Wood Shop

Here are some new images 'hot off the press' from the camera of Ray Schmid.  Last Sunday we welcomed some new woodworking volunteers, the father and son team of Jim and Tom Windmeier.  Their project is to build many wood replica stepboxes in the style of the old metal ones long disappeared from railroad use.  These will improve safety and access for those boarding our trains, young and old alike.

Jigs

One of the first steps for Jim and Tom was to design the project, and then to proceed to build the first prototype, serial no. 1.  This has a lot of tricky angles and cuts so they designed a number of jigs and fixtures to help.

A Sled

One of those useful items is this sled designed to run in concert with our tablesaw.  A number of blocks and stops are added so parts can be reproduced with a minimum of fussing and measuring.

Coming Together

The pieces are carefully fitted to check angles and conformance to the 'idea'.

The Shape

Here the four sides (inverted) are held together and then checked.  Now you see what he has been doing, huh?

Off Topic

Of course this image has nothing to do with the described project but someone who shall remain nameless caught Tim Peters and myself politely discussing an upcoming task.  Sort of a laugh and reward for those that read to the end of this entry.

It was a very busy day with a large volunteer crew in the wood shop, as well as many hands on deck in the Electric Car Department.  I took some time out to unlimber the camera a few times. We started out making arrangements for an upcoming tour for the Woodstock Woodworkers club and shifted into high gear making sawdust.

The Shop Cart

Henry Vincent has been working earlier this week to add new wheels to one of our shop carts, and new timber to act as sides/push arms.  Before he could complete the job we were already stacking parts on it.

The Feeder

Henry switched over to the shaper crew for testing the final setup on the shaper being used to mill new battens for the depot.  The fifty some pieces of stock had been planed to thickness by this time.  We are using a power feeder on the machine, but here Henry was in training to start each piece of stock and keep it on track.

Getting in Shape

Buzz Morisette was doing more trim and fitting on the new windwos for the MILW 01984 caboose while the shaping was in full swing.  The batten crew included (l to r) Dan Fenlaciki, Henry VIncent, and Rich Witt.  Victor Humphreys was not in this pic but was invaluable as usual.

Rabbets

Buzz needed to make several small rabbets and grooves for tracking the sliding bay windows and here he is making use of a custom jig that has served us well for such work.

Wow

By the end of the day Rich Witt was stacking off several hundred feet of finshed depot battens, I think five layers deep in this pic.  Lots more to go, come on out.

Ray Schmid Photo

I did not get a chance to snap any pics Sunday but here is shot shared by Ray Schmid.  Bob Sundelin is removing some new batten molding from the shaper while I am at the power feeder controls.  Sunday was spent fine tuning the fences and guides for producing this stock as one of the next shop projects.

Next, here are some photos submitted by Gwyn Stupar.

Batten

Here is a side by side comparison of the new molding manufactured in our wood shop compared to the circa late 1800's stock found on our depot.

Fencing

We have an amazing collection of restored and working machines in the wood shop.  But the key is to 'outsmart' them using fences, jigs, and other aids.  We ran off some test battens on Saturday and decided we could do better.  So, here I am hoveling out some wood on the back of the shaper fence (also made by us) to be able to tweak it just a bit.

Hardware

Not exactly a picture of anyone making sawdust, but Tim Peters is continuing the restoration work on CRT 1268.  Here, he is cleaning some hardware and linkage for operating the clerestory windows.

Fitting the Beading

To start this entry, here is Rich Witt with the woodwork about done for the new sash for CA&E 409, the frame in primer, and a slew of new window beading to retain the glazing.

Getting in Shape

Next a shot of Victor Humphreys  removing molded stock from the shaper.  This is the test piece for new battens for our depot, the east end.  Custom knives were produced to be able to accurately reproduce the profile of these pieces.  Needless to say, nothing today is commercially available, even close, so it is the Wood Shop to the rescue.  We spent much of the day on set up to run this stock, and were fairly successful - one more revision to the fence today is needed.  When the lumber arrives, we will be off to the races.

It Is a Pane

Finally, here is Bill Moran taking a turn on window work for the CA&E 319.  A good man who is ready and willing to take on almost any task.