Over the past few years of modeling I realized there are two things I really enjoy building; one is anything that has belts and pulleys and the second is creating scenes or dioramas. That being said I've decided to follow my passion and build what I enjoy. I was a little torn as to where to start this thread since everything will be scratch built but in the end they will be dioramas.
Now that I have an On18 small layout I decided to take my old On30 layout and utilize that for a place to display my dioramas. I replaced some of the foam and at some point the entire thing will get a coat of brown paint just to make the base look better.
Ok, let's get down to business shall we. I thought it would be fun to build a scene with a portable saw mill that a logging company might use and this is of my own design:
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This is what I'm starting with; 2 pieces of half inch foam, that I acquired free of charge for my local trash transfer station, that I glued together to keep all the bases the same and to give it more strength. This diorama measures 15 x 9 inches. Decided to step out of my comfort zone and try my hand at laying the track myself. After ordering a set of Kadee HO scale track gauges I set to work. The ties are grained and colored 3x10's for a beefier looking tie and the rail, which has been rusted on the sides, is by Atlas. All of the scenes will be built in On30.
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This is a refurbished small flat car that I had on hand. The wood is grained and colored using 4x12's for the sides and 2x10's for the deck; this will serve as the log car.
Next I'll start building the machines and of course I'll still be working on my On18 layout as well. Thanks for stopping by for a look and please leave your comments and/or suggestions; they are appreciated.
Larry sounds like a fun project.
I haven't forgotten your package.
I'll be back pictures haven't showed up yet.
Jerry
Larry, this will be an interesting project for me to follow along.
Good start and have fun building it.
Thanks guys. Rick I assume the photos finally showed so Jerry can see them.
Nice photos!! Holy! Moly! Now he's hand laying track!! ;D
Jerry
Thanks Jerry; I thought I'd give hand laying track a try. I couldn't imagine doing an entire layout though; very time consuming.
Howdy Larry,
This looks like a fun project, expanding your skills with hand-laid track. Nice work.
Have fun,
mike
Mike thank you; I thought I would give hand laying track a go.
Started building the machines:
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First up is the table saw made entirely from the parts bin. The lumber used was 6x6's for the frame, 3x12's for the top, and 1x10's on the bottom to support the legs; also added some NBW's and nail holes in the appropriate places. A simple design and I also removed the "rust" from the saw blade.
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This is another view.
Next is a set of "dead rollers" which will go directly behind the table saw:
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The frame for this was built the same as the saw with all the wood being grained, colored with chalks, and clear alcohol. The rollers came again from the parts bin. The pillow blocks are from Sierra West left over from the belt line kit I bought for the large saw mill and the rollers themselves are pieces of 1/16th inch painted brass rod. Again I added a few NBW's and nail holes in the appropriate places.
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Here's another view of the dead rollers.
Since the saw mill will be portable the next task will be to build a big "sled" to mount the table saw on as well as the dead rollers. Also need to figure out a portable power plant to operate the saw. Thanks for looking in and leaving all your great comments and/or suggestion so stay tuned.
Larry, both look very good.
Thanks Rick.
Larry a very nice job on both those pieces.
Your doing some really nice work on this adventure!!
Jerry
Howdy Larry,
The saw and dead rollers look well-made. Congratulations on this interesting build.
Have fun,
mike
Jerry and Mike thank you both so much; your comments are appreciated and keeps me going.
Off to a great start Larry!
Thanks Philip.
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Ok, since this a a "portable sawmill" I needed to make the saw and dead rollers.....well....movable. To that end I built a "sled" to mount them on so they could be shipped to site on a flatcar. After measuring the two pieces of machinery I then cut the "runners" @ 19 ft long and 7 ft for the width of the sled. These were cut from 8x8's and the deck boards are 3x12's to support the weight. Of course all the lumber was grained, colored with chalks & clear alcohol then given a liberal coat of A&I.
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Here's the other side.
Now I needed a power source to operate the saw. I had a vertical steam engine and boiler left over from a previous build already mounted on a sled but I wanted to include a small water tank for the boiler. Instead of ripping everything apart I decided to just build the new sled around the old one. The new sled is 14 ft long which gave me the extra space to mount the water tank which is also from a previous build. The lumber used is the same as the first sled given the same treatment. I used four pieces of 12x12's, criss crossed for strength, to bring the tank up to the height I needed it so the water valve could go directly into the boiler.
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And another view. This can also be brought in on a flatcar as well. The fun part will be lining up the steam engine with the pulley on the saw which be be quite a long belt. Even though these items are portable they will be glued in place on the diorama. That's where I'm at presently; thanks for stopping by and leaving all your great comments and/or suggestions they really do help keep me motivated.
Larry, it's good to see the water tank for the boiler. That's a factor that's often forgotten particularly for backwoods mills.
dave
You are going to need more than that valve to fill the boiler with ~180 lbs of steam in it.
Either a worthington steam pump,
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or a steam injector.
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B~
Larry, nice job on the sleds and repurposing that boiler.
I think you'll need something to keep that cover on the water tank from blowing away.
Bernd thanks for stopping by. Neat little pump and thanks for the info; I'll have to give that a thought.
Rick thank you. I'll probably replace the tank cover with something a little more substantial.
Larry it looks great so far!
Jerry
Jerry thank you.
Howdy Larry, you did a nice job on the two sleds and their details. I bet in real life, that would be a scary setup. Have fun, mike
Mike thank you.It would be quite impressive in real life especially when they were brought to site on flat cars then unloaded before setting them in place.
Excellent work on the equipment Larry..... 8)
Greg thank you so much and thanks for stopping by.
Moving along:
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Even though this is a "portable sawmill" a shed is still a must to store equipment and such. Mine is 8 ft square using 6x6's for the frame and rafters and the boards are 2x10's grained and colored with chalks with clear alcohol. I also distressed a few of the boards. The doors are made using thin card with the same lumber as the siding boards. I decided to have 1 door open a little to add interest. Also the door molding is made from 1x6's and the door handles were made from thin brass wire.
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This is the back with thin card over the rafters and black scrapbooking paper used for tarpaper. That was then weathered once in place with assorted chalks.
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The shed and sleds have been glued in place; also added a short length of N scale track for a log carriage yet to be built; that was buried with dirt so only the rails are visible. Added he first layer of scenery material which is now dry. Worked in small sections "painting" on a layer of white glue then sprinkling on some course turf, varied amounts, to simulate scrub grass. Then a layer of dirt added next finished off with a mixture of 50/50 glue to water added with an eyedropper; Have better control over the amount used without soaking the foam. The hole in the foam behind the carriage track is for a "jib crane" to help unload and move logs around the area which still needs to be built.
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Here's the back of the diorama. Next will be to come up with some sort of log carriage to help feed the logs into the saw. After that it's time to turn my attention towards what and where to start placing details to help bring the diorama to life. Thanks for stopping by with all your great comments and/or suggestions.
Looking good Larry!!!
Jerry
Bernd's comment on injectors made me do some research. This picture stood out, as it includes both an injector and a water glass to monitor the water level in the boiler:
(https://c8.alamy.com/comp/CYXCAK/a-vertical-copper-boiler-with-fittings-including-water-and-pressure-CYXCAK.jpg)
dave
Larry, nice colors on the shed's wood.
Neat little scene.
Dave thanks for the pic.
Rick thank you; a little at a time.
It takes zero pressure to have fun, Looking great Larry!
Nice colors on all the pieces. Great work.
Jeff
Larry, will you add a crane or another device that will be used to load and unload the machines and shed?
Philip thank you. It's been great therapy since I lost my buddy.
Jeff thank you; much appreciated.
Rick yes I'm going to build, what I call a jib crane, to load and unload the equipment
as well as the logs. Using the same plan I used for Andrew's Boat Works.
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Now comes the fun part; starting with the details. Figured I'd start with a workbench which is 8ft. by 3ft. This was made from 6x6's for the frame and legs and 3x12's for the top along with a 2x10 for the front and 2 pieces of 1x6's for the drawers. Also used track nails for the drawer pulls; of course all the wood was grained, colored with chalks and clear alcohol then given a liberal coat of A&I.
All the details are from my new and improved parts bin. Some were soaked in blacken then buffed with the dermal while others were colored with chalks and/or paint.
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Needed something to under the bench and this box of junk came from my newly acquired detailed parts. It was sprayed painted with grey primer then colored with chalk and gun metal paint. After everything dried I gave the parts a thin coat of rust.
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Here's the bench glued in place with the box of junk underneath along with a HO scale barrel from the parts bin. Printed some signs and glued a couple to the side of the shed.
Next will be to build some sort of carriage to help feed the logs into the saw and also get all the new, to me, detail parts organized. Thanks for stopping by and for all your wonderful comments and/or suggestions.
Howdy Larry,
Nice work on the details and workbench. The diorama is really coming together.
Have fun,
mike
Larry the details look great.
Jerry
Nice work bench, if it were my shop there would be half a pint of dried up paint I spilled by the vice. It looks a lot like Dad's bench. ;)
Mike, Jerry, and Karl thank you guys so much. Doing the details
is my "happy place".
8) Looking Cool!
Thanks Philip.
There are a couple of things I need to get done before I start thinking about details. This one of them:
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After receiving the care package from Jerry I wanted to get the parts organized so I knew exactly what I had on hand. Also there are a few tanks and boilers not shown as well as a small kit to build at some point. All these detail parts should keep me going for quite awhile.
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Also I wanted to get the logs placed then I can fill in with the detail parts. All the logs were taken from the back yard cut to size; most are a scale 8 ft long with a couple @ 16 ft long. The hole in the foam will be filled with a "jib crane", yet to be built, which will unload the logs off a flat car as well as place them on a carriage to be fed into the saw.
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This is the back of the diorama. I do want to leave room for some LPs to walk around the scene plus try not to overcrowd the overall look. I did order a few extra items from SW that are logging specific. Next I think I'll cut, color, and install the belt from the vertical steam engine to the saw while I can still get at them. Also finish up the log carriage that I've already started. Still lots to do and am enjoying every minute of this build. Thanks for stopping by and for all your encouragement.
Looking good! Nice log carriage.
Your getting more creative with ever post.
Jerry
Jerry thanks so much. The 2 wheeled log cart is to move the logs around the area. The carriage will run on the track at front of the saw. It's fun trying to imagine what an area like this would have been like.
Larry, work bench looks good and nice start on placing the logs.
I'm a little surprised you're planting the crane in the ground.
I thought you'd have one on a rail car so it would be portable like everything else.
Great stash of casting you have! 8)
Rick thank you. I had thought about having the crane on a car but it wouldn't be in
the position to do what it would need to do so I went with a "planted" version. It'll
be taken down when finished and transported on a flat car.
Philip yup that'll keep me going for awhile.
Did you know those intoxicating brown castings from Brett are a proprietary resin mix?
Sorry about your pup passing away. Sad.
Quote from: Philip on September 30, 2025, 08:31:17 AMDid you know those intoxicating brown castings from Brett are a proprietary resin mix?
No I didn't but they do finish off nice. They were included in the Wood Cutters Shack kit I did a few years ago.
Actually it was a cat but thanks and yes it was very sad,
Larry,
I have been following this build of yours for a while now, and you are doing an amazing amount of nice builds within the major build. All of the little scenes will be fun to see. Your machinery ain't too shabby either.
Having had every kit of Brett's except two, I may have you beat on the castings. I'll bet I could fill a 9' x 12' room with castings, and not one of them would touch another one beside it! Plus, I have bought many full boxes of castings to enhance all of the full kits as well. Painting them is a pet peve of mine and a time-consuming project in itself.
I still want to build a sawmill and am torn between Twin Mills or something smaller, like this build of yours. Or, I
could build a machine shop and add an addition with a small sawmill setup outside it. Still pondering that.
Rich
Rich thank you for your kind comments. Since I don't usually build kits I can't comment on Twin Mills. This diorama measures 15 x 9 inches just to give you some size perspective; of course mine is O scale so HO should be about half the space needed. That would be an interesting concept having a Machine Shop with a Saw Mill. Good luck making your final decision.
Quote from: Larry C on September 30, 2025, 11:18:50 AMQuote from: Philip on September 30, 2025, 08:31:17 AMDid you know those intoxicating brown castings from Brett are a proprietary resin mix?
No I didn't but they do finish off nice. They were included in the Wood Cutters Shack kit I did a few years ago.
Actually it was a cat but thanks and yes it was very sad,
Sorry man!
Now I can continue on with the second, the workbench being the first, of many details:
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This is one I received from Jerry and it's the older style of resin details from SW. I primed it grey using a rattle can first. After it dried I started with the box itself using chalks along with clear alcohol. After that dried I started with all the little cast-in details using a combination of chalks and gun metal craft paint for the hinges as well as the other metal parts.
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Here's the other side and I'm quite pleased with the final result.
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It's set in place and glued in giving me a nice little detail behind the boiler. Since this is a diorama I wanted it viewable from all four sides. When finished, and it goes on my shelf, I can change the position to another side if I get bored with it.
Next will be to add the belt between the vertical steam engine and the saw then add the finishing touches to the log carriage feeding the saw. Thanks for stopping by and for all your great comments and/or suggestions.
Well Larry you sure did a fine job on that one!!
You used some nice coloring for the wood and detail parts.
Jerry
Jerry thank you; your comments are appreciated.
Looking good Larry.
Howdy Larry, that's some excellent work on the bench details. They are believable! Have fun, mike
Slick!
Rick, Mike, and Philip thank you guys so much for your kind comments.
Nice work on the bench and details Larry.
That Jerry is one heck of a nice guy, he and I have been friends since the dawn of Man! ;D
Carry on with more successes!
Rich
Rich thanks; much appreciated. Yes Jerry is a really nice person; you can tell by the way he helps his neighbors...not many people would do that.
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After 3 attempts at making a log carriage to feed the log into the saw, this is what I was satisfied with. The first 2 attempts just didn't look right to my eye. One of the flatcars I had ordered for my On18 layout apparently didn't print right and the wheels kept falling off and it didn't "track" properly so I just set it aside. I removed the wheels that came with it and added a pair of Hon3 wheels that I have had almost forever. Since its movement is very limited I really don't have to be concerned how it "tracks". I used 1x6"s to cover the deck and used scrap lumber to build up the front of the carriage to support the log. This is then fed into the saw manually and when another log is needed it's then pushed back and will be loaded with a crane; the process then starts all over again.
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I've used an LP from Rusty Rail to give some perspective. The LP is one of the new 3D printed figures which looks quite promising for down the road if it paints up well; it does have nice details.
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Lastly I made a belt from Tyvek (free postal envelope) and painted both sides. When dry I installed it from the vertical steam engine to the saw; this is a long one.
Now it's on to detail paradise as I start filling in the empty spots with whatever makes sense with the portable logging theme. Thanks for stopping by and for all
your great comments and/or suggestions.
Howdy Larry,
Nice work with the feed carriage. The belt coloring looks fantastic.
Have fun,
mike
Mike thank you so much. The paint I used for the belt is Raw Sienna craft paint .
Nice work Larry, the scene keeps getting better and better.
Regards,
Gary
Gary thank you and thanks for stopping by.
Larry, the scene is coming along great, that is one of the mosr realistic belts I've seen in a long time, what colour did you paint it?
Ron thank you so much, your comments are appreciated. I used Raw Sienna craft paint that came in a plastic tube; painted the belt twice both sides.
Larry it gets better with each post!
Like Ron said that belt is really realistic looking.
One question are you going to make a fence so the log can't roll off that table?
Jerry
Larry, what you've built looks good.
However, that setup looks very dangerous to use.
I wouldn't want to be the person trying to push that log past the saw.
Like Jerry mentioned, you'd something to keep the log from moving side to side.
And there needs to be a way to set a log to keep each cut uniform in width.
I know you are trying to keep things simple so keep it the way you have it.
Jerry and Rick thank you. What you've mentioned makes a lot of sense and I really didn't think of it myself. I think I have an easy fix so I'll check it out; thanks guys.
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The diorama is almost finished but I thought I would share what I have done so far. Waiting on a couple of detail parts from SW then I can finish things up. Added lots of details from my stash, most of which are from Brett, that are logging specific. I added the tree in the back corner to give the scene balance with the crane being towards the front. The track was ballasted with a medium grey ballast and added some weeds while I was at it. Because this is a temporary site I opted to have the details sitting on top of the ground instead of having the ground around them. Also added lots and lots of real sawdust.
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Here's the other side of the diorama. The 2 sled runners on the ground are for the shed when everything gets packed up before moving to the next area to work. Once the details arrive from SW those will be colored and glued in place. After that I'll go back and do a few more touchups and add the fences for the saw table, as Jerry & Rick pointed out previously, which makes a lot of sense.
When finished I'll take more closeup photos and post the finished results. Thanks for stopping by and leaving all those great comments and/or suggestions; they are appreciated.
Looks great Larry. Details and scenery added a lot to it.
Keep up the great work.
Jerry
;D Buzzzzzzzz
Nice work Larry!
Jerry and Philip thank you both so much; I can almost see the finish line.
Howdy Larry,
The scene looks fantastic. The sawdust adds character to the diorama. Nice work overall.
Have fun,
mike
Larry, looks like there's plenty of logs to keep the mill busy.
Good looking scene.
Mike and Rick thank you guys.
With the exception of adding a few LP's to the scene I'm calling this one finished. Here's some photos of all the details starting at the front left and going around the diorama; enjoy:
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Most of the details are from my parts bin and the drag saw as well as the rusted tub arrived today from Sierra West (third photo). The last photo is an overall view of the front.
Continuing on:
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Lastly the back of the diorama:
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There you have it, a Portable Saw Mill diorama. Thanks to all of you who have been following along on this adventure and for all your great comments and suggestions. Next up? Not sure yet but I'm sure something will pop up.
Nice diorama. Love all the detail.
I have to question the safety of that saw. Is there a prototype of this type of saw?
Bernd
Bernd thank you. Actually this is the type of saw used in backwoods mills from what I've read; thankfully this was before OSHA's time.
Also take a look at my explanation in post #89 concerning a similar saw configuration.
Howdy Larry,
The sawmill looks amazing. I can almost smell the tannin from the wood. Nice work with the details, fit and finish. You might want to include an LP with a hand or arm cut off to support the saw type. ;D
Have fun,
mike
Mike thank you so much. The details help to tell a story; I'll have to give the LP a think.
Larry, congratulations on finishing.
All those details look great and it sure is a busy mill (in a good way).
I have no idea how a mill like thinks looks in real life, but I'm curious of one thing.
What are the rollers on the back end of the saw.
I would think they'd be on the front to make it easier to push past the blade.
Larry nice detailing!!
But like the other guys I wonder about the safety with that blade.
Jerry
Rick thank you. The "dead rollers" were behind the saw to so as the logs were cut they would simply travel down the rollers and roll off and onto the ground; probably to make the saw a one man operation while others cut up the longer logs.
Jerry thanks; much appreciated.
One of the guys asked previously if this saw was prototypical. This morning, the 12th, something occurred to me that I haven't thought about in years. My Grandpa had a saw setup similar to the one I built; he called it a "buzz saw". Now I was only 8 or 9 at the time but that blade looked huge; probably 3 ft. across or better. The pulley on the side had a wide thick leather belt that went to an old Oliver farm tractor and was attached to an accessory pulley. The tractor would be pulled ahead slightly to place tension on the belt then the brake would be set and a lever pulled to make the pulley operate. He had a winch, what he called a 'come-along' attached to the rafters in the shed to hoist the cutup logs up onto the saw. He would then feed the logs into the saw and 'block' the logs into chunks then after the first hard frost he would split the chunks and stack the wood in the woodshed behind the kitchen. So yes the saw I made doesn't get any more prototypical than that. He would however keep the blade sharp and let the saw do the work to avoid any 'kick-backs'; I never recall him ever having an accident with his setup.
When I hear the term "buzz saw" this is what I envision.
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I have a similar one sitting in my backyard that belonged to my father-in-law.
Bernd
Bernd thanks for the pic; that is one nasty looking saw. No the one my Grandpa had, if memory serves me, was more of a table saw situation with a large blade. The term "buzz saw" was what he used. I wish I had some photos of his setup but back then that was the least of their concerns.
Bernd, that's a very cool photo. It should be an easy scratchbuild once you have the saw blade...
dave