Warping

[Erieman]

Good Morning Everyone,

This is a great topic and effects us all, no matter where you live. Living in the Arizona desert does not exclude you from the problem. I have found that long structures are especially prone to this problem. I have scratchbuilt two long structures; Ironia Station and East End Market. I learned a valuable lesson from Ironia Station. Long, narrow structures have a greater tendency to warp even with all the bracing you can install. Painting the inside helps a little and only a little. If you followed my build on East end Market, you may remember that I build the building around an inner structure ( see pic below ) the inner structure was heavily braced. The orientation of the lumber was horizontal to prevent warp. I found that this technique worked very well. it means added time and understanding of the size of the inner body. I built the inner core, then added the braced exterior walls to it. The outer walls were painted, weathered, etc. prior to installation and there were no signs of warping prior to install or after.

With Ironia station, which is 2 1/2 wide and 21" long. only the exterior walls were braced. after assembly, i noticed that one end of the building was slightly off the wooded base. That dimension continued to grow to about 3/16 or greater. Well, I fixed it by re-glueing the structure to the plywood base and clamping both ends of the station for an extended period of time. That also worked, but i would not recommend it.

The only other experience that I have had with warping was with Chester / Ft/ Edwards Station. It occurred only on the station platform extension. Both sides were painted, but the warping was very evident. The solution will make you feel a bit on edge. I held the station between my legs with the extended platform up close to my chest. ( this is not recommended for the faint of heart). The base was away from me and the top of the station was towards my chest. I grabbed the platform extension with both hands and using the end of the platform as a lever, bent the platform extension. (it gets better). Nothing happen right away. Then I heard a snap. While I thought the problem was solved, a few days later the warp was back, but not as much. So-o-o, I bent it again, waiting for the crack. Sure enough, I heard the crack and this time the platform extension warp did not return. now I cannot speak of the Ft. Edwards Station that I built for Robert Seckler, but my Chester station has stayed flat.

That's my story about WARPING.

frank / Erieman