Couple of Shorties

[ccvstmr]

THE BEAM AT THE END OF THE CAR

Another critical component of the car "frame" is the end beam. This is also one of those components made up of other smaller parts. Very much a focal point on a passenger car...steps, platform, end beam, railing, etc. And once again, found ourselves having to make at least (8) sets of parts.

Had a friend with a stash of white oak boards. Looking at the wood, saw a bunch of passenger car end beams hiding inside those boards. Brought several boards home and ran them thru a surface planer. In fact, the surface planer was used quite often throughout this project.

A club member asked if I wanted a used 12" Jet planer. YES...I'm interested! He didn't know what kind of condition the machine was in and said take it home to try it out. Wasn't long before I realized the carriage that carries the knife drum and drive rollers was busted on both sides. Think a previous owner tried to ram something thru that was too large for the machine setting. Looking on line, found replacement carriages could be had...starting from $225 and up. Hmmm, if I was going to spend that kind of money, might as well buy a new unit. Offered the guy a few bucks not knowing how much I'd have to spend and decided to see what I could do with some 1/8" strap iron, screws and good ole JB Weld. Happy to say, all the wood that was surface planed for these passenger cars went thru the planer. But I digress...

The challenge of the end beam was...how to mount all that had to be attached to the beam, and then...how to attach the beam to the end of the car. Touched on the car mounting when discussing the corner steps. After planing and cutting, had enough end beam material for these cars and more...

With end beam stock in hand, headed over to the over-sized precision router (a milling machine). These beams had thinner ends than the center. Rounded ends. Tapered underside. End railing and end plate mounting holes were drilled and the back side had a recess for the end plate.

The end plate was nothing more than an 1/8 x 2" piece of steel. A rectangular opening was milled out for the coupler shank. The corners on the plate were rounded and the mounting holes in the wood end beam were transferred to the plate. Took the plates over to Dave's and had him TIG weld short pieces of 1/2 x 1/2 x 1/8 angle directly under the coupler shank opening. This, to support the coupler.

As the basic shape of the end beam came to life, Honest Dave was busy making the end beam posts. Lucky for him...his lathe had a taper attachment. But once again...(32) short posts and (16) long posts would be needed. The long posts had the tops heated and bent around a radius. A piece of flat stock would eventually be silver soldered to the long post tail for the top railing.

The posts were threaded on the bottom for a piece of 10-32 stainless thread rod. The top of the post was threaded for a 6-32 stud or thread rod. Any excess thread on top was cut off using a Dremel tool with a cut-off disk when completed. Originally was going to use aircraft nuts or flange nuts and realized...those were too modern looking for an 1890's model. Switched to stainless square nuts. 4-40 square nuts on top re-drilled/tapped for 6-32. 10-32 stainless nuts were used on the underside to secure the posts with backing washers.

Picked up a bunch of plastic brake wheels at a swap table. Decided to use these for the platform railings. But first, had to machine an insert for the square hole so the brake wheel could be mounted to a brake staff. So, a little bit of lathe turning. Then a 5C collet in square block and over to the mill to machine the flats. Soon enough...had a square end on a round rod...

The bushing insert was parted off and pressed into the brake wheel square opening. Made a collar for the brake wheel staff that went under the railing top bar. This, to keep curious people from removing the brake wheel...and helping themselves to a take home souvenir.

As for finishing...ran the wood end beams thru a sand blast cabinet. This does a great job or raising the grain slightly to look like an old time end beam before painting. The railings and brake wheel parts were also blasted for better paint adhesion. Later on, would add grab irons on the beam face as well. This will show up in later photos.

That ends another piece of the frame construction. Next time, we'll start cutting timbers for the car body. Carl B.

[ccvstmr]

TIME TO RAISE SOME WALLS

Previous wooden models were made using pine. Readily available at the big box stores and lumber yards. One drawback...pine is a soft wood and the grain raises easily when sanded. For these passenger cars, decided to use poplar. This is a semi-hard wood. Very fine grain. Sands easily (and powders easily too)!

Headed to Owl Lumber in Oak Lawn, IL outside Chicago to see what kind of poplar lumber they stocked. Owl Lumber specializes in "exotic" lumbers. Different types of woods...different widths...and different thicknesses. Saw some slabs that could have been used for a 2" thick living room coffee table...and a price to go with that for that one slab.

Proceeded to the poplar section with tape measure in hand...and selected many 1/2" thick boards to be used for planks, got some 3/4" thick boards for frame members and Owl was kind enough to cut off a 52" length of a 1/4" board to be used for the sign board. That was a $200 lumber bill. Didn't think that cost was bad considering this wood would be enough to build (4) passenger cars.

Years ago, I had my townhouse condo kitchen remodeled. The cabinets got new doors and the face/sides were Formica covered. A new counter top was part of that effort. Told the contractor I wanted the old "L" shaped piece counter top. Made with MDF board, this was heavy...but reasonably flat. Have been using that table surface to build models for 30+ years. After getting the old counter top up on horses, clamped some wood pieces along two edges and made sure they were square. This is where the wall frames would be assembled.

Work begins by cutting a piece of 3/4" thick board slightly wider than what will be needed for (4) 1/2" wide x 3/4" thick frame members. Dado cuts were made across the width of the board at pre-determined locations. These would be the horizontal members for the wall frames. Uprights were cut to interlock the horizontal pieces. Originally used a dado blade set where different width blades are stacked on the saw arbor to get the desired dado cut width. Not long after that, purchased an adjustable dado blade. Some call this a "wobble blade" since the adjustment cocks the blade more and more for wider cuts. With either dado blade cutters, had to get a dado throat plate for the table saw. Didn't feel like spending $40 to $50 for a new or used dado throat plate. Instead, paid $15 for a used standard throat plate...and let the milling machine "modify" the opening. Where there 's a way, there's a will!

After the frame members were cut...all frame board were passed thru the surface planer to get the desire thickness. Never thought I'd be using a caliper so often to check board dimensions.

Pilot holes were drilled in the center of the dado cut. Frame members were flipped over so the pilot holes could be countersunk on the opposite side for drywall screw fasteners.

Every joint was glued...then the entire frame section was clamped.

When the clamps were removed, the pilot hole was deepened with a drill. Drywall screws were inserted at each joint. Then, the next frame section was positioned, glued and clamped. This continued until (4) end wall sections and (4) side wall sections were assembled. Side wall sections were made in (2) different styles...one pair of sections for the combine with the side baggage doors and one pair for the coach.

After all the wall frame sections had been assembled, it was time to fasten these to the plywood floor. The cars were turned upside down. Pilot holes were drilled, countersunk and the screws run home. So all joints were being glued 'n screwed. One thing was for certain...it was a lot easier to handle 4 foot long cars in the shop than some of the longer models I've built. Here's the two cars stacked on the assembly table.

In case you're wondering what kind of glue was used...decided to try Elmer's Wood Glue Max. Found out this stuff drys relatively quickly. Makes for a strong glue joint. Wasn't more than 10 minutes after the side walls were installed, I noticed one of the side walls sections was installed backwards. OOPS! The baggage door openings were SUPPOSED to be adjacent to the screen floor bottom for the propane tank. Now that side wall wasn't in position for more than 10 minutes. Removed the clamps. When I went to pull the wall section out...the top layer of the plywood floor came off with the wall section. Damn...hate that when that happens! Cleaned off the offending plywood. There was still enough flat surface to re-glue and clamp in the proper orientation. Problem resolved.

As a result of that experience...I was sold on the "MAX" glue. Went back to purchase a gallon jug of the stuff. Okay, that was $28...but worth it. As I start Honest Dave's (2) passenger cars now...still have the better part of a gallon to work with.

Next installment...we'll get some plywood sheathing on all sides of the framed car. Carl B.

[Benjamin Maggi]

Wow, you are really moving along with these cars! Nice work.

[ccvstmr]

Well Ben...you gave me a good laugh there. "Really moving along"? You should know, my two cars have been done since January this year. Was going to unveil them at a train show in March, but that was canceled (or obvious reasons). Didn't want to start this "build log" until I had some outdoor photos with the cars on the rail. Will gladly share those at the end of the article.

But thanks for thinking I could wave a magic wand and crank out some model cars in short order. Stay tuned...there's more to come. Carl B.

[ccvstmr]

SKIN IT ALIVE

As long as I'm here, might as well crank out another chapter describing the build project for the Couple of Shorties.

Last time, the wall frame sections were assembled and erected. What's next? The cars got "skinned" with 1/4" under layment plywood. Don't let the dimension fool you. Like all lumber, even plywood, it's undersized. This 1/4" plywood was measured at 0.195" thick.

Have been buying sheet plywood at Lowe's around the corner. Of the (3) large big box hardware stores (Lowe's, Menard's, Home Depot), Lowe's was the only place (around here) that still has an in-store panel cutting saw. Provided the saw operator with a cut sheet that yielded slightly oversize pieces of plywood that could fit in the car for the ride home. Once in the shop, the table saw would be used to fit/cut the needed pieces to size. Left material on the side wall sheet upper corners for the end platform "horns".

Clamped some scrap plywood squares to the underside at the corners. These support the side pieces that could then be clamped and allowed me to trace the wall section framing to the INSIDE of the plywood. That piece of plywood was moved to the opposite side of the car model. Then traced the frame to the OUTSIDE of the plywood. Repeated that for each plywood pieces. Side wall frame sections were mirror images of one another. Why? The trace on the inside showed where to apply the glue. The trace on the outside showed where to drive nails. Here was the result after gluing 'n nailing the skin for the coach. You can see the tracing...

If you're wondering why the wall frame sections do not extend to the top of the plywood...that's where the roof frame drops down or "nests" into the car body. That recess is 1" high. Realize too, when the car gets planked, the car sides will be thicker...just under 1/2" thick. Here's the view of the inside...

While reviewing the prototype photos of #5 and #6, noticed the "signboard" or "name board" extended out over the car siding slightly. Decided to get some 1/8" thick hobby-craft plywood. This stuff is available in 12" x 24" pieces (and smaller) in 1/8", 1/4" and 1/2" thicknesses. The 1/8" board is 3-ply. The 1/2" board is 9 ply. This is nice stuff to work with. Two, 2" x 24" strips were glued and clamped across the top of each car side to start this raised surface. The added thickness would increase the strength of the corner horns. After the cars got planked, a 1/4" thick piece of poplar will be laminated on top of that for the final signboard surface.

Decided to cut some templates out of scrap Masonite for the baggage and end door openings. Templates were screwed in their respective locations for later removal. Planks would then be installed up to the template edges. Will tell you now, thought this was a good way to start. In the end...took a different approach to create the doorway openings.

Next time, we'll get into planking. Carl B.

[ccvstmr]

IT'S ALL IN THE PLANK PREP

When we last turned out the shop lights, both the combine and coach car frames had been skinned with 1/4" (nominal) under layment plywood. This forms the base for the planks.

Without getting into how 1/2" poplar boards are sliced, will just say the boards were cut into strips approx. .280 to .300" thick. Honest Dave was on hand to assist. Having a second pair of hands around to pass material back and forth over the table saw was a BIG help.

For years, have had a 7.5" carbide tipped blade in the 10" Craftsman table saw. Why? the 7.5" blade has a narrower blade tooth and removes a lot less wood than the 10" carbide blade. Would rather put the wood on the cars...and not on the floor. Still, after running several 8" to 10" wide boards over the table saw to cut plank strips, there was still a pile of saw dust on the floor. Couldn't be helped. If you want a certain "look" for the cars, you have accept a certain amount of waste. Same applies to metal work as well.

After cutting the boards into strips, the surface planer was set up. The cutting carriage was slowly lowered until the plank thickness was in the .240 to .260" range. Once again, one person feeing...and another person down stacking made this operation go fast. At least the surface planer is "self-feeding". Could run several wood strips side by side at a time.

When the planing was completed...was time to change tooling once again. This time, the router was set up to bevel the face edges of each strip. The router cutter is a 60 degree carbide tool...stands up a lot longer than a HSS cutting tool. The router table was outfitted with a bunch of finger boards and guides to keep the plank from deviated from a "straight thru" path that would otherwise make the bevel "wander" along the edge. Once again, one person feeding, the other person pulling the strip thru for the last few inches and stacking.

After the strip went thru the router the 1st time...it was handed back to the feeder to flip end-for-end and run thru the router once again to bevel the other edge. This operation took a little longer. With the router and shop vac both going at the same time...eye AND ear protection were needed. After an hour or so, here was the result of all the plank prep operations...

Now I know some people shutter at the idea of this kind of work when there are other ways to accomplish a planked siding. True, but I've never been a fan of scoring a large piece of wood...and hoping the board was indexed properly over the length of (in this case) 40 inches. So, for the past 30+ years...this has been MY preferred way of doing this. Others are of course welcome to do what makes them feel comfortable.

In the end, when several planks are set down side-by-side...this was the reason for all the work...and the desired appearance...

From this point, the strips were cut into planks just slightly longer than the wall space allowed for mounting. And excess material would be removed with a belt sander at a later time. The drill press was set up to drill pilot holes. A drill fixture insured the holes were always center on the width of the plank and prescribed distances from the end. Nail holes were located such that if the 1/2" brad nail pierced the plywood skin, it would end up in the interior wall frame.

As this was my first attempt at a passenger car, decided to plank the entire sides and go back later to cut out for the windows. This would make plank installation go super fast...but with time needed down the road to get the window openings cut.

Next time, I'll get into the plank installation. Still lots more to cover. Stick around. Carl B.

[Greg_Lewis]

Carl:
Don't make the mistake I just made. I spent many days making similar planks and fitting them to the radius for the cab roof for my engine. I glued them edge-to-edge and then found out that when it expands with humidity changes, which it will, the expansion of all those edge-glued boards is the expansion of the total width. The result warped such that it can't be used. If I'd left a small gap between each board this would not have happened. The wood is going to move and you cannot stop it. So I would be sure to leave a tiny gap between each board.

[ccvstmr]

Hello Greg,

Have to say, I've never run into the problem you described in building wood cars for over 30 years. I would simply ask...was your wood panel exposed to the atmosphere on both sides?

In the next thread entry, will show how the planks are set and fastened. A problem I ran into years ago, similar to what we see in houses, is nail pops (hate them damn things). Saw this when using escutcheon pins to hold car trim in place. Like the pins because the heads look like rivets when set in a slightly countersunk hole. After a few years of temperature cycling, the pins would start to push out. They go back in easily...but would re-emerge. Have something I started to do to prevent this. Will describe that next.

Thanks for sharing. Carl B.

[ccvstmr]

STICKY BUSINESS

Omitted to explain, you don't HAVE to have a surface planer to prepare wood strips for planking. Years prior to acquiring the planer, would rough cut the wood strips and bevel the edges as described. After the planks were installed...would go over the entire surface with a belt sander. The secret to a handheld belt sander...don't stop moving the sander! And for this kind of work, move the sander in line with the planks. Started with a coarse grit belt and when most of the saw blade marks were gone, switched to a finer grit belt. Throughout this process, could only hope the beveled edges were "deep enough" they wouldn't be sanded away. Kinda defeats the purpose of beveling. So, there are alternate ways for plank finishing if a planer isn't readily available.

Now, for the miniature version of #5 and #6...

With the plank strips ready for installation and knowing in advance that the entire side walls would be covered...even in the window locations, was relatively easy to prepare the approximate number of planks needed in advance. The planks were just over 1/2" wide...take the length of the car side and multiply by 2...for one side. Times 2 again for enough planks for both sides. Planks were intended to be slightly long. The excess would be removed later. All the planks were drilled near the ends for 1/2" x 20 gauge nails. Nails were inserted in the holes.

Began the plank fastening process by putting a "starter plank" on the ends. The plank was aligned so it didn't overlap the edge of the plywood. The corner would eventually get a piece of 1/4 round corner trim. Glue is dispensed from a bottle. Takes a while to estimate how much glue to lay down without squeezing out too much. Like most things, better to dispense too little and come back later and add more if needed.

Used a flexible plastic spreader to create a film of glue on the plywood as even as possible.

At this point, the surface is ready for the planks. It's best to set each successive plank "down" along the side of the previous plank. You can slide the plank up or down for position, BUT if you set the plank down and slide it sideways to the previous plank...you'll trap glue between the planks...possible filling the "V" groove created by adjacent planks.

When the planks are aligned on the top, take the last plank set in place and pull it towards the end of the car. This, to close up most of the gaps between the planks...in case any planks are slightly warped. At this point, there's little room to push glue up between the planks. Set the nail at the top or bottom of the plank. Using a square, check to make sure the last plank is not cocked. Can pull the other end of the planks towards the end to square up and then set that nail. If the opposite is true...can try to "fan" the planks slightly to square up the planks. Then set the other nail on the plank.

Other ways to maintain square planks...draw reference lines from top to bottom on the car side. Can also use a tape measure to check the distance from the corner to the last plank glued. Then, drive the rest of the nails. Usually work in area about 5-6" wide...which is 10-12 planks. Don't get too far ahead...the Elmer's Max glue sets fast. In time...and this doesn't take all the long...the entire side is planked...

Both cars had a Masonite door template on the ends. Set short pieces of planks up to the template edge. Same was true for the baggage door on the combine. Only need short planks at the bottom of the door because the door came up to the underside of the signboard. Excess plank material was left to overhang the bottom edge of the car. A belt sander made quick work of removing the excess plank material. Have to say, poplar sands quickly and easily. The draw back...even with a dust collector...you still get a fine layer of saw dust on everything in the shop.

With the sides and ends of the car planked, the 1/4" thick poplar sign boards were glued and clamped in place.

Now for the plank nails. This is the method I use to prevent "nail pops". Hate to say, this is where the work gets tedious. Took a nail set and went around to "set" all the nail heads. Need to push the nails down below the plank face surface. Next...put a dot of superglue on each of the sunken nail heads. Do this for 20-30 nails and then go back and wipe off the excess glue (usual precautions for superglue apply). This glues the nail heads to the wood. Who's stronger...Mother Nature or Superglue? Still waiting to find that answer.

Went back later to fill the nail holes. For this, I found a small tub of Minwax, Color-Changing Wood Filler at Menards. Decided to give this a try. Opened the tub and the stuff was...do I dare say...I DARE...it was pink! Used a small spatula and smeared a dab of wood filler in each nail hole. Was careful NOT to accidentally get any filler in the V grooves.

True to the instructions, after 30 minutes or so, the pink wood filler turns yellow. At that point, the filler is dry enough to sand off. Have to say, the stuff sanded easily using either a block sander or even a palm sander. Still used the shop vac to clean off any surface dust.

For the most part the car body planked siding was complete. Now it was show time! Will be right back. Carl B.

[ccvstmr]

SHOWTIME

Wanted to push car construction as far as possible knowing the DuPage County Division of the NMRA was having their annual All American Train Show at the Lyons Township Fieldhouse in LaGrange, IL....3rd weekend of March (2019). Try to imagine a high school gymnasium FILLED with railroad stuff.

Model represented spanned the gamut from Z scale in a briefcase to many N, HO and O gauge modular model railroads. The LGB club of Chicago shows up...and takes up an area about 20 x 40 feet to set up a floor layout. There's enough track on the floor for 5 or 6 trains to be running on separate routes at any one time. There was even a Lego RR. Well, in model railroading, there's something for everyone. And get this...model RR clubs aren't allowed in the gym until after 5pm to get their RR's set up and running by 9am Saturday morning.

The ILS has been attending this event for many years. Long ago, used to set up 200+ feet of 7.5" gauge track and 5 turnouts. Problem was, finding persons to transport the track and get down on the floor to assemble. Amazing how this amount of track could be dismantled in 30 minutes...but took several hours to set up. The ILS display now sometimes has 20 feet of 7.5" and 4.75" track to shuttle a loco with car back and forth.

Used this occasion to unveil "work in progress" for #5 and #6. At 4 feet long, was relatively easy to carry the cars out of the basement shop. Cars were transported upside down in the back of the Traverse and then "assembled" at the train show to attach the trucks, car bodies and end beams. Hung photos of the real Sierra RR #5 and #6 on the sides of the car for reference...

After the show, was time to address doors and windows. Will get into that next time. Carl B.

[Greg_Lewis]

Carl:
Yes, exposed on both sides. Two coats of paint did not stop it. Every time the weather changes it moves such that the radius of the roof changes and can leave a gap as much as 1/4 inch from the end walls. I'm going to make a new one from laminated aircraft modeler's plywood. If that moves, I'll take up stamp collecting!

[Steggy]

Every time I see this topic's "Couple of Shorties" title I think about all those folks who post endless pictures on-line of their kids.

Just a hint of a spoiler: I've seen the cars "in the flesh" and can tell you photos just don't do justice to them.