Clinker Pit Build (1:87)

Wednesday March 14, 2013

In the C&NW facilities book two examples of cinder pits appropriate to the 1880's are presented.  Both are of stone construction, approximately twenty feet in length and four feet deep.

 This is a pattern that I created to cast rock foundation walls.  It is a scale eight feet tall and eight seven feet long.  There is a wood backing 1/8 inch thick. I applied a thin layer of modeling paste to the surface and the pressed pieces of kitty litter into the surface.  When the whole works dried I made an RTV mold and use it to cast hyrocal parts.

Here is what the parts look like when they come from the mold.

The first step is to cut out the base it is four feet wide and twenty feet long.  I used a hack saw to cut the hydrocal.

Measure out the length of the pit wall using the base as a guide.  Cut off the wall section and then repeat the process for the opposite side.

The top of the pit wall is capped with a 12x16 timber.  This means that the wall will be three feet above the floor.  Measure down the three feet position the floor and mark the bottom of the base.  Cut off the excess wall material.

To get a tight fit for all of the parts it is necessary to smooth out the rock surface where the parts butt.
Place the base against the wall matching the bottoms.  Now use a pencil to draw a line along the top edge of the bottom.

Now using a sanding block smooth the surface below the line made in the prior step.  Repeat this for the other side.

The ends require that both the bottom and the sides be smoothed.

This is how the box looks after sanding and fitting.

Tuesday March 19, 2013

I primed the castings with flat white spray paint purchased at a big box home improvement store.  Once dry I painted the stone with washes of Polly Scale UP Harbor Mist gray and the followed up with a wash of Pullman Green.  Once dry I dabbed on some diluted burnt sienna.  Again I let the colors dry and then washed the surface with diluted Dr Bens Instant Age (diluted India ink).

To created mortar effects I dilute Liquitex Modeling paste (it contains powdered marble) into a wash and then carefully flood the areas between stones.  I did not want a lot of mortar showing so I did this sparingly.  To reduce the whiteness I applied some diluted Instant Age.

I bonded the box together using five minute epoxy.

I textured a pair of scale 12x16 timbers using a file edge and then stained them with diluted Instant Age and Weathered Rust.  I have never used the concentrated Instant age or Weathered Rust as the stain is far to dark I always use dilutions.  Unless I state something to the contrary you can understand that I am always using a diluted solution of Dr Bens products.  Once the stain is dry I attached the timbers with ACC making sure that the space between them was four feet.