Chain link fencing...


Wedding Veil Lace

Guys,

I have been using wedding veil lace as the core component of chain link fencing for quite a number of years. While not truly HO scale it gives a very good effect. Commercial products that I have seen which are "scale" tend to be almost translucent because while the grid may be scale the actual "wire" is always grossly oversized. Much of this fencing was installed on club modular layouts and no one has ever complained that the fence meshing is too big. All reviews have been very positive.

I have found that it is best to paint the mesh colour at a workbench prior to attaching it to the support posts and rails for several reasons, one being that the openness of the veil allows a lot of overspray that gets all over the layout and second that painting before gluing the veil to the support posts keeps the mesh "see through". When gluing the veil to the posts it is almost inevitable that some glue will get onto the mesh "clogging" the openings. When painting these "clogged cells" hold paint and the mesh effect is lost. Weathering is of course done after installation so this is another reason to be as careful as possible when gluing the lace to the posts and rails.

Once I figure out how to post photos to this site I'll send a few pictures of my work. (Any directions would be much appreciated!)

Thanks and Cheers

Carl
 
Love to see it, Carl, your approach sounds much like mne.

To post a pic, you need to first make sure it's not too large. I try to use 800-900 wide as a max altho tyou can go up to 1024 if needed.

Use the Post Reply if in a current thread and want to post pic, the Quick Reply won't attach images (but will take links).

In your reply, below the box you type the message into will be a box "Manage Attachments". Use that to attach up to 4 images to your post. Just browse and pic your image, one or up to 4, then hit Upload, wait a few, then Close this Window. It's one of the simpler ways around, give it a go and if you have more questions, just ask!
 
Chain Link Fence Photos

Ken,

Thanks for the information. I should have seen the attachment manager! :eek:

Anyway here are a couple of photos from an industiral scene built on a corner module of the Victoria B.C. club in the mid 1990's in which I was highly involved. Note that the fenceline curves around one side of the "property" which necessitated a relatively soft material, splatter screen mesh would be hard to curve in this way. Anyway lots of stories about this module if anyone volunteers to hear them.

Cheers

Carl
 
Welcome to the forums, Carl!! Seems that someone once told me, "never volunteer." But here's a case where I must make an exception! Please, by all means, share the story of this module. :)
 
Simulated Grating

All,

Since this thread started with chain link fencing but seems to have peetered out a bit I'll start my module stories with simulated gratings. (Another "see-through" item so I think it is not totally out of line for this thead.)

As I was then single this module and it's partners at each end were located at my home for development, the largest with an envelope of 4ft x 8ft in my living room. I hosted weeky worknights for the whole club and with the help of another member did a lot of work outside of those work nights, indeed the two of us probably did 65% of the total work. During one of those nights when the two of us were working on foundation and concrete pad, test fitting the main building (a modified Walthers Vulcan Manufacturing Plant) it very quickly became apparent that the interior of the main building would need some interior detail. At the end of the evening Les asked what we should do and I said I'd think of something appropriate. Two factors that were critical to me were 1, an appropriate machine shop and 2, some vertical detail to make use of the interior height of the building. (I've spent most of my working life around heavy industry so I have a good "feel" for the general arrangement of shops and their requirements.)
What I came up with was a "mezzanine level" machine shop for a few lathes, milling machines and drilling machines. I didn't however want this to be a just a simple concrete slab floor half way up the building. Based on ideas formed from a shop I had once briefly seen I decided to make the mezannine floor from grating. Plano grating was available but was far too expensive for the club and in truth it didn't have the rectanguar grid I wanted. In the end I made a paper mock-up of the floor shape I wanted and tested the machine tools on it. Finally I built the grid in autocad and printed it out at 600dpi onto an accetate sheet with a laser printer (pretty much as good as it came in 1995). The acetate was then finally glued to a colourless styrene blank, the edges of which were finally blackened with a felt marker giving a decent simulated grating, especialy when viewed from above as this machine shop normally is through removable roof panels. (In future projects I will print the grating directly onto decal sheet eliminating the acetate intermendiate step. At the time blank decal sheet wasn't easily available.) The machine tools are by Noch painted by another member well familiar with engineering shops. I have been unable to find the Noch machine tools find for the last 6 years and my personal stock has been almost depleted adding a small machine shop section to my brother's engine house I which is my current large kitbash project.

So here photos of the machine shop prior to installation and an overall shot of the module.

Questions, comments and improvement advise would be much appreciated.

Cheers

Carl
 
Hi Carl, your machine shop is quite impressive. That's a neat idea on making a grid work floor. I can see a few more uses for that method, one that comes to mind is bridges, there are some around here that have grid work instead of pavement. Hope you will continue with your module posts. Thanks
Cheers Willis
 
Ken's method of making chain link fencing is the same as I have used for years, though Ken's description is probably better than mine would have been. I'm planning on using RCH's galvanizing trick next time I add some fencing. It sounds like a neat way to add color variations to an otherwise uniform "product". Also think about adding some "rust" stains to some of the fence posts and fencing - as the fence ages, the galvanizing wears off and rust appears.

So that no one gets confused when going to the fabric store -- bridal veils are made from tulle. And tulle comes in a wide variety of mesh sizes, some fine enough for N gauge fencing. It comes in widths up to 108" and is CHEAP. Jo-Ann Fabrics, a nationwide chain, sells 54" for $2.49/yard. It is also sold in craft stores by the spool - 6" wide by 25 yards long, also for about $2.50. That's a lot of fencing, but also allows for errors and experiments.

Kevin
 
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