Finally, a Tool for Making N Scale Corrugated Metal

[jereising]

Here's the porch roof from one of my structures at Caliente - It's injection molded from JTT.  It's smaller than most, probably oversize but looks good to me...

[sirenwerks]

I'll ask again in the hopes someone who has used the home-stressed material will answer - How does the aluminum foil stressed sheets hold up under normal wear and tear? I can just imagine that the slip of a pair of tweezers or the just too tight grip of fat little fingers during construction or a bump of a dull object after the model's complete will create significant damage to the all those carefully formed and laid scale panels, even if using the extra heavy duty stuff. And I imagine that if you pressed a long sheet and then cut it, the corrugations would flatten.


John, your product looks pretty good for roofing and would probably work, for the uses I have in the future, for siding on newer grain bins. Three questions about it - Is it corrugated on both sides? Is it flexible enough to easily contour around tubing? Does it have any opaqueness to let light through if tinted, not painted?

[Dave V]

I'll ask again in the hopes someone who has used the home-stressed material will answer - How does the aluminum foil stressed sheets hold up under normal wear and tear? I can just imagine that the slip of a pair of tweezers or the just too tight grip of fat little fingers during construction or a bump of a dull object after the model's complete will create significant damage to the all those carefully formed and laid scale panels, even if using the extra heavy duty stuff. And I imagine that if you pressed a long sheet and then cut it, the corrugations would flatten.

It's surprisingly robust.  Once glued in place it's good.  Cutting is a challenge, but a sharp knife or sharp scissors are key.  I have a picture of what it looks like after 25 years but it appears the Railwire's photo hosting is full.

[peteski]

I have a picture of what it looks like after 25 years but it appears the Railwire's photo hosting is full.

Someone should let the moderators/administrators know about this. 

[sirenwerks]

The Australian tool seems cool, but the wait...


This sounds like something Maurice and Joris at RailNScale could whip up via Shapeways - a snap together interlocking crank mill. They do the street pavement cookie cutters, seems up their alley.


Two things though, what size flat sheet aluminum do you need to crank out a 3D properly sized panel and how do you get the flat sheet to register in straight to the mill, so you don't get all sorts of sideways pressed panels.


Ohh, it could be a continuous feed press... and you could have a flat panel that cradles the finished product that serves as a cutting jig, to help the pressed panel retain its shape during cutting.

[Dave V]

Someone should let the moderators/administrators know about this. 

Although I wield unimaginable authority, that's beyond even my powers.

[rodsup9000]

I'll ask again in the hopes someone who has used the home-stressed material will answer - How does the aluminum foil stressed sheets hold up under normal wear and tear? I can just imagine that the slip of a pair of tweezers or the just too tight grip of fat little fingers during construction or a bump of a dull object after the model's complete will create significant damage to the all those carefully formed and laid scale panels, even if using the extra heavy duty stuff. And I imagine that if you pressed a long sheet and then cut it, the corrugations would flatten.

 This is "Builders In Scale" aluminum foil and it is fairly robust. It is .003 thick, the same thickness as Heavy Duty Reynolds. So if you were to make some with the heavy duty stuff, I think it'll be the same.

These have been dipped in PC Board etchant.


 

[mighalpern]

I have a kit bashed coal distributor  building in a box for the last 5 years and it gets banged around alot when I move the box looking for other things,  The cut pieces  are staying put and keeping their shape.  I had an edge curled down and I just straightened it and good as new.  I don't have a place on my layout for the building yet so in the box it stays.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Here's the porch roof from one of my structures at Caliente - It's injection molded from JTT.  It's smaller than most, probably oversize but looks good to me...

I love the JTT stuff I've worked with. Their HO scale brick makes good N scale stone blocks.

[Santa Fe Guy]

Rod, if you have any of the corrugated material I'd be interested in learning/seeing more. It says 4 mm corrugation, which if my calculations are right means 25" in N scale, which seems pretty out of scale. If it's corrugated on both sides and has some transparency to let light through some, it might be worth playing to create semi-transparent window panels in warehouse walls.

Sirenwerks I tried to post yesterday 10.am our time however the site would not let me as it said it was full. Here is a couple of images of a sheet of the Slaters corrugated material. It is slightly transparent and as you can see the corrugations are not as far apart as you might think. I have scratch built  several buildings using this product and it looks the part, to me at least. [ Guests cannot view attachments ] [ Guests cannot view attachments ] [ Guests cannot view attachments ] [ Guests cannot view attachments ] .
Trust this is of some help.
Rod.

[sirenwerks]

Thanks for the skinny, Rod. I will definitely have to pick some up. For years I have been trying to solve the problem of corrugated factory buildings with the semi-transparent fiberglass 'window' material used that matches the siding spacing. This looks like it will fit that bill, if slightly tinted that yellowish fiberglass color, which will allow interior lighting to haze through. And it looks like it could have other applications now that I see it next to a scale rule. Thanks again.

[jereising]

Pic was a great idea - here's the JTT:

[nkalanaga]

Could the "4 mm" mean "4 mm scale", which would be a little bigger than HO?  The corrugations look about right for that.

[wazzou]

Looks to me like each corrugation is a little more than 6" in N Scale.  That's pretty danged large.

[narrowminded]

Looks to me like each corrugation is a little more than 6" in N Scale.  That's pretty danged large.

Does anybody know what it should be?  I'll watch around for some and get a measurement but thought somebody might know.  I might be able to machine a metal one with supported cutting guides and such which could also be used as Pete suggested for vacuum forming thin styrene.  That could be a handy tool.