Wood Shop

Again there was a large turnout of enthusiastic volunteers at the Barn 4 shops today.  Here is some of the work - - -

Berlin Woes

The BIG JOB in the wood shop was to run a handful - no two handfuls - no, more than two handfuls, of windows for the CRT 1797 through the Berlin sander.  Tim Peters has been making these new frames for a few weeks and it was time to get to the the next phase.  The machine was set up and some time spent making some fine adjustments based on the last job run through this machine.

In short order it was determined that we need to pay some attention to the abrasive media wrapping the third drum.  I am on the floor reaching into the end of the drum, Tim is on the deck reaching in, and Bill Moran is turning the drum by hand to get at the needed areas.

Of course, an assortment of tools were dropped into the innards of the machine in the process, in places you could not possibly get them into if you tried.  Dan Fenlaciki dropped by and helped a lot with a new set of eyes and outlook on how we could get to a particularly stuck dropped screwdriver to remove it.

Production

Well, we did some good.  Tim snapped this pic with my camera while I was feeding the new frames in, and Bill Moran was acting as the 'catcher'.

Kansas City - -

Mike Stauber and Frank Sirinek were cleaning off a piece of interior trim from our Kansas City PCC car.  In this case, trying to get an unblemished panel for a good color sample for having new paint custom mixed.  Look for more work on this car later in the year.

Trim Routing

John Faulhaber was busy on the router trimming the profile beading on 22 new stiles for the IC 3996 diner windows.  This task is a necessary step to be able to start the final dry fit of the new frames.

Step Boxes

Tom Windmeier (and Jim W) were out working on RUN TWO for another six new step boxes.

Diner Trim

Tim Peters and Buzz Morisette were routing roundovers on many pieces of new trim for our diner interior.  They are using a SPRINGBOARD on the router table, something new for us, and which improves the ease of setup, consistency of the finished molding, and safety when routing small pieces.  Buzz made this jig earlier in the day.

Max Tyms was out and working on electrical conduit installation in the shop annex area.  There were several other familiar faces engaged in their projects, but you get the idea.  It was busy and productive.

Here are a few more images sent from the camera of Roger Kramer.  I appreciate any info and images from our reporters in the field, and hope all you readers do, also.

Ripping

Buzz Morisette was ripping mahogany for new trim pieces to be used in the diner interior restoration.  What a shame to cut those wide clear planks into little strips - or is it?

Pieces

Here is Roger himself after I had left the shop.  Several folks contributed to the progress during the day for new windows for IC 3996.  They make quite a stack of wood, gathered on the bench in front of Roger.  The next steps are really going to start to show some visible progress.  Cut the tenons and then start fitting each frame together.

Engineering Department

Rich Witt served well as our Engineering Department while the crew proceeded to process parts for new windows for IC 3996.  There are always a lot of measurements to be made, and double checked before the cuts are made and sawdust is created.

The Slots

A new crew was trained and expertly took over operation of the mortising machine.  Here, left to right, John Faulhaber, Simon Harrison, and Lorne Tweed.  Since this is a fairly large run of windows, we were able to set up our vintage GREENLEE mortiser into more of a production mode for the first time.  Stop collars were set, blocks and stops added, and we saved an estimated 90 minutes of marking and lining out locations of the needed mortises.  In relatively short order 44 slots (mortises) were cut into the window stiles, two different sizes, all more uniform and consistent than if we were spotting them by eye.

Blocks

Henry Vincent made and is prime painting several custom wood block spacer/hangers for the shop air piping which will be extended into the new addition.

More Step Wells

Victor Humphreys finished the work on the step well end plate previously posted on these entries, and is now contemplating the badly deteriorated 'next' one to receive attention

Diner Trim

Buzz Morisette was sizing, sawing, and planing new mahogany stock to be profiled and used for new trim molding in the O Mahoney diner.

The Diner

Of course this is in the wood shop but Buzz Morisette has been working on a B&G project helping to make specialized wood trim and finish work for our O Mahoney Diner.

Give Him the Air

Henry Vincent continues to be our 'go to' guy in the wood shop area for almost any project that needs doing.  Here he has cut into the compressed air header in the old shop and is adding and extending the line toward the new shop extension.  Is there anything he cannot do or is not willing to do?

Profile Work

Not the kind of profile work now being done by Homeland Security, but instead adding a roundover profile to stiles and rails for the eleven new windows we are doing for the IC 3996 diner.  Simon Harrison inspects the last cut while behind him, new volunteer Lorne Tweed gets the next piece ready.

The Crew

There was a good turnout yesterday and here are some of the folks working on the window project.  Simon Harrison, Lorne Tweed, John Faulhaber, Richard Witt, and Roger Kramer.  Never use two guys when five are available.  In summary, some of the pre cut parts were ripped to final dimension, all planed to final thickness, the roundover routed, and a rabbet cut in those pieces.  Over 175 operations in total today to move this project forward.  Not bad for a Wednesday in winter!

Likely Suspects

Here is an image form Roger Kramer showing the crew that was working on the new windows.  Rich, Simon, Lorne, John and myself.  Those guys look like they are having way too much fun.

We would also like to welcome back John Nelligan following recent cataract surgery.  He looks good and is looking good.

HUH?  Those of you looking at the date on this entry will think I am not using this year's calendar.  But one of our volunteers now owns a digital camera and a laptop computer (GASP)!  Here is the first image he has sent as he navigates his way into electronic technology.  There may be a few more added to this as they come in.  So let us welcome Roger Kramer into his new role as cub reporter.

Using the Jointer

Rich Witt and Roger are using our jointer to produce a square and straight edge on new mahogany stock.  This is in the early stages of making new windows for IC 3996.  Any of you prospective volunteers that want to witness all the steps to take rough wood into the finished product are always welcome to come out and watch - or maybe learn a bit about our shop and pitch in.

I managed to make a short visit to IRM yesterday and grabbed some photos of the work going on.

Wheels

I will start out with an image of a wheel and axle set from our Milwaukee Streetcar TM 972.  The car has received a lot of restoration work and we are underway with work on the mechanical systems to get this running again.  Look for the exciting full story in the next issue of Rail & Wire, due to be mailed in a few weeks.

Step Well

Victor Humphreys has been working on the step well end plates for our ATSF 1400 wood caboose.  They require a lot of repair and he is now on step well number three.  Above is one of the renewed end plates ready to be prime painted.

Shop Work

When the shop space was expanded with an addition to Barn 4 some of the existing systems had to be partially dismantled.  Victor Humphreys, John Faulhaber, and Henry Vincent (on the ladder) are 'engineering' how to extend and re-install some parts to our wood chip collector system.

Parts

Just like Tinkertoy parts, Henry and Victor have disassembled and are reassembling pieces for the new duct run.

Jointing

A fair amount of work was invested in continuing the work for new Passenger Car windows for IC 3996.  Eric Lorenz was re-acquainting himself with some woodworking skills, while Bill Moran stands by at left, ready to help.  Running this stock through the jointer can help take out any warp or twist in the wood, before it is planed and finally sized.  After jointing, Victor and Henry helped push some of these 48 pieces through our planer.

Other shop work included Tim Peters back in his window making mode, this current project is CRT 1797.  Three new sash were in the glue press and additional frames were being fit and dry assembled.

Tim and Rod Turner also worked to replace failed bearings on our disk/belt sander, and it seemed in working order, better than ever, as I left the shop.

Frank Sirinek and Mike Stauber were working on seats for the Vera Cruz open car, Bill Wulfert was painting L car parts, and walk through visitors included Randy Hicks, Jim Windmeier, Joe Stupar, Dave Fullarton, and Joel Arendt.