Wood Trestle Bridge
- Thread starter Edavillenut
- Start date
here are some shots of the trestel so far there is still alot that needs to be done but here are some of my progress
Casey,
Thanks for your inputs. A few questions if I may:
1. the ink to alcohol mix; was that a 16 oz bottle?
2. what was the mix for your structures?
3. your attached photos look great. The first one has the tressle wood looking like a brown but the second has the wood looking like a gray color. I'm guessing that the tressles were built with local hardwood soaked in creasote similar to railroad ties.
What color is appropriate?
Thanks, Jim
Thanks for your inputs. A few questions if I may:
1. the ink to alcohol mix; was that a 16 oz bottle?
2. what was the mix for your structures?
3. your attached photos look great. The first one has the tressle wood looking like a brown but the second has the wood looking like a gray color. I'm guessing that the tressles were built with local hardwood soaked in creasote similar to railroad ties.
What color is appropriate?
Thanks, Jim
Jimnrose,
1. Yes, the mix is for a 16 oz. bottle of alcohol. For variety, you might get three bottles of alcohol. To one, add 1 oz of India ink. To the second, add 1-1/2 oz of ink. To the third, add 2 oz of ink. The different dilutions will cause different levels of "weathering." This is a great techinque to use with board-by-board scratchbuilding. A lot of variation is possible.
2. The actual mix for structures depends upon what effect I'm trying to achieve. Most of the time, though, I'm looking for weathered white and red oak. Because I'm making a stain that will be disposed of, I use plain acrylic craft paints available at WalMart for less than $1.00 each. Also, note that this procedure works best with stripwood and board-by-board construction. Grooved siding will warp badly and require heavy weighting while drying should you choose to try it.
Here's the basic mix: 20 oz. of water, 1 tsp India ink, 1 tsp burnt umber, 1 tsp raw umber. Mix thorougly. Pour the "stain" into a ziplock-style bag containing the stripwood. Let the wood set in the stain for at least 4 hours, then turn the bag and redistribute the pigments which have settled. Repeat the turning periodically for the next several hours. After 24 hours or so, the wood will be nicely stained and weathered. Remove the stripwood from the bag and allow to air dry on newspaper. Believe it or not, the warpage will be minimal (unless, that is, you stained grooved or scribed siding!) The resulting wood will resemble weathered white oak. For a red oak stain, substitute Siennas for umbers. For generic weathered wood (i.e., fir), use 1 tsp. India ink, 1 tsp. flat black, 1 tsp. raw umber, 3/4-1 tsp. burnt Sienna.
3. Jim, the honest truth is that both trestles are nearly identical in color. The difference you see is because of the difference in layout lighting. The trestle with the Santa Fe boxes in the background was built over 20 years ago on a layout in the basement of my last home. The lighting was quite a bit different than what I use now, and it affected the film differently. Also, the 35mm slide has aged somewhat and the colors aren't quite as true.
I'll attach a photo of some board-by-board construction using the acrylic stain technique.
1. Yes, the mix is for a 16 oz. bottle of alcohol. For variety, you might get three bottles of alcohol. To one, add 1 oz of India ink. To the second, add 1-1/2 oz of ink. To the third, add 2 oz of ink. The different dilutions will cause different levels of "weathering." This is a great techinque to use with board-by-board scratchbuilding. A lot of variation is possible.
2. The actual mix for structures depends upon what effect I'm trying to achieve. Most of the time, though, I'm looking for weathered white and red oak. Because I'm making a stain that will be disposed of, I use plain acrylic craft paints available at WalMart for less than $1.00 each. Also, note that this procedure works best with stripwood and board-by-board construction. Grooved siding will warp badly and require heavy weighting while drying should you choose to try it.
Here's the basic mix: 20 oz. of water, 1 tsp India ink, 1 tsp burnt umber, 1 tsp raw umber. Mix thorougly. Pour the "stain" into a ziplock-style bag containing the stripwood. Let the wood set in the stain for at least 4 hours, then turn the bag and redistribute the pigments which have settled. Repeat the turning periodically for the next several hours. After 24 hours or so, the wood will be nicely stained and weathered. Remove the stripwood from the bag and allow to air dry on newspaper. Believe it or not, the warpage will be minimal (unless, that is, you stained grooved or scribed siding!) The resulting wood will resemble weathered white oak. For a red oak stain, substitute Siennas for umbers. For generic weathered wood (i.e., fir), use 1 tsp. India ink, 1 tsp. flat black, 1 tsp. raw umber, 3/4-1 tsp. burnt Sienna.
3. Jim, the honest truth is that both trestles are nearly identical in color. The difference you see is because of the difference in layout lighting. The trestle with the Santa Fe boxes in the background was built over 20 years ago on a layout in the basement of my last home. The lighting was quite a bit different than what I use now, and it affected the film differently. Also, the 35mm slide has aged somewhat and the colors aren't quite as true.
I'll attach a photo of some board-by-board construction using the acrylic stain technique.
Attachments
Casey,
Thanks again for the info. I just received by dimensional lumber yesterday and looking forward to staining the batch.
Take care, Jim
Thanks again for the info. I just received by dimensional lumber yesterday and looking forward to staining the batch.
Take care, Jim
Shawn, it's looking good. Interesting design. How tall is it?
Looking forward to seeing the completed pics.
t.
Looking forward to seeing the completed pics.
t.
Thanks, the bridge was designed by my scout master 30 years ago and he never built it. the 3 middle bents are 18" tall when it is done it will be 35" long and will hold two tracks.