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SWSM wood techniques in 1:1 scale

A little while ago several of us were lamenting the lack of space to house our dioramas. I said I was looking to make some new shelves for mine. Well the project got started today. The plan is to have 2 freestanding units with 5 shelves each 32" wide and depths from 22" to 12".

I'm going to use the techniques I learned building SWSM kits to finish the shelves. The wood will get a distressed barnwood look and be mounted on industrial black pipe.

Start with a pile of wood. In this case, I went with 5/4" X 6. I wanted it to look thicker than standard 1X but didn't want to go with 2X. The 1X2 is for connections.

Set up the "chopper" and slice away. The wood is very wet (and treated) so I stacked it using the 1X2 the same as in the sawmill. I'll let it dry for a while but I'm anxious to start graining and staining as I am off for the next week. Shown here some of the distressing tools...just bigger versions of what we use on stripwood. Brushes for the drill and hand, pick, hammer, sawblade to do sawbanding, etc.

I'll update once the wood is ready to be worked.

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Comments

  • Bryan. When you get the pipe steel. Get a gallon of acetone and a bag of red shop rags. You'll want to use red shop rags as they're course. You can do final passes with paper towels. But, if you start with paper towels, they'll get clogged up super fast. The steel will be covered with grease from the extrusion process. Depending on the vehicle you have, you may want to wrap the pipes in a tarp. Home depot/lowes will cut & thread pipe for free.

    Also, rust-oleum 2x paint is what i use on steel. It's very strong and primer mixed in. There is also a matt clear you can use as a top coat if you want.
  • Great advice Alex. I won't be painting though, just doing the clear matte.

    A couple sticks were dry to work with today. This is with 1 coat of stain and is still wet. I have 4 done with a 2nd coat. We'll see what they look like tomorrow. Will likely give a light sanding to act as a drybrushing. Likely will not do any other top finish though it would be cool to do a peeling paint or some ground slime on a couple.

    I went with a finer tooth blade for the sawbanding on the 2nd set. It's a more subtle effect.

    Rest are still to wet too work with.
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  • Bryan this will be a great looking project.
  • Bryan, thats the best looking knot I seen yet....
  • Bryan,
    These shelf boards are awesome. I enjoy making small shelving projects using pine. It has great character and finishes great as evidenced by your project. Several coats of a matte finish is a great idea so that you will be able to remove dust easily. I generally keep a fresh can of Varathane Ultimate Polyurethane handy for projects. It is water based for easy clean-up and has a fast drying time for recoating plus it also offers scratch resistance.
    Later Dave S. Tucson, AZ
  • Those look fantastic. The color is perfect. I have used the techniques as well to make some old shelves. Comes out great!
  • Dave….with water based polyurethane is there a need to be careful of suspended air bubbles from shaking or aggressive stirring ?
    Terry
  • Terry,
    Thanks for your question and observation. Stirring must be done very slowly for certain. I apply several thin coats of Varathane and sand between coats with wet/dry 400-600 grit sandpaper to insure a bubble free surface. Sanding also helps remove any brush strokes that may surface. I also wipe down the surface after each sanding an prior to applying the next coat with a tack cloth to remove the fine chalky residue. I have live edge mesquite end tables, a coffee table and other projects plus pine book shelves that have withstood the test of time very well.
    Later, Dave S Tucson, AZ
  • Thanks for the tip Dave. I'll coat it for sure.

    Let's see the shelves Brett. I went with a lighter gray on the 2nd batch to see which I prefer.
  • Excellent idea Bryan. This looks great.
  • I have the same problem so look forward to how your set-up looks when stocked!
  • Great start on the project Bryan, love the colours on the boards and the added weathering. This is going to look fantastic.
  • Assembly has begun. All boards got 1 or 2 coats of gray or brown stain then sanded when dry.

    I used 12g joiners on the ends and 16g in the middle of each board to secure them. I painted the galvanized joiners with a new paint I found. Behr spray, color flat metal amber. I started using flush mount screws but like the grip on the drywall screws better even though the head stands up a bit. Bonus, I won't need to paint them like the flush/silver screws. I did come up with a screw pattern for the middle after seeing this pic.

    1 more night for the stain to dry then start with the clear coat.IMG_0784
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  • Looking good Bryan.
  • edited December 2022
    If you have some metal chain lying around a good technique for distressing 1:1 lumber is to beat it with some heavy chain leaving random indentations. This is better than a hammer which tends to leave 'smilies', now, with that said, a ball-peen hammer can be used but it is time consuming but is OK for more targeted areas.

    Looking great so far, colour is really nice.
  • It's good to be back home. I assembled the shelves this morning.IMG_0818
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  • Very cool and well done!
  • KKarns said:

    Very cool and well done!

    indeed! very nice.
  • Love it, extremely well done.
  • Great display shelves!
  • Really nicely done Bryan, great result.
  • Great way to display those wonderful structures....
  • I like them a lot.... would also like to see some of that trestle in the background!
  • A fun and functional project for sure. Got room on the bottom for a couple of big boys...Foundry and Blue Sky.

    Here you go Mike. A few shots at various points of construction including the fishing gnome under the tree and Prospector Pete striking it rich. There are 3 bridges total in the scene. 2 from Black Bear jigs and 1 scratch built.
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  • Love the shelves Bryan! Perfect setting. I am truly loving your bridge/cliff/waterfall setup. That is exactly what I am attempting on my layout. If it comes out even 1/2 as nice as yours, I will be happy. Man that looks incredible!!
  • What a layout!
  • Wow! That is fantastic! I love trestles and want to incorporate some on mine.... but I don't think I have the room for such a large one! The other two would be about the size that I would be able to fit.
    Anyways thank you for sharing the pics!
  • Nice bridges and trestle. That gold mine looks like he has a big smile on his face!
  • Fantastic work Bryan.
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