Does anyone make a 4-6 inch bar clamp?
I’m going to have a lumber mill big enough to need a dedicated switcher. I need a lot of different sized lumber.
The trouble is my mini table saw will only cut as low as 3/32". What I would like to do is attach a 1/16 strip of metal to the rip fence so I can make stacks of scale lumber.
Any ideas on how to go about it?
I have an Irwin that opens to 4 1/2", also one that opens to 12 1/2". You could check with your local hardware store and see if there is a mid-sized one listed.
Stacked lumber is pretty much a cube cut to length 8’ to 16’. Unless you plan to do indicidually stacked boards, a block of wood, scribed, should do for the stacks and purchase a few scale pieces for extra detail effect.
Good luck,
Richard
Awhile back I bought a Harbor Freight Mighty Might table saw for my hobby bench. I didn’t come with a fence so I made one from Basswood.
The blade height is fully adjustable from 0 to ¾”.
I’ve used it quite a bit on both Basswood and Styrene and it has worked out very well. The Basswood fence came out a close fit to the top of the saw but a strip of 3M striping tape give it some friction to keep it in place.
The saw is pretty good, I cut a 2” diameter schedule 40 PVC pipe by rotating it.
Mel
My Model Railroad
http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/
Bakersfield, California
I’m beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
I bought ten of these el-cheapos at either the Dollar Store or in the dollar bin at Northern Tool.
They work OK for model building.
-Kevin
If I understand your question correctly, I would use wood rather than metal on your fence. That way if you slip the saw will be chewing into wood rather than metal.
You might try this:
The holes in the fence shouldn’t interfere with the normal operation of the rip fence without the plate, and you can replace the plate any time you need to.
If that’s too much work, spray the back of the plate with an adhesive like Super 77 and slap the plate onto the fence. Remove it later using a putty knife. You’ll probably have to clean the fence face with some sort of solvent - gasoline or mineral spirits, I would guess.
For building up a 1/16" strip, styrene is another alternative that might work well and could be CA-ed in place.
I’ve got a pair of the same clamps as Kevin. Mine may have come from Harbor Freight.
I also use the Harbor Freight clamps
https://www.harborfreight.com/search?q=clamps
The 6” are fantastic for scratch building HO structures.
Mel
My Model Railroad
http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/
Bakersfield, California
I’m beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
Micro-mark has minature bar clamps in different sizes up to 12 inches.
Paul
Back in the 70’s my mother in law bought me a set of brass bar clamps from her Avon pusher. They are a little over 12" long with a sliding stop and an adjustable block on the end. I have been using them ever since.
I don’t know if they are still available, but if you want something durable that you won’t wear out, you might look for them.
I’m also working on a lumber mill scene. I started by using strips of styrene, cutting them neatly in lengths and piling them up. Did one or two piles, and painted them a “sand” color, and they looked nice. I model HO, and I find that actual wood does not scale down very well because of the grainy and porus aspect of real wood. But the worse was doing the cutting, gluing and piling of the boards. I lost patience and bought the Atlas milled lumber kit…
Simon
20200806_121804 on Flickr
I clicked the link and started browsing around the Micro-Mark website.
I sawe they arew stocking Vallejo paints now, my favorite.
Holy-Cats!!!
They wany $7.00 for a 17ml bottle. Everywhere else they are $3.50 or less.
-Kevin
I considered it. I even bought a pack of ultra-fine brown sharpies to make the cuts. As a contractor for 15 years, I got to see a lot of lumber yards, and only rarely are they stacked evenly–and then only when banded.
What is going on at this lumber mill is boxcars are being moved from place to place while workers fill orders. There won’t be any stacks left unturned.
But this not the only time I would use scale lumber. I’m constantly building things for the town. I can’t rely on 9x9"posts to be good for everything.
I’m not worried about cutting my fence–but I am worried about friction when trying to push rough-sawn popsicle sticks and coffee stirrers through the blade.
I just got some Super 77. If I find a piece of metal, I might gove it a go.
Now, anyone know where I can find a 1/16 piece of metal. I’m not even sure where to start.
This is a great idea. a couple of .040s glued together…
The build-up doesn’t have to be exactly 1/16th. It can be larger.
I can see that happening. I’ll find a way to not think about it. Maybe I’ll watch politics on YouTube or something.
My local hobby shop, and I think Hobby Lobby also have balsa wood strips of just about every size and shape.
Could you cut the correct length lumber from those strips?
[(-D] - I wouldn’t do that while holding a knife!
When I scratch building with wood I use Midwest Products Scale lumber. I scanned the back of a package of scale lumber, it lists the size per scale.
Click twice to enlarge.
Their scale lumber is a top quality product.
The steps and wood trim is scale lumber, the siding is embossed Basswood sheets.
The scale lumber would look real in a lumber yard. It excepts stain great. My trestle is made from scale lumber.
The trestle is pushing 31 years old, that’s the original stain.
Mel
My Model Railroad
http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/
Bakersfield, California
I’m beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
Nice looking scratch builds Mel, all of them are. That bridge is really something[Y] I’ve seen that one before but I never get tired of looking at it.
TF