One of my eight-year old boys asked about adding a dock to a small lake. Great idea. I thoguht to cut wood sticks to 2" wide and glue them together and extend outward abour 2-3". That work? I'm looking for something easy to do and realistic. I'm going for the type of dock you use to fish off of, launch a canoe, toss someone in the water, etc.
Thanks!
Lake docks on small lakes are usually 2"galvanized pipes pounded down into the bed of the lake with loop brackets around the pipes attached to the wood framing of the dock so they can be adjusted up and down to the fluctuation of the lake. These docks are installed in the spring and taken out in late fall.
Your more extreme lakes with bigger permanent docks use cedar cribs built like Lincoln Logs filled with smaller boulders or fieldstone so the ice heaves in the spring don't push them out. But with the ice not honeycombed yet and heavy winds in the spring, the ice can still push these docks out. This happened to us once.
Rebuilding that crib dock was one of the hardest jobs my brother, myself and my dad ever did.
I remember one year on Milacs Lake when I was very young. The spring ice heaves pushed the crib docks up onto the road along with the dock houses.
TF
3" is long for a dock on a small lake... I assume you are in HO scale.
Simon
kasskabooseOne of my eight-year old boys asked about adding a dock to a small lake. Great idea. I thoguht to cut wood sticks to 2" wide and glue them together and extend outward abour 2-3". That work? I'm looking for something easy to do and realistic. I'm going for the type of dock you use to fish off of, launch a canoe, toss someone in the water, etc.
If you use Etsy, there is a maker on there called "Dungeon Artifacts" that offer some reasonably priced docks. These are intended for wargaming/role playing, but they would look great on a layout.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Wooden coffee sticks from drinks take out places (Starbucks etc.) make footboards when cut to size.
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
NorthBritWooden coffee sticks from drinks take out places (Starbucks etc.) make footboards when cut to size.
Chip (Space Mouse) can make anything from coffee stir sticks, and make it look great.
I haven't seen him around in a couple of weeks.
I would have an abundance of those coffee stir sticks around if I had a mini micro Mark table saw to cut them with.
I haven't seen Space mouse around here for a long time either
kasskabooseI thought to cut wood sticks to 2" wide and glue them together and extend outward abour 2-3".
Hi kasskaboose,
By "2" wide" I'm assuming that you are referring to the width of the dock. That is about 14 1/2' in HO which seems a little wide for a typical small cottage dock. I would suggest cutting them at about 1 1/8" which is 8' in HO. The length of the dock sounds reasonable at 2-3" (I would go closer to 3").
In addition to gluing the boards to each other, I would add a support joist on either side under the boards to keep them lined up. Also, most docks are designed to be even with a boat deck or there abouts, so you might want to raise it up a bit above the water by adding short posts under the joists. If you want to get fancy, you can add scale 2x4 boards on the top of the front and side edges of the dock with short lengths of 2x4 to raise them above the dock planks. They would be used to tie boats up as opposed to having proper cleats.
Just my worth.
Have fun,
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Marklinofsweden did exactly what you are talking about. only like two, three inches long.
A pessimist sees a dark tunnel
An optimist sees the light at the end of the tunnel
A realist sees a frieght train
An engineer sees three idiots standing on the tracks stairing blankly in space
kasskaboose I'm looking for something easy to do and realistic.
I have used this HO scale "Loading Dock" made by AM models as a dock prop for some model photography.
It is inexpensive, easy to build, and could solve your need effectively.
Like this, should be an easy scratch build. We had a floating pier at our place in northern WI.
https://www.hobbylinc.com/noch-small-fishing-pier-kit-ho-scale-model-railroad-building-accessory-14223
Mike.
My You Tube
Just tossing out another idea.
The Christmas Village stuff is out at craft stores, and there have been some neat docks produced for these.
There was a good looking dock made by Lexmark for their Christmas Village that might be suitable for HO scale.
I have this one, made by Department 56. It is too large for HO scale, but it makes a wonderful terain piece for 28mm wargaming.
Might be a source worth a look.
NorthBrit Wooden coffee sticks from drinks take out places (Starbucks etc.) make footboards when cut to size. David
Hobby Lobby sells packs of sticks ranging from wide popcicle sticks to thinner coffee sticks.
Jim
A ton of excellent suggestions. I greatly appreciate that my idea is not too far-fetched. It is not something I commonly see discussed here and def adds another cool dimension to a realistic country scene.
Happy Holidays!