Large Scale Central

C.V.S.Ry. Mik 2022 Build Log

The MIK - Annual Build Challenge
#81

Got all but two of the battens done over the last few days and also attached the side walls to the rear wall and test fit on the base. So far, so good! I’m leaving the front off until I have the door finished and maybe the insulator detail done. Here is the latest photo dump…

This weekend’s project is building and hanging the door. I want it to at least have the appearance that it operates. I’ve been browsing how to fabricate hinges, but since the door opens in, they won’t be visible so will probably just be some brass stock bent to the open angle and glued on.

I’ve also been watching a few videos on cracked / weathered paint techniques. I know Ray has done similar, and maybe Craig too. The method I found involves painting on wood glue and then painting over as soon as the glue is tacky. Washes then give it depth.

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#82

simple hinge used by the plane set for years is/was a piece of cloth glued on. put on the inside wouldn’t show and if you use two tiny strips you could paint a hinge simulation on the door edge and frame. YMMV JMHO :sunglasses:

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#83

Rooster,

Check out this listing on eBay…

#84

You could make a in or out swing door …no hinges just a pin at the top and bottom …say 1/16 or 1/32 brass or music wire …metal coat hangers are 1/16 if you wanna go in the cheap. Still think it was an office …just saying wtf’inhell

LOVE IT ! note the apostrophe

#85

A pin hinge is an interesting concept. I have plenty of small brass rod and other stuff that could work. I kind of like the idea of an operational door.

Today I cut and edge glued 3 planks for the door. I perused the never used router bit set I got for Xmas 2 years ago and it has a nice .25" V grove bit with a very sharp point. I think I can get a really nice tongue & groove look if I can adjust my ancient Craftsman router table fine enough to just barely cut the scale 2" lumber.

Marilyn dug out her beading supplies for me to find insulators and maybe the door knob. Pretty much time to get those done too.

In the waiting for glue to dry department I also attached the rear corner battens. Pretty rewarding to get that tiny sliver of wood to line up nearly perfect. Holding it with an Exacto knife while spreading glue and positioning it was key.

#86

It wouldn’t be The MIK without a washing machine shot, so here is the latest progress posed in a most appropriate place :grin:

Since the last photos I’ve added the battens to both rear corners, edge glued and trimmed the door panel to size. Along the way I’ve been using various things to beat up the wood to give it a little character and age.

I’m pondering how to weather the interior. It really will not be visible, but with the door cracked open and the interior lit, I don’t want it to look new. Probably just dirty up the wood some, but not as much as the floor. I doubt they would have painted the interior.

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#87

This should be a requirement, a washing machine picture or points will be deducted!:joy:

#88

You could put him in there

#89

Today was a lesson in sometimes doing it by hand is best.

I spent about an hour setting up my ancient Craftsman router table complete with a nearly zero clearance throat plate made from an old sheet of acrylic…

But even with s super sharp V-Grove bit set as shallow as I could get it, I wasn’t happy with the result. The grove was just too wide…

So next, some experiments using a knife and a metal ruler…

I couldn’t keep the ruler tight to the work, so I decided free-hand was s better plan. I free-hand cut lines on paper at work regularly, so I know my hand is steady enough. So I drew out lines in pencil…

Then did one pass with a sharp exacto, followed by several passes with Grandma’s manicure tool and a final clean-up with the knife. I erased the pencil lines then hit the whole surface with an old wire bush from both ends, top to bottom. A final cleanup with a stiff brush and I’m calling it done…

The lines came out less than perfect as the knife tip wandered with the grain. That doesn’t bother me as it’s supposed to be old and could very well be warped and cracked. In the frame…

I’m going to add a Z brace on the back. It won’t be seen, but after slicing into the face I’d like a little reinforcement. And I’ve decided the fabric hinge will be perfect UNLESS I can figure out a way to make the roof removable.

#90

Jon. I think the free handed lines add character and age to the building. Ya done good.

#91

Think of it as using scrap wany edge boards to make a small building!

#92

Now I see what you were trying to attempt. I didn’t have it in my head when you were talking about it. About the only other way that I could see making the V grooves like you are trying would be to set a table saw blade to 45 and lower it down to the point where only the outer edge of the top set of teeth of a carbide blade hit the board.

Not even sure if that is possible I have never tried it. But since most carbide blades for a saw have a left and right side set of teeth and each tooth is “pointed” toward the outside I would think if one lowered a 45 degree blade to where it just barely hits a piece of wood I would think that only the one set of teeth would strike it and then when it does give it a V pattern. I can see I need to do some experiments.

I don’t want to derail your thread so I posed the question in the tools and tips Simulating V grooves for tonuge and groove

#93

I think that a full size saw would have the same issue as the router, just too big for T&G in this scale. NOW, If I had the better mini table saw with the tilting arbor THEN your idea would probably work.

From even just a foot away, the door looks fine. The fact that the lines aren’t really V groves would require a magnifying glass (or a high-res close up) to determine. The lines are on .125" centers. That whole door is only 1.5" wide.

#94

Looks like an old school “OFFICE” door to me. Also depending on the softness of the material. A cheap ballpoint (bank) pen works for grooving.

#95

Jon,

It would indeed be too big if done head on. But by tilting the blade to 45 and then dropping it down to dang near not touching I think it would hit with only the edge of a tooth. I can’t promise that I am thinking its possible. I’m gonna have to give it whirl. But at any rate it would still be a pain the rear because you would have to move the fence of the saw for every groove. that could get pretty tedious.

#96

Way overthinking for our scale of “OUTDOOR” model railroading. Only been outside for about 15 yrs and still learning what works and what doesn’t.

#97

Rather than move the fence, you create spacers for the distance between groves and put them between fence and work piece. Remove one after every pass to shift the work closer to the fence.

Today I did quite a bit of 1:1 woodworking. This is $800 worth of “STK” Cedar that I cut, chamfered and notched to make 5 10 foot posts with 40" arms…

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STK stands for Sound Tight Knots. All the mill work was done using a 12" compound miter saw. For the notches I make lots of slices then break the pieces out and smooth the bottom by running side to side across the blade while moving the contact point across the work.

These posts will get white gloss enamel and #1 Cedar would put us way over budget. I’ll use Bondo to fix some cracks and a few issues before paint.

#98

Yes Jon I have use that method also many times and I thought about that for this. But that would be a lot of thin strips of wood to get the lines close enough together to make it look good.

Like Bob and Rooster have pointed out this is way over thinking it. I still think scribing them overall is the best method.

#99

A few baby steps last night. First I finished the door by adding a Z brace to the back. I think I spy a place where some wire loops and a pin will serve for hinges…

Then I got started on dirtying up the interior. Still using just crushed coal. I found a container of “coal dust” but it’s about salt crystal size with a little real dust. I need to hit the right wall again, but I like how the left and rear walls came out…

That ‘nailing board’ on the right wall needs lots of wear and dirt as it would be the first point of contact for a locomotive crew to rub against. I might have time to work on that tonight.

I need Marilyn to search for the jewelry loop making tools I bought after seeing Kevin Strong use them a few years back.

As always, you can see larger versions of the pictures by clicking on them - twice for full zoom.

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#100

One of my goals for this year’s Mik was to use the unused / underutilized tools and supplies I’ve been collecting but never, if rarely used. It began with the mini table saw from Craig and the scale wood supply from Stan, both purchased several years ago. Today, I powered up the resistance soldering system I got from Bruce so long ago I can’t remember when! To help date it, the instructions are on VHS Tape and I had a player to watch them! I’ve never mastered using it, but it definitely did better than I could have done with a standard iron.

The project was to fabricate some hinges. The last few days I have been playing around with Looping Pliers I bought perhaps three years ago after Kevin showed how he used them in modeling. Another underutilized tool.

So here is the progress on the hinges so far…

The AA battery is in the photos is for scale. Above, brass rod was attached one at a time. A little too much heat and a lot too much solder, but it worked. Next, use the looping pliers to bend some nice loops…

Next I spent some time with smooth jaw pliers tweaking the loops to line them up to allow a pin to pass between them. In between the two loops, another rod with a loop at the end creates the pivot…

I’ll probably solder a strap under the pivot rod, then cut down the soldered piece to the height of the loops. There will be no attachment hardware, I’ll use a hybrid adhesive to attach the brass to the wood. Here it is flipped over…

I need to get the door done and move on to the roof this weekend so I have time to paint before the deadline. No decision has been made yet, but I have an idea for a removable roof.

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