Garden Railway Forum

Thanks Philip. That's exactly what I had in mind.

We visited there 3 years ago but I didn't see the sawmill. Ah, I remember now, I went off to visit a ng railway when the missus and our friends did the garden - http://ngruk.blogspot.com/2015/11/lappa ... ilway.html

Rik

Interesting. I visited the Lappa Valley back in the mid-70's when it was virtually brand new, with a single out and back line to the old mine and nothing else. My wife actually suggested we go there this time but having looked at their website etc it looked to be totally children oriented now and we decided against it.

The Heligan sawmill is simply a modern-(ish) diesel powered saw just visible on the RHS of my pics, and of no real interest in itself.

How wide do you need them .a band saw would cut them perfect. Or as suggested a jigsaw would work held upside down. I will have a go tomorrow evening for you .iv got a festool saw that works on a rail I think I could cut some on that .

jim@NAL wrote: Mon Jun 25, 2018 10:43 pm How wide do you need them .a band saw would cut them perfect. Or as suggested a jigsaw would work held upside down. I will have a go tomorrow evening for you .iv got a festool saw that works on a rail I think I could cut some on that .

I reckon 4mm wide would look ok. That would represent 3" planks. Good luck. I suggest you count your fingers before and after.......

Rik

managed to cut some thin wood .I tried cutting branches but didn't have much success's .these are the thinnest I could cut without them going curved .the bits iv cut could be cut down the length to make different sized placks .with a Stanley knife you could cut the edges off at an angle and if you burnt them a bit I think it might work .if this helps I can send them to you

That's brilliant, Jim, thanks. As you say, I can chamfer the edges and stain them.
I'll send you a PM with my contact details.

Rik

Many thanks, Jim
The flitches arrived on Saturday. They are great, just what I need. I've not had a chance to shape and stain them yet - other jobs keep getting in the way (eg drove 125 miles today to pick up some second hand track).

I've been trying to send you a PM to say thanks, but my PMs to you keep sitting in my Outbox without going. Hopefully, Tom will sort it out........

Rik

Been trying to sort out the flitches. Painting to simulate bark isn't as easy as you might think ..... Contrary to popular belief, bark isn't often brown. Rik

This is why I like using real world materials!

But I think you have done a good job there.

They look pretty good to me Rik and with a bit of natural weathering they will soon tone down.

tom_tom_go wrote: Tue Jul 24, 2018 12:54 pm This is why I like using real world materials!

Me too, Tom, but I can't find a way to cut real branches into flitches, so this is my only option.

Rik

Splendid job and a joint effort

Stacked to dry with the spacers between them looks very convincing. You are certainly right about the difficulty in creating the correct colour of bark, most of my trees are definitely green.

Peter Butler wrote: Tue Jul 24, 2018 10:16 pm Stacked to dry with the spacers between them looks very convincing. You are certainly right about the difficulty in creating the correct colour of bark, most of my trees are definitely green.

I honestly once knew a girl called Theresa Green ...... and went out with a girl called Honor Kermode. I assume that their parents either had a sense of humour or lacked insight.

Rik

ge_rik wrote: Wed Jul 25, 2018 6:27 am a girl called Honor Kermode

There ought to be the name of a shop or business in there somewhere? Honor Kermode - Purveyor of Toilet Requisites to the Gentry perhaps?

Thay look fantastic

ge_rik wrote: Wed Jul 25, 2018 6:27 am

I honestly once knew a girl called Theresa Green ...... and went out with a girl called Honor Kermode. I assume that their parents either had a sense of humour or lacked insight.

Rik

A local business by the name of 'Days' have a daughter, Holly.
But my favourite was a couple by the name of Mr and Mrs Bate and their young son, master!

Peter Butler wrote: Thu Jul 26, 2018 10:12 pm

ge_rik wrote: Wed Jul 25, 2018 6:27 am

I honestly once knew a girl called Theresa Green ...... and went out with a girl called Honor Kermode. I assume that their parents either had a sense of humour or lacked insight.

Rik

A local business by the name of 'Days' have a daughter, Holly.
But my favourite was a couple by the name of Mr and Mrs Bate and their young son, master!

I once (and only once) went to a youth club meeting of the Railway Mission in Colchester - the pastor, in his wisdom, decided to hold a mass debate. I've forgotten the topic but it didn't live up to expectations!

Rik

ge_rik wrote: Tue Jul 24, 2018 12:51 pm Been trying to sort out the flitches. Painting to simulate bark isn't as easy as you might think .....

The stack of flitches look reasonable to me.

Bark colour varies with tree species anyway and I've seen flitches with the bark removed. I was watching an old film of a bush mill recently where the bark was being peeled off before the log entered the mill.

Regards,
Graeme

GTB wrote: Fri Jul 27, 2018 9:18 am Bark colour varies with tree species anyway and I've seen flitches with the bark removed. I was watching an old film of a bush mill recently where the bark was being peeled off before the log entered the mill.
Regards,
Graeme

Not sure how or why it works. Some places seem to remove the bark first and others seem to leave it on. At first, I tried simulating the sort of orange effect of wood which has just been stripped of its bark, but that looked awful. So I opted for the mottled effect.

Rik