I am a little concerned about the weight. Poplar is very light, and I plan to hollow it out, but it will still be heavier than the original plastic roof. It will be shorter by about four inches, but still top heavy.
An alternative might be to glue balsa stock to the sides of the clerestory, then shape it and lay thin styrene over it.
Mike, to get better idea of Harriman roof lines search for Harriman cars on internet. Quite a few photos on line some next to celestory roofed cars where you can get a good eye on the subject.
Nice idea for a short passenger train.
What would be the best way to cut the car? I’m really not very expereinced at this kind of thing Aristo’s heavyweights have the floor and the sides as one molded piece. I need to shorten the car by about three inches, and I’ve decided to do it by making the door openings more narrow
(http://www.lscdata.com/users/lownote/uncut.jpg)
(http://www.lscdata.com/users/lownote/cut.jpg)
That way there will be very little visible cut line and maybe I can just putty and retouch. Notice Aristo forgot to put a gold stripe on one side? Nice! So what is the best way to cut the car up? I was thinking razor saw, but it’s not going to be easy to razor saw across the floor of the thing, and have the floor and sides match up. I have a bandsaw, which will take a bigger kerf, but maybe that’s the way to go? Still thinking about that roof…
Mike,
I’m not trying to convince you one way or the other but I think the fears of a wooden roof are overstated. If properly sealed and secured to the body a wood roof has no more danger of warping than any other type short of soaking it in water. Wood has been used for model RR cars for ages in all scales. Hartford’s beautiful car kits have wooden roofs much thinner than what you’re planning and they don’t have problems and you were planning on using high quality wood. Too, many an “O” scale passenger car was scratchbuilt using wood for a roof and laminated strathmore board for the sides and if properly constructed lasted for years.
As to being top heavy that shouldn’t be a problem either unless you’re making it out of iron and/or going around 8 foot diameter curves at a scale 200 mph. The Aristo heavyweights I used to have before I went total narrow gauge were quite hefty cars and well able to support a poplar roof without adverse affect I’m sure.
The other materials suggested can all be made to work just fine too of course. My suggestion is to assess your own abilities and choose the material best suited to you.
P.S. I used my tablesaw to cut plastic components evenly and fine tuned size on the disk sander. A good carbide blade will do the job and there are also special plastic blades available that minimize melting buildup around the cut(s). A Zona saw should work fine too. Just take care to get a square cut.
I’d use the bandsaw. The kerf won’t matter since you’ll be joining the 2 pieces together. Just make sure you get it straight and exactly where you want the cut made.
Well I cut it and glued it back together, and I’m reasonably happy. I wish I had a disc sander. That would have made for a near perfect joint. I had to touch this one up with a mill bastard file. Came out passable, not great. It’'ll need a little touch up.
(http://www.lscdata.com/users/lownote/glued.jpg)
Doors are redone slightly wider. Now onto the roof! First attempt will be the wooden roof. The poplar block is all lined up and ready to be cut to width, edge-routed carved on the ends and hollowed out. If that doesn’t work, still thinking about plan B meanwhile, here’s what a film printer looked like around 1927. Can’t quite figure out how it worked
I can’t even figure out where you cut it? (I am slightly challenged though as I’ve sniffed a lot of MEK)
I agree with Richard on the wood. Honestly I wouldn’t fear it either as popular is quite stable and easy to work with, it won’t take stain well but that should have no affect on your project. What size router bit are you gonna use? I have 1 1/4" round over in my head am I close?
Well the body is shortened, and I decided to try using the original roof first Cut the roof to match. Did a very fine job if I do say so myself. Then I glued 1/2 inch styrene tube, and 1/2 inch dowel (because it seems about right and I had it on hand) and glued it to the the sides of the clerestory
(http://www.lscdata.com/users/lownote/roof1.jpg)
(http://www.lscdata.com/users/lownote/roofend.jpg)
Then it was time for the ritual slathering of the bondo. I’ve never used that stuff before–Yikes! Hello, brain damage.
(http://www.lscdata.com/users/lownote/bondo1.jpg)
Now to let the bondo dry and start sanding and see what I’ve got Bondo is heavy–i’m not sure this roof won’t end up being heavier than a roof made of wood. But 10 million guys patching wheel wells can’t be wrong
It’s a little late for this advice now, but Bondo can be shaped easily just after it begins to set with a cheese grater or a knife.
I think with some patience that roof will work out nicely.
Patience! What am I a doctor?
I sanded, did a second layer of bondo, sanded again, and now I’ve got squadron putty on the small gaps, drying. I’m optimistic. It looks pretty good. I’m planning to take some thin styrene, emboss “rivets” on it with a ponce wheel, and then glue it to the roof. Hard part will be the ends, but I knew that going in.
That bondo is good stuff. It really does the job and there is very little shrinkage. Squadron shrinks like mad.
Mike,
If it was me considering you have the bondo on and the seams are filled I personally would run that bitch down my router table with a round over bit.
Editing to state …Tee hee hee, I started Page 3 …
So last night I kept on, sanded it down nicely and tried to apply thin styrene with rivet lines embossed on it–disaster! The glue I used melted the styrene. Ugh. Took lots of sanding to clean up. So I sanded it all smooth and tried a new approach. Covered it in two inch strips of “gaffer tape,” which is great stuff. It’s like duct tape’s sophisticated city cousin. Then I made thin styrene rivet strips (embossed with a ponce wheel) and glued them to the gaffer tape. Here it is sitting on the car, not actually set in place, with a quick and hasty coat of black paint
(http://www.lscdata.com/users/lownote/roof2.jpg)
It’s not too bad–the curve is all wrong, it should be rounded over more, but I made a mistake when I glued hollow styrene tube to the side–I should have used either solid styrene or dowels all the way. I could not carve the curve back because I was afraid I’d sand through the styrene tube. live and learn. I think It will be ok. For greater strength, I’m planning to glue some or all of the doors to the frame.
Mike,
It would not have been a problem had you sanded into the hollow styrene.
You could have fixed that easily with the Bondo.
BTW- Using Bondo was a stroke of genius. An easy material to work with. But it never
dawned on me to use it for modeling.
Ralph
Mike it looks like you got the end curve close and the sides not that hateful. Looks good the way it is nice job.
I agree with Ralph on the cutting into the hollow tubing if you aren’t happy with your efforts yet. Refill with bondo if you go to deep. Like Dave R pointed out a 3/4 round over bit on the router ( do it in a few passes for controll ) and I think you’d have what your looking for. If no router try to file the side curve to come close to the curve on the ends.
Looking pretty good, Mike. A router might make that job easier, next time.
If there’s ever a next time, router it is. This morning I got the little “eyebrows” installed over the door openings, and a rivet strip on the edge. I’m pretty pleased with it. The coach should be coming soon–it needs a little modification as well
mike omalley said:Oh there will be a next time.... You know that as well as we do!
If there's ever a next time, router it is.
I’ve got four B&O heavyweights, they could easily be converted to Harriman roofs, now that I’ve already made all the mistakes.
The problem with the roundover bit is the surfaces aren’t flat. I think next time I’ll do it with a random orbit sander and the a rasp and scraper/sandpaper
I like the look of the gaffer tape a lot. It looks like a textured roof surface, which I’m kind of assuming these cars had. Might be wrong, but there’s nobody around to contradict me
mike omalley said:
I've got four B&O heavyweights, they could easily be converted to Harriman roofs, now that I've already made all the mistakes.The problem with the roundover bit is the surfaces aren’t flat. I think next time I’ll do it with a random orbit sander and the a rasp and scraper/sandpaper
I like the look of the gaffer tape a lot. It looks like a textured roof surface, which I’m kind of assuming these cars had. Might be wrong, but there’s nobody around to contradict me
Good job, Mike.
So the roofs come off these cars?
And Shawmut wants how much for one($) and what is it made of?
