(jeb@oscalemag.com). - O Scale Trains Magazine Online

ture, but never got around to fitting the equipment into the millor building the mill itself. After building the above four pieces, Idecided that it was time to see how much space these, and theother pieces of equipment that were to be included in my sawmill,were going to take. Using a CAD program, I drew the husk,log carriage, live-rolls and the dead-rolls in 1/1 scale (full size).I then inserted these pieces into another drawing such that theycould be moved around. Other details such as the 42” gauge logcarriage track, the floor joists to support the rails, and the floorjoists to support the husk, live-, and dead-rolls, were added tothe drawing. Allowing some space for operation and the steamengine from the Danby kit, I arrived at the overall size of thebuilding floor plan. This plan was printed out in 1/4” scale anda cardboard template was made the size of the floor plan. Thenit was tested in the allotted space on the layout. I found that if Iflipped this cardboard template end-for-end, the sawmill wouldfit in the allotted area! This flip moved the log deck from one endof the plan to the other end (Fig 1). Photo 1 shows the allottedlayout space for the sawmill. The base for this area was formed1by cuttingand gluingseveralpieces ofStyrofoamtogether.The resultwas shaped,and scenerywas addedto it, to fit inthe area.All ofthe woodused in thismodel isfrom Mt.Albert Scale Lumber [www.mtalbert.com]. I colored all of mywood before starting construction. I like to use felt-tip pens fromartist supply stores to color my wood. This particular model iscolored with Prismacolor Cool Grey 50% (PM-112). Photo 2shows the sawmill area with the 10” x 10” footings and crosspiecesin place. The 4” x 10” floor joists were installed next,and were doubled up under the carriage track. A 6x6 board wasadded on top of the floor joists for the Code 55 rail to sit on.These rails were treated2with “Hobby Black”before being installed.The floor joists on theequipment side werespaced to give supportto the husk, live- anddead-rolls. The rest ofthe joists were spacedequally (Photo 3). Floorboardswere added inthe area of the husk.While setting myhusk, log carriage, andlive-rolls in place (todetermine where thebelt drives would gothat operate this equipment),something didn’tlook correct. I discoveredthat by flipping mycardboard template for a betterfit into my allotted space, I3flipped the log flow. The huskbuilt using the Sierra Westinstructions assumed thatyou were building what I willcall a right-hand sawmill. By“right-hand”, I mean that bystanding on the opposite sideof the carriage tracks from theequipment, the log flow isfrom left to right. But, my logflow is now from right to left.My sawmill is a “left-hand”sawmill. The husk, built perthe instructions, is for a righthandsawmill. My husk wasbuilt backwards! I normallyused five-minute epoxy toassemble models of dissimilarmaterials, but this time Iassembled the husk using CA.I don’t favor CA, but was trying a new brand. The husk cameapart, just having to soak two or three parts in acetone to freethe CA. The reassembled husk got epoxied. I took the diagramfrom the Sierra West instruction manual and ran it through myscanner. I then printed out a mirror image of the diagram and Ihad a right-hand husk. The saw is the only piece of equipmentthat has a right- or left-hand mode. The blade guide was theonly part that had to be modified. I was able to twist the guidepart 180 degrees without breaking it.It then began to bother me that I might be building somethingthat never existed, a left-hand sawmill. I went to the On3 chatgroup on Yahoo, and questioned whether such a sawmill existed.I got a reply from a noted logging expert, stating that therewere two sawmills in Oregon with similar equipment and oneflowed from left-to-right and the other from right-to-left. I felt alot better about my flipped sawmill.Two shafts extend out from under the husk, one to drive thelog carriage and the other one to operate the sawdust blower.The carriage driveshaft ends just short of the log carriage trackwith a pinion gear on it. This meshes with a gear on the carriagedrive-rope drum shaft. A hole has to be drilled in the 4” X 10”track support joists to pass this drive shaft through. The sawdustblower driveshaft has to go through both 6 x 6 boards supportingthe rail. These holes were located and drilled using the huskitself. After these holes were located, the husk was glued inplace. Photo 4 shows a closeup of the husk, carriage drive, and4Mar/Apr ’07 - O Scale Trains • 21