Lumber load for centerbeams

[Pete_Lassen]

So late last year I got 2 USA center beam cars , and while they are well short of most modern stuff I like their look. But they were empty and the loads they sell are quite spendy. So looking online there was the craft stick option or wrapping something to make wrapped lumber. Since I have 2 cars I am making one with green lumber, unwrapped and one with either wrapped lumber or maybe wrapped laminated beams.
So Looking on line I found boxes of craft sticks for a reasonable price, 2,000 for $25. plus shipping only “problem" is they are 4.5” long, and have round ends. Cutting the ends off makes a just about 10’ board. While a whole car of 10’ isn’t out of the question I went a little farther down the rabbithole and I am making a load of 8, 10 , 16, 18 & 20’ units. While I will NOT be doing the whole load I will make a spacer to fill out and have the lumber units 1 craft stick wide on the outside and across the top. Lots of sawing and gluing I have finished one side

Still need to work on the filler behind the lumber, but I have some ideas on how to accomplish this part. My jig with marks for cutting the various sizes and lots of gluing and clamping to get the 4.5" sticks to represent a 16-20’ board. best guess is it took around 100 sticks to make what sits on the car right now. 3 10’ units, 2 16’, and 1 8’ , 18’ ,and 20’ .

[WaverlySouthern (Dan Hilyer)]

Wow, that is a good looking load of lumber. I’ll send you my address and you can have UP deliver to me. I need two or three loads for a shop (1:1) I am building

I don’t see a cutting device in your photo, what are/did you use(ing)

[Pete_Lassen]

Dan I am just for now using a hobby razor saw. But now I am now thinking of perusing the MicroMark catalog.

[smcgill (Sean McGillicuddy)]

Get this… can’t live with out mine.

Hobby cutter

[Devon_Sinsley]

Cool idea Pete. Looks great.

Sean that’s a pretty cool set of shears. Might need me some

[Dave_Meashey (David Meashey)]

Pete;

Another plank source you may want to try sometime are coffee stir sticks. You will probably get many that are crookeder than the proverbial dog’s hind leg, but they are inexpensive & the straight ones are nice. I think I used them for decking on my MOW hand derrick car.

Regards, David Meashey

[Pete_Lassen]

Well another sacrifice to the model building powers that be. I was cutting with the razor saw some stickers for the units. I was using some of the off cuts with the rounded ends and holding it with my finger as I was ripsawing, well the wood decided to split and my finger was the next part in line with the downstroke , and there was a surprising amount it blood!

[rmccown-admin (Bob McCown (Admin))]

Right there with ya. Put a brand new blade in the X-acto last night and almost immediately cut a deep 1/2" slice in my finger next to the nail.

[JRad (Jon Radder)]

A good project is never complete until you donate some blood too it.

Wishing you both a speedy recovery

[Devon_Sinsley]

Jon beat me to it. There always needs to be a blood letting to honor the model gods.

[WaverlySouthern (Dan Hilyer)]

A 23 ga pin about 1/4" deep in my thumb hurt like H3LL It hit a knot in the wood and deflected out the side and the sintra didn’t even slow it down, but my thumb did, finally. If you look through all my build photos, you may be able to find the blood stain

[JRad (Jon Radder)]

Soon after buying my pin nailer I learned not to hold the work piece in my hand while nailing. Ouch!!!

[ctown2 (Craig Townsend)]

Band aids. Ha ha, I’ve upgraded to super glue.

Wife knows now, when she hears “Hey Michelle…” followed by the sound of the fridge door opening that she’s being sent in as a wound medic.
No blood yet on this build. I think?

[Devon_Sinsley]

I didn’t want to feel left out. . .

Close call with the table saw tonight

[WaverlySouthern (Dan Hilyer)]

You are very lucky. I’m glad its no worse than that. Be careful, we don’t need a Devon with a hole in his head AND missing fingers

[Devon_Sinsley]

Dan,

I am pretty faithful about saw safety. While I abandon most guards for small work I insist on hold downs and push sticks. Both were on use. But things were going a bit sideways and I went to grab the piece on the back side of the blade and poked the running blade with my booger picker. Very lucky indeed. Foolish mistake. No piece of wood is worth a finger.

I have a day or two or three of right handed booger picking

[WaverlySouthern (Dan Hilyer)]

@Devon_Sinsley

I have a day or two or three of right handed booger picking

As long as it is limited to picking only, we’ll allow it

[Pete_Lassen]

Well I had some time so I started experimenting with different methods to fill out the car, without a month of hand sawing sticks to size.

I screwed them together and then sharpie painted where the units need to hide the blue behind them .

Next off some fine jewelry wire from a hobby store as cables to make some scaleish corner irons to hold it all on the car.
If anyone knows an easy way to loop the cable around a stake pocket so it actually holds , that could help me a lot

[Pete_Lassen]

someone reminded me about ands that hold the units of lumber together…. DANGIT , I had just glued the wood to the foam and wow Titebond III is a strong bond so I took a fine Sharpies I. Green and drew bands on the units… Next up load securement with cables or chains and possibly some winches may be ordere, to make things more realistic

[Devon_Sinsley]

I dont know why I am just now seeing this. But those drawn on bands look pretty good.they are very thin in 1:1 so just about anything you would have tried to use would likely have been to thick. Glaringly so. So drawn on bands look about right.