Post by autobodyman on Jan 27, 2010 21:57:03 GMT -6
Well I think I'm finally done with the train. Still lack the tender car and the caboose.
Started making the track this afternoon. The instructions called for a bunch of 10° cuts on the table saw moving the rip fence from one side of the blade to the other, seemed like there would have been a great deal of cleanup doing it that way. The track rail was supposed to be 3/8" x 3/8".
I decided to try making my own router bit. Had an old straight ¼" bit I don't use anymore. Used my electric chain saw sharpener to rough out the bit, then my air cutoff tool and finally a little cleanup with a dremil tool and stone. Not exact, wound up ½" x ½" but the profile was close.
The first pass wasn't to bad:
The second pass was a little more worrisome, but it worked out for the most part.
Profile from the ends, I know it looks bad, all being different thickness on the center but those were the ends where I came off the hold downs (they got cut off).
These are a bit over 7 feet long, I probably will end up only needing a bit over 6 foot when all is said and done.
The walnut ties are ½" thick and 5/8" wide spaced 1" apart (the plywood between) Got the right rail glued down already in this pic working on the left rail.
I used CA glue on every 10th tie, Elmer's wood glue on the rest. The redwood strip is just a guide to keep me straight.
Tomorrow after work I will clearcoat the track. And now a crap load of pictures:
It is a steam engine, just added some smoke ;D
The train is 19¾" long from the tip of the cow catcher to the back of the roof and about 8" tall. The track at present is about 7 feet long. We (the wife mostly) haven't decided for sure where this will end up. Two choices are on a cabinet in our bay window, in which case it would be about 6 feet of track. The other thought was on the wall above our couch, in which case I will have to figure out how to build some curved track, track support to the wall and then will have to do some intrasia tunnels where the curved track meets the wall.
I probably won't post anymore of this till it's completed, y'all are probably gettin sick of it?
Thanks ~Mike
Started making the track this afternoon. The instructions called for a bunch of 10° cuts on the table saw moving the rip fence from one side of the blade to the other, seemed like there would have been a great deal of cleanup doing it that way. The track rail was supposed to be 3/8" x 3/8".
I decided to try making my own router bit. Had an old straight ¼" bit I don't use anymore. Used my electric chain saw sharpener to rough out the bit, then my air cutoff tool and finally a little cleanup with a dremil tool and stone. Not exact, wound up ½" x ½" but the profile was close.
The first pass wasn't to bad:
The second pass was a little more worrisome, but it worked out for the most part.
Profile from the ends, I know it looks bad, all being different thickness on the center but those were the ends where I came off the hold downs (they got cut off).
These are a bit over 7 feet long, I probably will end up only needing a bit over 6 foot when all is said and done.
The walnut ties are ½" thick and 5/8" wide spaced 1" apart (the plywood between) Got the right rail glued down already in this pic working on the left rail.
I used CA glue on every 10th tie, Elmer's wood glue on the rest. The redwood strip is just a guide to keep me straight.
Tomorrow after work I will clearcoat the track. And now a crap load of pictures:
It is a steam engine, just added some smoke ;D
The train is 19¾" long from the tip of the cow catcher to the back of the roof and about 8" tall. The track at present is about 7 feet long. We (the wife mostly) haven't decided for sure where this will end up. Two choices are on a cabinet in our bay window, in which case it would be about 6 feet of track. The other thought was on the wall above our couch, in which case I will have to figure out how to build some curved track, track support to the wall and then will have to do some intrasia tunnels where the curved track meets the wall.
I probably won't post anymore of this till it's completed, y'all are probably gettin sick of it?
Thanks ~Mike
