Philou Posted January 26 Author Share Posted January 26 @5BarVT Oo-er ..... what a mess! Luckily the bridge didn't collapse when the loco was upon it. An excellent report showing the details in which I was interested and what's more it shows the construction of the plates and flanges in detail and I can use card in appropriate thicknesses. I can see now that the deck is supported by the cross-girders (and in my case, longitudinal 'I' beams underneath) and held in place by short flanges on the inside faces of the main and central girders. What good chaps you all are. As I'm keyboarding, I may as well continue with what I was going to write tonight. This morning, I went as part of my Council duties to a local saw-mill (I thought it was for Monday - but there you go). You might think 'boring' but on the contrary I found it very interesting for reasons you'll see a bit further below. The invite was in the guise of a working breakfast (don't get excited - not full English, just coffee and a croissant) for a hard-sell of entering contracts direct between the saw-mill and the communes, to which we are already subscribed. The idea being that the saw-mill can be assured of a steady supply of quality hardwoods (rather than all the trees being bought by the Chinese and then brought back as finished goods - it all keeps employment and money local - and I agree fully). The downside is of course that the Chinese buy at 30% more - so there is a slight loss of revenue to the communes. I found it all very interesting and the bulk of the wood sold by the saw-mill, apart from oak planks in assorted sizes for flooring, were these in beech (30,000 pieces/year) in lengths of around 2.8 - 4.7m and sections of 160 x 220mm: Continued on next message due to size of files ................... 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philou Posted January 26 Author Share Posted January 26 ...................... message continues. And there were more: Next photo ....................... 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philou Posted January 26 Author Share Posted January 26 ................. there were hundreds of them, including these extra-long ones: Any ideas? All will be revealed in the next photo ............................. 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philou Posted January 26 Author Share Posted January 26 (edited) Railway sleepers - hundreds of them! The irony being that they have to be loaded onto lorries as there are no rail-borne goods handling yards (or railway lines for that matter) within miles of this saw-mill: 80% are sold within France and the rest to Germany and Belgium. Only a very small amount goes to the UK. The sleepers are sent out out cut to size, drying and pressure treatment is carried out elsewhere and the finishing (rebates and bolt-hole drilling) is done by the respective railway PW departments. All in all, a very interesting and railway related morning. Cheers, Philip PS: I'm sure that some of them would be useful as timber baulks too :)) . PPS: Forgot to add that the extra-long ones are used in S&C works - but you probably guessed that! Edited January 26 by Philou Addition 9 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philou Posted January 28 Author Share Posted January 28 (edited) Hello everyone, A couple of days off to add to those already lost over Christmas and the New Year (unfortunately). I've struggling a bit with the bridge at the moment as my card isn't giving the same results as the first time I used for the bridge. I also had a closer look at what I originally constructed and am horrified to see glue marks and badly fitted bits of card - painting hides a lot! Rather than tear my hair out or give up, I'm changing the approach of the construction and I shall do it in Plasticard and Plastistrut but it'll wait until I get to my favourite railway porn shop - erm - emporium, Lord and Butler in Cardiff to which I shall get in mid-February. My brother advises me that he has a full stock of assorted shapes and sizes. I shall get rivet head transfers from RailTec. I made a useful discovery that I can acquire 5L quantities of EMK (MEK) or Butanone and iso Propyl Alcohol (iPA) here in France at about €6 a litre - that ought to make fair few bridges! Cheers, Philip Edited January 28 by Philou Error in chemical name 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold lezz01 Posted January 28 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 28 You will need to watch the concentration of butanone in larger quantities Philip. I have dilute mine down as it's 100%. If it's too strong it'll eat right through or turn plastic to soup in short order. MEK a la Slaters is I think 35% and it isn't strong enough for ABS plastic, Plasweld which is strong enough is around 40%, 50% is fine although you have to be careful with 10 thou and under. Regards Lez. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philou Posted January 29 Author Share Posted January 29 @lezz01 Well, I didn't know that - thanks for the information. Is Butanone (diluted) OK for the chairs that you sent? I don't want to end up with brown soup all over my baulks - oo-er missus. :) Cheers, Philip Top tip: If you use Ethyl Methyl Ketone, do be careful in its concentration in the air as apart from being flammable, it'll make you go woozy and at one time it was considered carcinogenic (whether it still is the case I don't know). 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold lezz01 Posted January 29 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 29 The concentration will be clearly marked on the bottle Philip it should be between 70-100%. Let it down to around 50% and try it on a bit of sprue first, if it makes the sprue very soft add more water. Get yourself a 150ml glass medicine bottle and fill with 50ml of the butanone and add 50ml of water shake well and try it if it's too strong add another 10ml of water. This is assuming that it's 100% if the conc. is 70% adjust accordingly. Try it out on the sprue rather than an actual chair first mate and open a window and do NOT smoke if you have the top off the bottle if you're a smoker. I would also suggest labelling the bottle with BUTANONE X% once you have the final concentration and the word FLAMABLE. Regards Lez. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philou Posted January 30 Author Share Posted January 30 Hello chums and chumesses, No modelling yet again today, it was out into the woods with M. le Maire to cut some trees into logs ready for the log-burner this coming winter. I have to confess I've run out of stock this year and had to GSI as the stuff I have left is absolute rubbish - too old and too wet. It burns but gives off no real heat so he and I (mostly he) are thinning out a parcel of trees (trees stunted, twisted or already fallen) already marked by the ONF (Office National des Forêts - Forestry Commission). It's quite cheap at €5 a stère (stère = 1m3 of wood cut into 1m lengths and split) but not as cheap as affouage (the right to cut and use thinnings) which is €35 for 35m3 in our commune. We cut about 6m3 of wood today (4T approximately) and more to be done tomorrow. The only thing is whilst relearning my woodsman's badge, my joints haven't yet acclimatised to the hard work - my wrists, feet and back are feeling it in the main. My chainsaw probably weighs more than 20 Accurascale Deltics! and I haven't used it in at least two years. Anyway, all is well and no mishaps with the saw nor falling trees on me or M. le Maire! More tomorrow, Philip who's pooped. Top tip: When using a chainsaw always work away from your feet, otherwise you could become a foot shorter and I'm not that tall already! The other thing, do make sure that your safety trousers are outside your safety shoes and not tucked inside. Result? Shoes full of wood chip and sawdust. How do I know this? 5 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philou Posted February 4 Author Share Posted February 4 Hello chaps and chapesses, Right! Time to stop moping and saying 'It's too hard, difficult etc...' and get on 'doing something'! As I'm not happy that the card will give me a satisfactory result imitating plate girder, I shall get on with the other retaining walls. I have the ply already cut height-wise and only need to trim it to length. So, out will come all my cutting boards and cutters and the card plus printed paper that I put away yesterday and I can tackle all of this in the warmth as today is grey, wet and miserable and Mrs Philou and I shan't be doing any gardening. We had a good bash on Friday afternoon cutting down an apple tree that despite being 15 years old has never given a crop of apples (my favourite, Cox's Orange Pippin) whereas the adjoining one, a Best of Boskoop, gives a huge amount every year. So, down came the Cox's, a dwarf Leylandii that was over 10' tall and a whole load of prune tree suckers that had grown into saplings - oh - and coppiced a hazeltree that was rotting from the inside out. Now the garden looks like a mini Somme with tree branches all over the place. We'll cut them into manageable lengths with some big garden lopping shears and then burn them in a couple of weeks when dried out a little. Who ever said being in retirement was being always on holiday? Back to the woods tomorrow as there's another parcel of trees to be thinned (this time all standing) - there's about 40 to cut down - nothing big all less than 300mm (1') in diameter. Hopefully, a meaningful progress report tonight, Cheers everyone, Philip 6 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold lezz01 Posted February 4 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 4 (edited) My dad said that when he retired he was busier than before he retired and you know he was. Regards Lez. Edited February 4 by lezz01 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philou Posted February 4 Author Share Posted February 4 A report as promised - it was a slow start getting the feel for where I left off. I managed to cut my plywood retaining wall to length in two parts, the smaller of the two forming a short return wall. I had glue blocks already made up (remember them from last year?) so these were fixed to the underside of my formation and then the wall sections screwed to the blocks. The now one-piece wall was released from the formation complete with the blocks and brought indoors where the blocks were unscrewed temporarily to be then glued and screwed permanently in place. During the afternoon, I kept myself amused by sketching out some retaining wall details similar but not identical to that already made. Having decided on the detail, it was a question of marking out on some card of what was to go where. The card has been cut to height and length but tomorrow will be the cutting out of the arches. I need good light for that as I find the artificial light we have here casts too many shadows that make for less than satisfactory curve cutting. I'll tackle that during my lunch-time break. Once done, I shall get on and cut a basic form in thicker card on which to place the finer cut card facing. I can do that in the evening when I get back from wood cutting. It's good to get back to be doing 'something'. The weather is definitely getting milder (though still a tad damp) so going into the barn isn't such a thermal shock! Scenic stuff to do and my PVA, kitchen paper towel and plaster awaits for the off. More tomorrow, Cheers, Philip 6 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philou Posted February 5 Author Share Posted February 5 Unfortunately as the weather was overcast but dry, M. le Maire decided to press on and do as much as possible before lunch which meant a short lunch and back we went straight after - at least two parcels are now done and the third we start tomorrow. He thinks we'll have all 40 trees down and cut to length by the end of the day - WUT? - is he trying to kill me? If I have the courage and energy, I may do the curve cutting this evening after dinner. I'll have to use the kitchen worktop area as that's where is the best light and I can't do it now as Mrs Philou is preparing a soup .......... mmmmm soup :). Cheers everyone and take care, Philip 3 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barclay Posted February 8 Share Posted February 8 On 04/02/2024 at 14:44, lezz01 said: My dad said that when he retired he was busier than before he retired and you know he was. Regards Lez. Retired people always say that. Personally I think they're just trying to make the rest of us cry ! 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philou Posted February 8 Author Share Posted February 8 I haven't been loafing around enjoying my retirement - just completely pooped after being in the woods all day and no modelling was done in the evening. We have, however, cleared the three parcels, cut down all the trees that were to be cut plus some saplings that would come to nothing and cut whatever could be cut into 1.0m lengths. I shouldn't like to say just how many trees we cut (saplings excluded) but conservatively between 50 and 60. If I remember to take the camera with me I'll take some pictures. Friday another all-dayer as we will assemble all the cut lengths into conveniently placed piles to be split and then allowed to dry before bringing back down into stock ready for NEXT year - some will be burnt immediately this coming winter, but oak takes much longer to dry hence no good until the winter of 2025. Today is a day off as it's raining, so I'm going to tackle the arch cutting and glueing the formers for the arch onto the plywood base. Papering will follow. More tonight, Cheers, Philip 3 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philou Posted February 8 Author Share Posted February 8 ^ Hmmmmm .......... I think I should have re-read that. Six times 'cut' in four lines seems excessive, five in the same sentence too! 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Chimer Posted February 8 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 8 11 hours ago, Philou said: ^ Hmmmmm .......... I think I should have re-read that. Six times 'cut' in four lines seems excessive, five in the same sentence too! Nah. Deliberate repetition for effect, clearly 😀 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philou Posted February 9 Author Share Posted February 9 Hello chums and chumesses, I did start the retaining wall and all went well. I need to do the arch reveals (the inside faces) and I can start papering - I have a photo of the WiP: ^ This is the retaining wall dressed temporarily with the arches - buttresses need to be added on the outer face and papered inserts will go inside each arch. On reflection, the columns between the pairs of arches are somewhat thin - a note to myself for next time - but once dressed it may blend in and not be so noticeable - ahem. Other news: Despite the impending rain, M. le Maire and I, did assemble all the cut wood into convenient piles ready for splitting and bringing down from the woods. This won't be done until end of August or September to allow it to dry out in the summer sun. I do have some pictures of Mr Mayor cutting the one tree that was blocking our access today (plenty of windfalls every year due to being too wet, too dry or attacked by insects), the rest are just what we did today. Last week's work was the same!: ^ Busy cutting into 1.0m lengths - elf'n'safety would have had a fit - no hard hat nor ear-defenders. I had mine on!😛 ^ Into the mess we go ....... ^ Half an hour later cleaner and much tidier ............ There was a lot more to do but all done by lunchtime. In the afternoon (thinking that rain would arrive and I would do some modelling) we went and started cutting M. le Maire's wood stock. What you see above are matchsticks compared to his tree that we cut into lengths! He has only another three to do, and I couldn't really not help him, could I? Busy life being retired! I shall try and do some more modelling this evening as I'm nowhere as tired as I have been these last few days. Speak soon, Philip 7 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold lezz01 Posted February 9 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 9 If I were a Catholic (which I should be being Maltese you understand) I would nominate you for a sainthood. But I'm not so I can't. Regards Lez. 3 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philou Posted February 13 Author Share Posted February 13 Hello chaps and chapesses, The evening modelling that I had mentioned a couple of days ago didn't happen - after our evening meal I just pooped out. But, I did do a little more the following day and I shall get some done this evening. This is probably my last message for a few days as it's chicken heads-off day running around doing last minute shopping and getting suitcases ready for our trip to the UK early Thursday. I shall be visiting my favourite modelling emporium whilst in Cardiff (wonder which one that might be :))) ) and collecting a few bits and pieces no doubt. I shall be lurking if I have nothing to do of an evening whilst away and all being well I'll be back to some serious modelling at the end of the month. Take care out there and speak soon, Philip 4 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philou Posted February 24 Author Share Posted February 24 The lad is back! Hello chums and chumesses, I got back late this evening - left Lunnun at 10am and arrived at 7pm - no bad weather and no traffic. Tomorrow will be putting things away and so no modelling will happen, but I did acquire assorted plasticard and struts and such like, so once I've finished the short section of wall, then I can return to the bridge. Whilst I was in London yesterday, I went to Borough Market and as it was piscillating down, where better to stand but under the bridges surrounding the market. Whilst Mrs P, my daughter and SiL were looking around all I could do was look up at all that lovely ironwork. I now have a slightly better understanding of how the things are rivetted together AND all different too. I also took the London 'vaporetto' from Parliament to London Bridge and the one bridge that threw me was the Blackfriars Railway bridge. The cross-girders were underslung to the longitudinal ones and I just couldn't see how the whole was holding itself up. Must have been sky-hooks again :) ! Modelling ahoy!! Speak soon! Philip 10 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philou Posted February 28 Author Share Posted February 28 Hello chums and chumesses, My gusto sort of fizzled out on Monday, I just didn't feel up to it - probably a hang-over from all the travelling. It went better yesterday and I did a half-hearted attempt and managed to assemble and decorate some of the card cut-outs and glue them to the plywood base. I was going to do the buttresses today but Mrs Philou had other ideas and so we had a bonfire of all the bits of branches that we cut down before going away. Normally, I'm first in the queue to make a bonfire, but this was a barsteward to get started. A whole bottle of meths, a quarter pack of firelighters and a half box of matches later, I had a very weak flame underway. The ultimate accelerant was a litre of sump oil - not good for the environment, I know - but it worked and everything was consumed save for some big damp logs that are still slowly burning as I write this. I'll make it all safe before I go to bed, but it looks very inviting seeing the dull red glow at the bottom of the garden. Sausages and marshmallows come to mind! I should be able to get really going tomorrow and I'll have a photo for you. Cheers everyone, Philip 4 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Graham T Posted February 28 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 28 Sausages grilled over sump oil would have a rather interesting flavour I’d imagine… 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philou Posted February 28 Author Share Posted February 28 Hah! By the time there were only glowing embers, some 7hrs had passed, and probably all the oil would/should have burnt off (still glowing hot at the mo' nearly 12hrs later) but the point is taken :)). 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold 5BarVT Posted February 28 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 28 59 minutes ago, Philou said: Hah! By the time there were only glowing embers, some 7hrs had passed, and probably all the oil would/should have burnt off (still glowing hot at the mo' nearly 12hrs later) but the point is taken :)). Indeed, all the oil would likely have gone, leaving only the heavy metals . . . :-) Paul. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now