Im building my layout which will feature 5 bridges when done 2 HO Scale double track (1 viaduct, 1 trestle) 2 N Scale single track (1 viaduct, 1 trestle) and then 1 HO Scale road bridge. My problem is i dont know what type of wood to use i was planning on building them out of balsa wood but after reading some of these forum articles i get the impression that it is not good for bridges. Does anyone know of any wood that good for these types of Bridges?
Basswood, if you can get it.
Balsa is mainly used where light weight is valuable, specifically in flyable aircraft models.
If you are building that many âwoodenâ bridges, you might want to look into one of the guillotine cutters for cutting multiple pieces to length simultaneously. Using a razor saw will be tedious, and while they make model power saws, they tend to be pricy for the actual benefit they give.
I have used Grand Central components from Scenic Express to good effect. They craft bents, decks, backheads, and stringers. The assembled bridges are strong and lightweight. You can add details to your heartâs contentânbw castings, spikes, etc.
Hereâs a quick shot of some of their HO-scale bents and decking I used for trestlework on my silver mine. The layout is O scale, but the mine uses On16 (i.e. N-gauge) track; the car below is On30.
Basswood is what you want. Hobby Lobby has a good assortment of basswood sizes, along with a broad range of paint, tools, and many other hobby related items.
Regarding cutting basswood, I picked up a NW Shortline âChopperâ which makes quick, clean cuts; well worth the investment, especially if youâre planning to do a lot of bridges.
I color the basswood pieces with a home-made stain of 3 to 5 tea spoons of India Ink per pint of 91% Isopropyl Alcohol. The longer you leave the wood in the stain - the darker the color. A plus is that there will be a slight natural variation of the stain in the individual pieces; as opposed to paint which, in this case, results in an unnatural uniform color. Stain all the wood pieces before assembly as the stain will not penatrate glue joints.
Jim
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Back in school I remember getting to build bridges out of balsa wood- then stress tested until failure. My groupâs bridge ended up doing the best of anyoneâs that year, we felt pretty proud of ourselves!
Basswood is also easy to cut and assemble, but is not quite as fragile as balsa. Definitely agree with everyone, basswood is a better option to build with so long as weight is not a concern.
-El