One of the first things I made when I got into garden scale railroading was a box car patterned after one of the insets in the magazine. The material I used was basswood cut into thin slabs with a table saw then ripped into scale boards by a dremel powered buzzsaw using one of the gyro mandrels and a gyro saw blade. I mounted the dremel in a cradle made by blocks of two-by-four, attached to a 3/4 inch plywood base, that were drilled to the size of the dremel tool body and cussioned with some rubber sheeting. the block was in two pieces and was tightened around the body of the dremel with two carriage bolts up from underneath and wing nuts. I made a table top out of a piece of 2"x2" aluminum angle with a thin slot for the blade to protrude and using a pair of small blocks underneath attached it to the base so the saw blade came up as far as it could without touching the mandrel. I then set it up as a mini table saw with a clamp on rip fence and ripped the boards I needed easily and safely with very little sawdust to contend with. Only caveat is you might need an older style dremel tool.
I use a full size bandsaw with fence works great. I have never use a bench top bandsaw but i would think it should work. Garden railway magazine had a jig for small scale lumber for a table saw. Ibuilt it and it works great.
rather than "rip" it into two, I think you're just going to have to bite the bullet and mill the wide piece down to whatever the width is you need. Yes, it sounds like a waste to make part of it sawdust, but it's easier.
A router table with a good fence and sharp straight cutter will have your stock whatever width you need "faster than you can say Jack Robinson"...
Micro Mark sells a "table saw" with a 3 1/2 dia blade. Bit pricey at 350, but well worth the cost if you are into doing mass production.
http://www.micromark.com/MICROLUX-MINI-TILT-ARBOR-TABLE-SAW-FOR-BENCHTOP-HOBBY-USE,7500.html
Tom Trigg
What are the final dimensions you are looking for?
As it was already stated, I am taking it for granted that you are ripping this on the wider (3/8") dimension. If you are really looking for paper thin slices, you might also look at using a hand plane with a good, clean, sharp blade set to thickness/depth you need.
I too would also consider a tiny dremel saw or even a jig with a standard Dremel style grinder/sander. Using a drum sander bit you could shave down a plank to what you need, but you would waste a lot of wood doing it that way. I've used coffee stirs/mixing sticks to do small paneling, they are already a nice size to work with, they typically use a pine or fir with an even grain, and they are free to me every time I go to a coffee shop. On edge, they give me nice, even, tiny planks, on the wider/broader face they give me larger planks or boards to work with, the downside is that they are only about 6" long, but for scale work that actually works out well. You can get big boxes of them for a little cash at any of the warehouse stores, or Walmart. If you need broader planks you can get the boxes of popsicle sticks or tongue depressors.
To be honest, I'd be tempted to use a different type of wood, then stain and seal it. something with a tighter and straighter grain and figure would make it stronger and easier to work with too.
Charlie,
I assume that you are ripping the 3/8ths dimension. That being said, a standard table saw with an accurate rip fence and a zero clearance insert, it can be done. I have ripped 1/16" square on my 10" Rigid saw. If I had my druthers, and the disposable income (yeah right) I would prefer a Proxon or Dremmel model makers saw. Also, if there is one near by, check out Harbor Freight - they occasionally get a small benchtop saw that is not too bad, both price and quality. And unless you are cutting REALLY SHORT pieces, I use my Craftsman 10" chop saw for length cuts.
And yes, I still have all my fingers in tact
Bob C.
Your are right, the scale cut does not change the grain,darn't. I bought this lumber from Northwest Precision Lumber, the actual demension is 3/32nds thick by 3/8ths. As I am building board on board I must rip the material inorder to make narrower pieces.
So far the only thing I have been able to do is use a razor saw which is not too pricise,because securing material this small is a real challenge.I guess thats why it's called a hobby rather than a profession.
Just so I'm understanding this correctly, the boards you want to cut are currently 1:24 scale 2x10s,
and now you basically want to rip/split them lengthwise?
How did you cut the 2x10 planks, and how long, wide, and thick are they in actual dimensions?
Do you want to keep them the full length of the existing boards?
One major problem I see you having is that the figure and grain of that wood are so loose and varying that when they are ripped to those tiny dimensions they won't have much strength. Unfortunately the grain and figure doesn't shrink just because you cut tiny boards from it.
For as thin and short as those " boards" are, you might look at a rotary paper trimmer to do the cutting and ripping. A sharp new blade will be crucial to getting a good, smooth, straight cut.
I am scratch building a board on board building for the new Outdoor train. I am using red cedar for exterior siding and have it cut into scale 1:24th 2X10's. I find that I have to cut some of these long wise and do not have a good system to get a straight cut ,as the grain of the cedar is not square to the cut.I have tried several jigs that do not work. Does someone have a suggestion for a jig that will allow me to cut this material in a straight line ?
Get the Garden Railways newsletter delivered to your inbox twice a month