Scratchbuilding using Wood, Part 2

Alan Schofield

Sep 24, 20233 min read

Preparing your materials

Balsa stripper cutting balsa wood — Balsa Stripper

In the first blog of this series I mentioned planning and the materials you could use, this blog carries on from that and talks about gathering and preparing your wood.

Gathering your materials

Preparing the wood

Tools

Conclusion

Gathering your materials

As model railway enthusiasts we are always looking on ways to save money, and this "tip" is one of those ways, balsa wood purchased cut to size can be expensive (as per the cost in this link Amazon.co.uk : balsa wood strips) but if you purchase large sheets as a bundle, such as Balsa Wood - Large Bundle by DMF Products : Amazon.co.uk: Home & Kitchen and then a balsa cutter Master Airscrew Precision Balsa Stripper. MA4000 607370624005 | eBay you can cut the sheets into the width strips you need, thus saving you a lot of money.

Preparing the wood

As part of your planinng you might have made a drawing or plan for the building you going to scratch build, these plans might include a complete list of what you need by size and how much you will need, or you might just like to cut a large amount to stock sizes and use as needed (that's the way I tend to work) so using the balsa cutter (as shown above and below) you can cut the materials needed to start building your project.

"Scratch building is so satisfying"

Balsa stripper and balsa wood — Balsa Stripper

Tools

Tools are a complete subject on their own, as modellers we need a large amount, and are always adding to our collection! but working with balsa wood and strip wood wood ect, these are just some you might need:

Ruler = scale one if possible Rulex® OO HO N and O gauge 300mm/12" British Model Railway Scale Ruler 5020027080163 | eBay

Pencil

Stanley knife

Model knife

Model tool kit = if you don't already own anything, such as this kit (BGTXINGI 28PCS Modeler Basic Tools Craft Set Gundam Model Tools Kit with Plastic Box Hobby Model Assemble Building Repairing and Fixing DIY Craft Kit : Amazon.co.uk: Toys & Games)

Set Square = Amtech P3950 20mm (2") Engineer's Square : Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools

Cutting mat = this a an A3 size mat you choose which size you need, ANSIO Craft Cutting Mat Self Healing A3 Double Sided 5 Layers - Quilting, Sewing, Scrapbook, Fabric & Papercraft - Imperial/Metric 17 Inch x 11 Inch / 42cm x 27cm - Green/Green : Amazon.co.uk: Home & Kitchen

You can cut the lengths of balsa wood into smaller pieces with a stanley knife but a mini saw like this makes the job a lot easier, Draper 29266 Hardpoint Dovetail Saw, 250mm , Blue : Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools

You can purchase a mini mitre box, but I prefer to make one my self as below, really simple jig to make sure that all cuts are square, the block of wood on the right can be moved to any distance to make sure all pieces are cut to the same length.

Sand paper

Glues = you can use wood glues or super glue, it's your choice.

Homemade wooden jig for cutting balsa wood — Cutting Jig

Conclusion.

Which ever way you go about gathering your materials, you should end up with a stock of wood that you can begin your project, the image below shows just a small amount I cut from two sheets of balsa wood (cost of sheets appox £2.50, cost of balsa wood cut if purchased appox £20)

We/you should all have everything needed to start a project, mine will be a large Cutting shed for the Lumber yard, which I will cover in future blogs, and hopefully videos.

I hope that this short series of blogs has helped you get ready for scratch building in wood, any questions please just ask away, or leave a comment below.

I would like to say that all the links above (from Amazon and Ebay) are not in any way linked to me, thay are just guides for you to look though, all the products can be purchased from most diy shops and also your local hobby shop as well.