Laminated Deck/Platform (continued):

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My last procedure for making deck material involved using black construction paper.  The uniformity and thickness of the construction paper did not produce the results I wanted for the smaller scales, so it was back to the drawing board.

This is Plan 1583, the Government Assay Office in Barkerville. British Columbia. The front walkway uses the procedure outline here.  The roof shingles are made using the procedure outlined in "Making Your Own Barn Shakes".

Paint both faces of the balsa or basswood material. Use black acrylic craft paint, and not typical model paint.  Model paints sometimes have finer ground pigments, allowing them to flow out thinner and smoother than other types of paint.  For this applicaion you want thick layers of paint that will visible in the edge view.

Use one of the procedures outlined on the previous page for cutting equal width strips.

This is the end view of laminated strips.

Line up the strips with the painted surfaces touching each other. Use the same procedure as described on previous page to align the edges.

A glue stick or super glue will work.

This is a comparison of the home made version (on the right), and the factory version (on the left).

The factory version is nade with basswood, which gives a cleaner edge than balsa. For a more machined look, (ie. planed as opposed to rough-cut lumbet), I will use basswood instead of balsa, but either way, there is a definite improvement over the construction paper version.

This is the result as shown on Plan 1583, "Barkerville Government Assay Office".