Weathering Stripwood

TrainClown

Member
While I'm in town I may as well stop and see ol' jon monon. He just finnished an addition to his place.
 

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TrainClown

Member
jon told me he just put a new sky-light in his barn. Works real good too.
 

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TrainClown

Member
The big news is that The Gauge now has a new club house. Kind'o fittin' don't ya think?
 

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TrainClown

Member
Guess it's time to take my hot rod and scoot for home. See yall reeeeal sooon! :D
 

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Matthyro

Will always be re-membered
Just take a train ride anywhere and you are sure to find one or two of these. Mostly deserted farms because the children grew up with different interests. Lots of them in Saskatchewan eh! TrainClown
 

TrainClown

Member
Saskatchewan has a plethora of ghost towns, but most of my experience comes from when I lived in B.C. and hung around such ghost towns as Barkerville and Stout's Gulch. I just love the stories you can gleen from exploring these old buildings. Golden memories of my youth. I guess thats why I want to make a model like that, to take me back to those happy days.
 

Vic

Active Member
Originally posted by Casey Feedwater
By Jove, I believe you're on to something! Just watch your fingers. :rolleyes:

Stripwood is called that because it's literally strips of wood rather than sheets. Several months ago, the Gazette ran a side-bar article by Boone Morrison about cutting stripwood with a Micromark table saw. While I'd love to own one of those saws and make my own, I can buy lots and lots of ready-made stripwood for what the saw costs. :eek:

Hi Casey, Yep that Micro-Mark saw is a bit pricey. Take a look around some R/C airplane meets for a Dremel Table Saw. I don't think that Dremel makes them any more because too many folks lost their fingers in them. I found one for $25 bucks. Then I purchased an Accurizer fence and blades and a set of blanks from Micro-Mark....BAM!!...A stripwood saw for under 100 Clams ....BUT WATCH THOSE FINGERS!!!
 

MasonJar

It's not rocket surgery
A question

This is a bit of a roundabout way of getting to a question that is only somewhat related... but here it is anyway...!

When you weather the strip wood, or more specifically, sheets of scribed siding, how do you avoid warping as the wood is drying???

I am having a heck of a time with some (very thin) siding...

Any advice?

Thanks!!

Andrew
 

Vic

Active Member
Andrew, I've had that happen too....

1. What ever you use to weather the wood thin it with alcohol rather than water...it dries faster and less warpage. If you are using a solvent based paint such as Floquil use the thinner that is reccomended.

2. I've been using Micromark's Age It Easy for quite awhile...its alcohol based and works well.

3. If you place something heavy on the piece while its drying (like a couple of books) and let it dry for at least a day there should be minimal warp. I've got an old steam iron that is heavy and flat and it works good!!!:D
 

MasonJar

It's not rocket surgery
Thanks for the info.

I have been using alcohol and india ink to age some of the sheets. Some of the scribing is very deep, and when the wood is wet, even both sides, it just curls up. I have flattened it and put weights on it while drying. I guess that's as good as it gets, as it seems impossible to prevent warpage in the first place.

Thanks again guys.

Andrew
 

Mike R

Member
Andrew;
This will only help if the construction you intend to use requires a 'perimeter' of stripwood around the edges of your sheeting :

Glue this stripwood on the back of the sheetwood and clamp for a few hours BEFORE weathering.

Use a moisture resistant glue, either a solvent type like Goo or Pliobond, or an 'outdoor' wood glue like Lepages Weathergrip.

Use those weights regardless, when the weathering job is drying.
Good luck & regards
Mike:D
 
Andrew, this is what I do to minimize warping and curling. First, as some of the others have suggested, I use a non-water based stain, usually black alcohol. Also, I stain both sides of the piece as that decreases the tendency of wet grain raising and pulling against dry grain. Then I place the wet pieces between a couple of paper towels and weight the whole thing for 12-24 hours with something heavy, usually a stack of books.

Finally (and I know this sounds crazy, but it always works for me), if your siding is still curled after it's dried, iron it with a warm, dry iron. I set mine on the "nylon/silk" setting, with the water emptied out and steam set to "off." I then iron the siding until it flattens and stays flat - usually about 30-90 seconds. Be sure to keep the iron in constant motion so that all of the residual moisture in the wood is evaporated without scorching the wood.

I even used the ironing method on two board and batten roofing panels that curled slightly after I had glued the battens on. Since the roof was to be removable, gluing it down was not an alternative. After 2 or 3 weeks, I still couldn't get them to unwarp, so I put the iron on them. They flattened right out and have remained that way for well over a year now.
 
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