Garden Railway Forum

Made a start over Christmas on my latest project - the sawmill at Peckforton.

I wanted to make sure the roof structure worked out OK before doing too much to the rest of the building. My interpretation of Belfast trusses - a bit over-engineered for the size of the building, but I wanted something that looked a bit different. Next stage will be to clad the roof in corrugated iron - the drinks can donors can just be seen in the background, and then a few more coffee stirrers trimmed down to provide the workers with some protection from the elements.

Then will come the fun part of making the machinery.

Rik

Mmm, looking forward to seeing this one worked through.
What are you thinking of for the mechanics, a big steam powered belt driving a saw blade on one of those massive travelling benches, perhaps?

I like the look of that, sucker for curved roofs.

philipy wrote: ↑Thu Jan 04, 2018 3:06 pm Mmm, looking forward to seeing this one worked through.
What are you thinking of for the mechanics, a big steam powered belt driving a saw blade on one of those massive travelling benches, perhaps?

Definitely want to put in an overhead pulley system and a stationary steam engine. A large circular saw is a must plus a travelling rack bench. Not sure then whether to put in a breast bench, a bandmill or a cross-cut saw - or maybe a combination. Though I'd like to try and keep things as simple as possible (famous last words??)

Rik

bazzer42 wrote: ↑Thu Jan 04, 2018 3:47 pm I like the look of that, sucker for curved roofs.

Me too. Fascinating looking into the history of the Belfast Truss - eg https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j ... 8D8pg4U8b0

Rik

Looking good

Hello Rik,

That's a really nice job. It's a really interesting piece of work and I'm looking forward to watching it develop.

Andrew

Thanks chaps. This has taken a while to come to fruition. Did a fair bit of research first and very much feeling my way with a new construction technique. But then, I suppose most of us are doing stuff for the first time. I think that's one of the things which makes this hobby so fascinating.

Rik

That is quite a building Rik so far, how big is it?

Certainly a lot more formal than an Australian Mill, building one truss must have been fun, x8
Watching with interest.
Grant.

Well, I have lornt summat there! I have seen Belfast trusses before, but never really thought about what they were.

Thank you,
Peter in Va.

ge_rik wrote: ↑Thu Jan 04, 2018 4:45 pm

bazzer42 wrote: ↑Thu Jan 04, 2018 3:47 pm I like the look of that, sucker for curved roofs.

Me too. Fascinating looking into the history of the Belfast Truss - eg https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j ... 8D8pg4U8b0

Rik

That's really quite a feat of engineering that you creating there, reminds me of some of the aircraft hangers at Duxford that are still used for storage and restoration. Did you curve the top members or cut them from sheet? Either way another remarkable creation.

tom_tom_go wrote: ↑Thu Jan 04, 2018 9:44 pm That is quite a building Rik so far, how big is it?

Hi Tom
Quite small, 285mm x 510mmm. Hence the comment about over engineering. It was the largest I could squeeze into the available space, leaving room for a timber gantry for unloading wagons.

Rik

pandsrowe wrote: ↑Fri Jan 05, 2018 8:30 am That's really quite a feat of engineering that you creating there, reminds me of some of the aircraft hangers at Duxford that are still used for storage and restoration. Did you curve the top members or cut them from sheet? Either way another remarkable creation.

Hi Phil
Yes, the Duxford hangers use Belfast Trusses. The curved members are cut from thin ply (very shakily). Coffee stirrers are then glued on following a pattern I worked out from a picture of a truss. Once all the struts are in position, Another curved beam and flat beam are glued on top to make a sandwich I'm afraid my fret-sawing skills ain't wot they used to be.

Rik

More lovely work Rik.
Just make sure that once the building is commissioned, that all the staff have a fire safety briefing. When I was a young fireman, all the buildings on our patch with a belfast roof (there were only three, actually) were listed as risks. It's not because the construction is in itself a particular fire risk, but because in a well developed fire, the roofs were prone to rapid failure, as the open lattice structure would rapidly become involved in the fire, in much the same way as a 'crib' of kindling does when you light a fire. Definitely buildings where you kept one eye on the exit.

Lonsdaler wrote: ↑Fri Jan 05, 2018 9:53 am More lovely work Rik.
Just make sure that once the building is commissioned, that all the staff have a fire safety briefing. When I was a young fireman, all the buildings on our patch with a belfast roof (there were only three, actually) were listed as risks. It's not because the construction is in itself a particular fire risk, but because in a well developed fire, the roofs were prone to rapid failure, as the open lattice structure would rapidly become involved in the fire, in much the same way as a 'crib' of kindling does when you light a fire. Definitely buildings where you kept one eye on the exit.

Scary stuff. The building will have a fairly open structure and so staff will have plenty of escape routes. I don't think I'll be trying any fire tests.....

Rik

Nice job Rik, ip engineering do a white metal kit of an engine that may be suitable as a power plant.

Big Jim wrote: ↑Fri Jan 05, 2018 6:48 pm Nice job Rik, ip engineering do a white metal kit of an engine that may be suitable as a power plant.

Thanks Jim. Looks like a nice piece of kit and it can be motorised, which is a bonus. I've got a plastic kit of a stationary engine which I might investigate first.

Rik

Looking good. I assume we can look forward to YouTube video when it's in situ?

Jumping ahead a bit, circular saw sounds would be a nice effect (hint hint ) something which would be right up your alley I imagine Rik.
Grant.