Hi there,
If one wanted to machine/mill their own structural parts out of basswood for scale model HO and N scale buildings, i.e. scale 2 x 4’s, flooring, cedar shingles, posts, siding for homes, 2 x 10’s for floor joists and rafters and such, trusses, what kind of tools both manual and power, would one need, and where could one purchase them?
Any reccomended tooling lists?
Thanks.
Micro Mark for hobby tools.
You would have to go to a specialty wood working store for machines to make veneer (since that’s really what you will be making, sheets of .023 or .010 thick wood) if you want something more commercial grade.
The several hundreds of dollars and hours you will spend to get to the point where you can make your own scale dimensional lumber would pay for a LOT of commercial stripwood.
Don’t limit it to milling on the onset, IMHO. Laser and waterjet are good approaches too. I am looking into the new 3D prototype part printers as well. Here is a link to the mini mill, you can get a DRO option, which I really like to use.
http://www.mini-lathe.com/Mini_mill/Main/mini-mill.htm
They have other products as well.
For the products you listed I would look real hard at waterjetting, probably a laser ( I think there is a cooler type which won’t catch the wood on fire, but would let you leave separation lines. I think you will find the fiber structure in wood to be tough to mill as you get very small/thin. A hard, very tight and aged wood will probably behave best.
Richard
Thanks dehusman
What kind of machine - equipment would be needed to cut your own veneer? A lathe with some kind of veneer jig?
Thanks,
I am thinking if I used a mini mill, hard maple would be about the best material to mill.
Have no idea other than the commercial ones are huge and cost major bucks.
You might have to cut thin slices off a block with a table or bandsaw and then use a planer to get it to a specific thickness.
You really need to talk to a woodworking expert. There is no way in heck I would ever attempt to make my own N scale 2x4’s (that’s wood .0125 x.0250 in cross section).
I guess I would ask why you’d want to do this? Are you thinking of going into some sort of commercial enterprise, or is this for some things you’d want to build for personal use? I really don’t think you can make some of the things you mentioned (2 x 4’s, 2 x 10’s for example) economically unless you need mass quantities. Even in the era of wood sticks in a box kits I think most of the manufacturers used material they bought from some of the specialty wood shape purveyors, like Northeastern.
When working on a project for the wife I was cutting very thin slices off some Oak and Maple. I was using both a radial arm saw and mitre saw. I decided to try and run a exacto knife with a metal straight edge through this stuff to see if I could make HO scale lumber. After a few practice cuts the micrometre showed perfect 2 x 4s and 2 x 8s. Those paper thin scraps that are 2" x 1/2" now get picked up off the workshop floor and saved. It would take a very small amount of scrap to build an HO neighbourhood.
A very sharp fine tooth saw blade also makes a difference.
Brent
I’ve cut down to 6" x 6" with the bandsaw using cedar and fir. It’s easy to sand down to 4"x4". A little light sanding brings them into almost perfect scale. No hobbyshop nearby, so there’s only one alternative. Once I have the saw set up for the size I want, I make as much as possible for that size of scale lumber. Finicky to set up, but once things are in position, you can make a lot of scale lumber quickly. Haven’t gotten down to the 2" stuff yet though. I too keep the fine scrap off the table saw or bandsaw. I am thinking about getting a mini-tablesaw from Micro-Mark. I model in HO.
Good luck.
Roy
I think it might be better to use bass wood, box wood, poplar, clear ponderosa pine, as these are all close-grained, stay straight, mill perfectly, and also will work better than maple. While a great looking hardwood, maple would be hell on the hobbyist with regard to working with it in general; like cutting it with exacto blades, etc. Understand that this is all just my opinion. I have made dimensional lumber for base framing, support for cardstock, siding, etc. it can be a lot of fun and a fair challenge to do with the right equipment. I have a Jet 10-inch table saw; and with jigs that I have made for special applications, I get some very accurate cuts; down to thousanths of an inch. Blades I use are 60-tooth carbide-tipped.
Rich
EF-3 Yellowjacket
Thanks to Batman, grampy and yellojacket. Just for my own use maxman,
I have a grizzly cabinet saw with precision fence so I can cut down to widths within .001" but with my 3/32 inch fence the kerf will be bigger than the pices I cut LOL but I guess that is the cost though. Don’t have a band saw yet though, have had my eyes on one for years - maybe this year 9I say that every year LOL). Would love to buy some micro mark equipment. is Micro Mark about the only game in town for the minrature table saws, band saws ect For modeling?
I have plenty of scrap hard maple, was just wondering if anyone here had good results cutting strips with an xacto knife?
I also was lucky last week picked up a HUGE piece of basswood, paid 16 bucks for the hunk - bought it direct from a local mom and pop saw mill near where I live, I think the block is around 4 x 7 x 52 about 10 bd ft boy I really lucked out. It is VERY rough sawn though.
Anyone know of a good supplier in the states for boxwood? Boxwood is very hard just wondering how it cuts manually compared to hard maple…
Correction to above, I meant my 1/8" blade, not 3/32" fence LOL.
Google “resaw”
I’m currently scratchbuilding a square water tower and a wood shed for a branch logging engine service area. After reading this thread, I got to thinking about 2x4’s, etc. I do have a small stock, so I took a piece and compared it to some thin finishing veneer I had laying around in the shop. Low and behold, it’s almiost a perfect match for 2" thick material in HO. This led me to taking the hand plane and peeling a few strip off of some boards. Yup, same result, although you do need to flatten the strips out. This is easily done when the strips are wet from staining and left to dry with a weight holding the strips down.
Just so I’m understood, I do buy from hobby shops when I get a chance, but I live in a hobby shop void and the nearest one is over an hour away and stocks very little material for railway scratbuilding. Coming up with home grown solutions is interesting, fun, rewarding and challenging.
Next task is to make cedar shakes.
Roy
Northeastern will cut custom sizes for you in Basswood. But I also thought they had these sizes in stock???