Davetown Boardwalk

[DaveInTheHat]

Thanks. Almost 400 boards.

[DaveInTheHat]

I decided to add a railing along the edge of the boardwalk since it's kinda high. I drew out a template in Illustrator and  printed it out. Then laid wax paper over it. I glued the top rail to the template with Elmer's glue. Then glued the posts. Once they were dry I trimmed any that were too long and glued on the bottom plate. Once that dried I touched all the connections with a drop of super glue. Then added the top and center rails.





It isn't glued in place yet. I might give it a wash of white paint to make it stand out a little better.

[bparrish]

Wow !!!!

That's cool.

Thanx
Bob

[gnatshop]

Ok, I'll admit - this is a copy of the post I made on the old forum -

Good move!!
I'd hate to see the hot women on the boardwalk fall off and get their 'err' hair full of sand!!

Serussly, I love this build and it's flexibility in use!!!

[DaveInTheHat]

I added more blacktop to build it up to the level of the boardwalk. I added sand to the mix this time. It gave it a bit of a rough texture. I like how it came out. The sand makes it much harder to sand after it dries.



I found a picture of a No Parking stencil through a Google search. I sized it so the letters are 1/2" tall x 1 1/2" wide and printed it out. I drew straight lines with a pen to make it easier to line up. Then I covered it with a strip of heavy packing tape. The tape keeps the paper from ripping when I cut the really close parts where the letters are not connected and it keeps the paint from soaking into the paper.



It took about 15 minutes to cut it out. I did it freehand, so it isn't perfect and it doesn't really matter. Letters painted on asphalt are pretty rough anyway.



Taped it in place and used some foam packing material that I saved and dabbed a couple layers of paint down. The important part is to press hard enough to get the paint through and do it fast enough that it doesn't bleed under the stencil.



I like to pull the stencil off right away because if there is any bleed the stencil will stick to the paint. It worked ok. There's a couple spots that I can clean up after it dries for a few days.



I did a wash of "Vintage White" on the railings. After that dries I'll go over it with a wire brush and knock some of it off. I think it looks better with a touch of color on it. Without the contrast it blended into the boardwalk too much.

[DACS]

That's a lot of boards.  But, it has been worth it!

Dave   HWCRR
Seattle

[DaveInTheHat]

I wanted to make access to the beach. Since the boardwalk is so high steps seemed like the way to go. I used and index card and made a little mock up.



I wasn't sure what I was going to make the steps out of. I was thinking about using plastic for the stringers and wood for the steps. When I got the mail some credit card company was kind enough to send me this nice piece of coated card stock.



I used my crafty pinking shears to cut the stringers and just cut some strips the right width for the tread. I glued the stingers to a piece of wax paper with school glue, chopped up the treads longer than I needed, then glued them in place.





That worked.



I built a little landing one step down from the boardwalk. I built this in place starting by installing the poles and then working from there.



I put a base in for the bottom of the stairs. I had to build up the sand to make a little bit of a level walkway. The stairs got a quick coat of spray can primer and then a coat of Folk Art Barnwood.



I put more pilings in for the handrail, then built them in place.





The base is finished except for a little touch up on the paint and a few glue spots. I might add some seaweed or a little bit of tall grass later on.

[S&S RR]

You have made great progress since I stopped by last week - it just keeps getting better.

[cuse]

Really nice! Great job on the finishes and the patience 


John

[DaveInTheHat]

I picked up this printed poster board with clouds on it at Staples. I think it cost around $2.00. I cut a scrap of Masonite for the back and glued the sky on it. It was a piece of scrap that was full of nail holes. I cut around the nail holes, that's why its got curves in it.



Here's the boxes of junk and "stuff" that I'm trying to get rid of.
This is the one I keep on my bench until it gets full.



These are the ones that have all the other weird stuff and scraps.







This is the box that I have stuff sorted out. I go into this box a lot. It's pretty well organized.



So...
I just grabbed a hand full of stuff and started sticking it together with out any real plan other than it's a french fry place.



Here's what I came up with so far.



I'm not sure if I'm going to use this one or not. Everything is crooked and it's kind of sloppy looking.

[gnatshop]

French Fries get kind crooked and sloppy lookin' while they're cookin'!

That appearance passes on to the stand owners - don't matter what the stand looks
like - as long as the fries taste good and draw the customers!!!

[DaveInTheHat]

The proportions are way off. Everything is out of whack and the sign is too big. I'm just not happy with the way it looks.

[deemery]

The proportions are way off. Everything is out of whack and the sign is too big. I'm just not happy with the way it looks.

Sometimes, the best thing to do is understand what went wrong and be willing to start over.  It's always painful to discard any investment, no matter how small, made in valuable hobby time. 


I'm looking forward to the replacement, it'll be interesting to compare the two to understand why the first just wasn't right.


dave (who has been thinking a lot lately about 'design processes' and the distinction between 'architecture' and 'engineering', albeit in a different domain.)

[LongHornCaddy]

Very nice Dave!

[Slim Jerkins]

I think the bottom half works and the top half needs about 2/3 cut off.

I'm seeing a s sign above the awning that reads "Boardwalk Fries" and a cutout cartoonie-looking shack with the name "Tin Shack" on it above the Boardwalk Fires sign. I dunno. I just like the name "The Tin Shack" for some reason and I like your use of the tin scraps.

-slim