They were very reasonably priced so hardly worth the effort of making. Their cedar shakes are very realistic and worth looking into. Later eh...Brian.

 

[ttrigg]

how can I make scale shingles for my station? In all the pictures ive seen they all look perfectly to scale. how do I make these? (maybe Im not as clever as some of you- Im only 13 :D )

River Davis

Since you are 13 years of age, I hesitate to tell you that you will need a whole bunch of time at a table saw and a band saw.  Use of this type of equipment is hazardous and I do not recommend it for someone your age.  If your parents approve, you could do as I do.  Start with a piece of redwood fencing.  Run it through the table saw ripping it into 1/16th inch strips.  Take these strips to the band saw (or scroll saw, in my case) cut the strips into lengths of about 3/4 inch.  I then use an exacto knife to trim the "exposed corners' to get a "sculpted effect".  If you have access to a band saw that is equipped with a ripping fence, that would be safer than the table saw.  Again, please consult with your parents first, and then only do the work while they are supervising.  I would also not recommend this method for someone my age, about five times your age.  It is very time consuming and unfortunately there seems to be a quality control difference between batches of shingles.

[Anonymous]

Ok, are we talking wood? or asphalt (sp)?

For redwood I ask the local hardware store if they have any broke ones which they normaly do.

As for assphalt (sp) rolled on, use wet dry sand paper but I use liquide nail as a glue to attach it.

There is other stuff on the market for that like this stuff:

http://www.oakridgehobbies.com/121_scale/121_whatsnext_roof_floor.html

http://www.oakridgehobbies.com/121_scale/121_alessio_shingles.html

http://www.oakridgehobbies.com/g_scale/g_141a.html look to the bottom, don't think there wood though.

1/2 cent.

William

[traintrax4]

thanks for the advice. My dad usually helps me with the table saw work, and we do have a ripping fence.

[Anonymous]

Traintrax;

A simple way to make them and as we have very few shingles in this country i am not all that interested in them myself; however Jigstones has a kit and you can mould them out of epoxy resin and you can buy the silcon rubber mould from them.

It is a very nice lady that sells them and she is called Linda Spence and she is in New York State, you will be able to find out all about Jigstones with Google.

I have already made a very nice roof out of the Spanish Tile mould which although not applicable to this country either, it is more so than shingles. She aslo has corrugated simulated metal roof as well.

Rgds Ian

[kstrong]

I'll second the Smith Pond Junction shingles. They're a good size, and far, far easier than ripping shingles on a table saw. You'll waste more wood in sawdust than you will end up with in shingles.

Later,

K

[Anonymous]

This thread came up on a chat for another board last night. Their  consensus was that the boy should be encouraged to try making the shingles himself, even if he is only "saving" $3-$4 at the expense of a LOT of time and work. Their rationale? The skills and confidence gained will be useful for other scratchbuilding projects. In the big picture I guess this makes sense, but personally, I don't have the time (or patience) to rip a couple hundred (a thousand?) shingles by hand.  Guess it depends on whether you think the journey or the destination is more important.

[bman36]

Hi there,

I understand that there is most definately skill to be derived from such an undertaking.Is it a safe one? Smith Pond Junction developed a "Splitter" if you will that does just that. It will rapidly create shakes with great accuracy. I'll be honest, I love woodworking, but I would not encourage my own son to attempt making shakes with any of my saws. Such small cuts are dangerous considering a table saw will throw that piece as soon as it is cut. Instead I would show him how a wood chisel splits. Try shaving a shake by hand. This type of skill requires patience. You would be amazed what comes next if they are still interested. A challenge to find a way to do this over and over again and achieve consistent results. That or they will just give up. Still it makes them think. That's the way I prefer to teach. That's my two coppers. Later eh...Brian.

   

[Anonymous]

Brian as usual i agree with you, it is hard to expect a young person to dothis sort of stuff without injury. I know in my teens i was a walking disateras far as accidents were concerned, iwas lucky to get through it all without getting a more serious damage.

Rgds ian