Using a laser to create realistic horse board fence

[Jim Donovan]

The precision an inexpensive engraving laser brings to the hobby allows for some realistic modeling of simple objects found in the real world but hard up until now to create in small scale modeling. A project I am currently undertaking is to add a corral around a 1900 tavern so horses can be kept while the folks are inside having a pint. I wanted the fence to be made of wood and depict typical board fence with cut slots in the fence posts so the boards simply slide into the cut allowing for easy assembly and replacement in the real world. Making the cut slots is the issue the laser makes short work of. I designed the posts using the cutter program LaserBurn. The board to be cut needed to be 3 millimeter or 1/8 thick so the post would measure a scale 12 x 12, with the height to be 5.5 feet high allowing for 3 high slats, each a scale 1 x 12. So here is the post cut out, put together with 1 x 12 strip wood stained with Hunter medium brown. I used thin CA glue to hold everything together and apply to layout. The thin CA is quickly absorbed into the wood and did not leave a shinny look like the thick version would.






Simple but up until now not easy to do.

Jim

[jerryrbeach]

Jim,

I admire your ingenuity.  That's a very different style of fence than usually modeled. That fence really adds to the scene.