Just like most model railroaders, I tend to look at everyday items in terms of how I can use them on my layout. The other day when I was walking around the auto body shop I work in, I noticed a piece of rusty metal on the floor. Now that is not an unusual thing to see around here, but for some reason it got my attention and I picked it up to look at it. It turned out to be the thick part that is used as the handle of a single edged razor blade. Once I saw what it was I had an idea of what I could use it for on my layout. It looked to me like a rusty old fence panel that I have seen lining industries in various areas. So I looked around the outside storage yard and came back with a handful of old rusty single edge razor blades. I would recommend wearing some kind of protective gloves when working with these and to still handle them with care. Perhaps make sure your tetanus shot is up to date too, just in case.
Here is what they look like before they get dropped on the ground to rust.
I took a small flat head screwdriver and pried open the handle section very carefully and then pulled the blade part out with a pair of pliers. Some of the blade parts were very rusty and broke apart so I saved those pieces for my scrap pile and to make a gondola load of rusty scrap. Nothing looks like rusty scrap pieces better than REAL rusty scrap pieces.
After I had all of the blade parts separated, I lined up the thicker handle parts side by side in two rows. I ended up with 60 pieces of 30 per row. I placed one row on a piece of wax paper and coated them with diluted white glue and then sprayed the glue with wet water. (water, with a few drops of liquid detergent). I set that aside to dry for a couple of days and when I returned to check it out, the watery glue solution had added even more rust to the panels. I had to use a wide putty knife to get the glued together panels free of the wax paper but they came off pretty easily. The bottom side was still a bit damp so I turned it over to let that side dry thoroughly for another day. The fence panels are a bit flexible, but they are holding together pretty well.
Below is the area I planned to install the fence. It is at the end of my oil depot industry.
I used a hobby knife to carve a slit into my scenery where I wanted to install the fence and then just pushed it down into place. Then I added a few weeds and shrubs along the fence to add details.
Below is the finished fence installed and detailed.
A sharp idea using cutting-edge technology I'll have to hone my skills and try to razor the bar!
Thanks for sharing... Ed
That is a pretty nifty idea. The results came out well!
Colorado Front Range Railroad: http://www.coloradofrontrangerr.com/
Great idea, cool looking fence and layout!
Thanks and regards, Peter
What a novel idea on recycling razor blades..
Thanks for sharing this..
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
Great idea and very realistic! Thanks for sharing!
NP 2626 "Northern Pacific, really terrific"
Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association: http://www.nprha.org/
Nice little project and clever thinking here. Isn't it amazing how much rusted metal resembles rusted metal? I am reminded of the lines from a Marx Bros. movie:
Groucho: "Say, you look exactly like a fellow I used to know by the name Emanuel Rivelli, are you his brother?Chico: I am Emanuel RivelliGroucho: You're Emauel Rivelli?Chico: I'm Enamuel RivelliGroucho: No wonder you look like him. But I still insist there's a resemblance.Chico: Ha ha. He thinks I look alike."
Dave Nelson
Thanks for the nice comments everyone. I love finding a use on the layout for something that was essentially junk lying around. I think that making something out of nothing is one of the most rewarding and fun things that we do in our modeling.