Building a Kitwood Hill Models 45ft Gallows Turntable

[elwoodblues]

Part 11 - The Gallows



Each side of the gallows is made up of 4 parts.





The Kit comes with a jig for making the gallow frame but it really wasn't needed as the pieces fit together flawlessly.





At the bottom of each post that meets the bridge there is a "plate".  I assumed that there would be a metal piece on the real thing so I painted them light rust (Vallejo Panzer Aces 301).





The first gallow frame installed.





The second gallow frame installed

[elwoodblues]

Gluing the cross members at the top of the gallows in place.





this is the result of round 2 of gluing the cross members in place.    

Thank god wood glue takes some time to set up.  I was looking at my handy work when I realized that something didn't look right so I took some measurements at the top and bottom were not the same.  Looking at the instructions I noticed the the top crossbeams extended past the gallow frames.  So I pried the crossbeams apart and tried again.  I forgot to take pictures of round 2, probably because I was mad at myself for not checking more carefully.





A close-up of the top of the gallows.

Next up, installing the stays.

[Philip]

Looking Great Ron!

For the stays I used stretchy black cord. It still have elasticity after 7 years. Was easier and safer for my clumsy hands. I know when you paint that cord the stretchy-ness is gone in no time.  Just a thought.

Philip

[elwoodblues]

Looking Great Ron!

For the stays I used stretchy black cord. It still have elasticity after 7 years. Was easier and safer for my clumsy hands. I know when you paint that cord the stretchy-ness is gone in no time.  Just a thought.

Philip

Philip,

Funny you should mention that, I was thinking the same thing, I have black E-Z-LIne that I can use.  I think I'll try the wire that comes with the kit first.  If I have issues, I have a plan B. 

[deemery]

Simon (Kitwood Hills owner/designer) and I swapped messages on the wires.  I've always had problems getting precise bends in wires (e.g. truss rods).

dave

[elwoodblues]

Simon (Kitwood Hills owner/designer) and I swapped messages on the wires.  I've always had problems getting precise bends in wires (e.g. truss rods).

dave

Dave, the precise bends is what worries me as there are no bend diagrams to get the precise bends which means that they need to be done by eye.    I'm going to try it but if it turns out to be too difficult I'll use Philips method.

[deemery]

The related concern is drilling the diagonal hole through the outside tie/stringer for the guy wire:


(I'm enjoying reliving my build experience through your posts, Ron!)

dave

[Jerry]

Ron so far an outstanding job!

Jerry

[PRR Modeler]

I agree with Jerry. Outstanding. Good luck with the wire.

[elwoodblues]

Ron so far an outstanding job!

Jerry

Thanks Jerry,

[elwoodblues]

I agree with Jerry. Outstanding. Good luck with the wire.

Thanks Curt.  It turns out that the wire wasn't a problem.   

[elwoodblues]

Part 12 - The Dreaded Gallow Truss stays.

This is the part of the project that I was the most worried about.  The biggest issue is that there are no bending diagrams in the instructions, just a photo showing how the stays should be bent.  Because of this I was seriously considering using E-Z-Line for the stays, but that would be the easy way out.




After thinking about the stay issue I decided to make a full size template to make a bending diagram for the stays.  The stays are in blue.





Using the template I bent the stays into thew proper configuration.





The lower stays bent and installed.  I uses CA to glue these in place.  This pictures shows the stays in place before the saddle cap is installed.





The rest of the stays installed.





A close up of the bottom of the stays showing the "ties" that hold the stays in place.  These were also glued using CA.

[elwoodblues]

A close-up of the top of the gallows showing the saddle caps installed.  An interesting note is that a photo in the instructions shows holes in the saddle cap that are not on my saddle caps.  I believe the holes are for adding NBW castings.  This is a detail that I will add later.





An overall view of the bridge showing the stay installation.

That will be it for today, I've made a lot of progress the last three days so I'll be taking a small break from this project.

Thanks for looking in.