They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. I hope Bob is flattered! I genuinely appreciate the inspiration. The upper line of my Gritty Creek RR was in need of a bridge. Since there was a creek that it had to go over and it needed to curve, a deck girder bridge was the best candidate.
Bob’s bridgework post was exactly the idea I needed! I already had the downspout, but coming up with all that angle styrene was going to be a problem. I bought up all the local supply of Evergreen angle (2 pkgs) and really didn’t want the wait and expense of ordering approximately 25 total feet of angle. Well, since Bob came up with the great idea of using downspout as a basis for the girder, I figured I’d check out the local Menards (Lowes, Home Depot) and see what I could find. In the paneling department, I ran across an end cap (about $2/8’) for paneling that looked like it work with a little modification:
Using my Microlux saw with a 168t thin blade and the lowest speed setting, I cut away everything on the piece that didn’t look like 3/16†angle…
The finished result:
Since the bridge had to negotiate a curve, it needed to be cut and rejoined at the proper angle. I was worried about the strength of the joint so I tried to make it as strong as possible. I primed the piece with PVC primer and used PVC glue and screws to hold it together. The pics show how it went together:
The block of cedar is to hold the splices tight against the inside:
Primer and glue:
And the finished joint:
Here’s the bridge after the angles have been applied with PVC cement:
I just poured the footings for the bridge today so Hopefully I’ll have pics up later this weekend. The brass stock for the supports is on my workbench but I need to wait until the bridge is able to set in place to build them so I know the exact measurements. More to follow, John Cummings