Thickness of balsa/basswood for scratchbuilding?

[scott]

My wife and I were talking about buildings for the layout last night, and she would like for us to scratchbuild as many of them as possible; both because she enjoys such things, and (I'm guessing) because it's cheaper. I like the idea because it's cheaper, and because we'll be able to make more unusual buildings to my weird specifications.

 

Robyn wants to use boxboard and other "repurposed" materials, which is fine. But I'm curious about working with wood. What's the normal choice when scratchbuilding structures from balsa, basswood, etc. (And are there other choices, and/or things I should know?)

[Bernard]

Scott - Your wife wants to make your buildings!? Lucky guy!

 

First off, my feeling is whatever material you feel most comfortable using, that is the material I would use. I happen to like working with wood, balsa is easy to cut than basswood, cherry (pricey), or other woods for modeling. (there is even mahogany but it's also pricey)

 

One thing about basswood, depending on it's thickness, it can warp very easily when painted especially fi you only do one side. A lot of modelers use plastic sheets to make their buildings, I just find wood easier to cut.

[scott]

Well, she won't do *all* of them (and I'm definitely going to do the main station myself), but it'll be nice to have her helping. :-)

 

So--what would be a safe thickness for basswood to avoid warping--is 1/8" enough?

 

(Even if it's harder, I may go with basswood over balsa just because I'd rather buy wood from the US than from somewhere very far away in the tropics. Finding certified lumber in craft sizes seems to be just about impossible, but at least I can choose the source country.)

[cteno4]

scott,

 

well the good news is that you only will be using a tiny amount of wood compared to most uses! but good to keep that thought in mind, most folks dont!

 

another approach might be to use thin styrene to make your basic structure then side it with balsa or basswood. this should prevent warping. another technique to stop warping would be to pre-seal all your wood before cutting and assembly with wood sealer to help prevent warping from painting. may affect staining if you want to do that approach though.

 

if you decide to use styrene you should head to your local plastics store (ie the places that sell bulk plex and such) as you can get a 4' x 8' sheet of 020 styrene for $5! three little 8"x10" pieces at the hobby shop run like $6... you will have styrene for years to come and no worry if you want to experiment. also if you need plexiglass check there as they usually have odd scraps they sell for $1-1.50/lb. got some almost 2'x4' sheets of 1/16" clear acrylic for about $2 each, they would have been many times that at home despot.

 

you can also get sheet styrene with various textures on it like aluminum siding, wood siding, metal panel, etc. not cheap at 2-3 8"x10" pieces for like $7 usually.

 

another interesting material for buildings, foundations, and walls that im just starting to experiment with is sintra. its all pvc foam core, pvc sides and a high density pvc foam cell interior. you can get it at plastics shops for like $25 for a 4' x 8' sheet in 3mm. not quite as stiff as foam core, but still rather stiff and easy to cut. edge is very clean and with a dab of paint gives a smooth edge. best thing is no warping! looks to be good for walls you want to curve as it thermoforms well. dip it in hot water and bend it around a form and let it cool and you get that shape formed in. yell if you want me to throw a chunk in the mail to you to play with.

 

another material thats a bit better than chipboard (ie boxboard) with better strength and edges when cut is taskboard. its like a higher density and cleaner fiber chipboard. not horribly expensive to buy and comes a range of thicknesses. $1 gets you a small set of sample boards to play with http://www.taskboard.com/sample.html.

 

one thing to get yourself is the Chopper by northwest if you are going to do a lot of scratch building. its basically a little strip stock guillotine that uses straight edge razors. its a sweet little tool that lets you chop off strip stock and has nice little stops cut off lots the same size and jigs to do angle cuts. chopper II usually about $30-40 online, slightly more at the hobby shop. well worth the price. original chopper works fine as well and is cheaper at around $25 if you can find them.

http://www.nwsl.com/

http://www.internettrains.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=IT&Category_Code=TLSCUTNWS

 

I have both (at one point misplaced my chopper I and finally broke down and bought the chopper II, then found the original!) and both work great. the II is a bit heftier and uses a the little 4" square plastic cutting mats so seems a bit better thought out than the ! and the handle is a bit more substantial.

 

you can also stiffen the razor blade with a couple of strips of brass on either side to help get very square cuts in heavier materials (on heavy materials the blade sometimes wants to deflect a tad).

 

the duplicator also looks great and have been thinking of getting it. basically is a nice straight edge (with hold down screws) and jig to hold sheet styrene down to make same sized pieces.

 

cheers

 

jeff

[scott]

Thanks, Jeff!