Thin materials

[Garno]

Hello and a much belated happy new year to you all.

Amongst the gifts that Mrs G. got me for Christmas was a second hane book called "Making Dolls' Houses in 1/12 Scale" by Brian Nickolls.

Today I decided to put an end to Mrs G's nagging and I opened the book and started reading it. Well who would of known the amount of work and uses of different skill sets that actually go into making a miniature house (Note I have stopped calling it a dolls' house). The book is written by an American for use primarily in the States where different types of wood are more readily available.

I have opted (Well Mrs G opted me) to make the first house in the book as apparently it is an easy one to start with, I can safely say his idea of easy and mine, differ greatly. There is a step by step guide and I actually look forward to creating some saw dust making it, or something that slightly resembles it.

The problem I seem to of encountered before I even start is where to get the wood, apparently a good piece of 4 x 2 is no good for a miniature (not dolls') house. It's the thicknesses that are throwing me as well as a wood called "Lime" I always assumed that was a type of fruit, but hey ho.

This is what I am looking for, wood type, thickness,

Mahogany 1.6mm
3mm
6mm
8mm
10mm
13mm
19mm
22mm

Lime 1mm
3mm
6mm

Lime or beech 19mm

Pine 38mm

Mahogany or birch ply 9mm to cover 1.39 sq m

Birch Ply 3mm to cover 0.14 sq m
1.5mm to cover 0.05 sq m
0.8mm to cover 0.3 sq m

How hard can it be :shock:

 

[Brandlin]

Lime is native to the UK (assuming they mean the same species) its Tilia Europea (spelling?).

If you are looking for wood already planed to thickness, then ebay is your friend - there are many dolls house supplies sellers that sell it. I just did a search for 3mm Mahogany and in the craft section got 44 results all selling sticks and sheet of various sizes.

You will certianly find i tmuch cheaper (and possibly more fulfilling depending on your woodworking approach) to just buy the material in a standard form and resaw it for your specific use.

 

[Just4Fun]

That brings back memories. I remember buying lime for carving projects. It was a light-coloured wood and quite good for that as I recall - I seemed to be able to carve it nearly as easily as I carved my fingers. However that was 1971 and I was 12 at the time so my memory holds few other details. I do know the place I bought it closed down decades ago.

 

[thetyreman]

Lime is pretty cheap, mahogany if it's genuine will not be cheap, I know treestation have a lot of lime wood, will any of this be seen? I ask because why does it have to be mahogany? there are lots of alternatives, pine should be quite easy to get hold of.

 

[Lons]

Lime certainly isn't generally soft and it's only easy to carve if you use sharp tools, it's a hardwood and holds a nice crisp clean edge, I've just finished a couple of small lime carvings and the wood was pretty hard.
The guys over the pond often use basswood which is similar in appearance to lime but much softer, I've carved with both and a finished carving in basswood can be easily marked by a fingernail. The 2 species are regularly confused.

I doubt you need to slavishly follow the book as far as timber species is concerned as long as you use straight grained materials of the correct dimension. Beech, oak, ash are all suitable and mahogany easily obtained from old furniture which is being virtually given away by charities and auction houses and in skips, I'm about to do the same with some dining furniture from MIL house as nobody wants it. Shame you're so far away I have loads of most of those woods. Ply of that thickness is probably a model shop jobbie though.
A decent bandsaw can cut to size but you would need to finish by hand unless you have access to a drum sander.

 

[Geoff_S]

Oh dear, run while you can :shock:

 

[Garno]

Sadly my skills are nowhere near good enough to get the various thicknesses correct. I will be making the building of this a main project, I expect it to take me a few months to do. If I am investing that amount of time into anything I think I really need to do it as per the instructions and learn from it. When doing the next one I can change wood types.

The one I am attempting is a Victorian Shop covering 3 floors, the mahogany is for the inside of the shop and the facia of the building. The inside of the 2 other floors are of a different wood. If mine ends up looking half as good as the one shown that the author has done then I will be very happy indeed.

If it turns out good I will be posting a pic, if it turns out bad I will be posting a letter to the lonely hearts club as Mrs G will no doubt divorce me, so no pressure :wink:

 

[Trevanion]

Sapele or Utile would make for an excellent and very cost-effective alternative to genuine Mahogany, looks and behaves practically the same and no one will notice the difference.

Please post pictures, I really like looking at small-scale stuff, especially the model timber frames houses.

[youtube]Q5RY2KYYI0E[/youtube]

 

[Garno]

Sapele or Utile would make for an excellent and very cost-effective alternative to genuine Mahogany, looks and behaves practically the same and no one will notice the difference.

Please post pictures, I really like looking at small-scale stuff, especially the model timber frames houses.

[youtube]Q5RY2KYYI0E[/youtube]

Very nice, maybe one day I will try that. If the one I am trying turns out to be ok I just might try the framework buildings next

 

[thetyreman]

+1 on sapele or utile replacement,

you might be able to get a timber yard or ask a joiner to make them to the exact sizes needed, somebody on here might be able to help out with the sizing.

 

[Garno]

+1 on sapele or utile replacement,

you might be able to get a timber yard or ask a joiner to make them to the exact sizes needed, somebody on here might be able to help out with the sizing.

I will take a look on a well known auction site as suggested by Brandlin but will change the Mahogany to sapele or utile.
I really need to get around to visiting timber yards as I always thought the only did 2 x 4 and the like. How sad is that




.

 

[Deadeye]

Mahogany 1.6mm
3mm
6mm
8mm
10mm
13mm
19mm
22mm

How big do you need (length/ width)?
I have a box of decent sized vintage parquet bricks in mahogany that polish up absolutely beautifully. I'd gladly send you a couple. (I've had so much kindness and support and generousity on here, it would be a pleasure to pass the favour on).

 

[Bod]

Stain is your friend.
Use what materials you can find, then colour to taste.

Bod

 

[Garno]

Mahogany 1.6mm
3mm
6mm
8mm
10mm
13mm
19mm
22mm

How big do you need (length/ width)?
I have a box of decent sized vintage parquet bricks in mahogany that polish up absolutely beautifully. I'd gladly send you a couple. (I've had so much kindness and support and generousity on here, it would be a pleasure to pass the favour on).

I will message you tomorrow if thats ok

 

[profchris]

The thinner sheets you'll only find in model making suppliers - both my local towns have a shop. They stock 1.5mm, 3mm and 6mm from memory, in 100mx600mm sheets.

Always spruce, usually obeche (soft and yellow, easy to work), and quite often mahogany. Online you can find walnut too. Plus other species and ply.

This is a longstanding supplier:

https://www.alwayshobbies.com/materials/wood

 

[Deadeye]

How big do you need (length/ width)?
I have a box of decent sized vintage parquet bricks in mahogany that polish up absolutely beautifully. I'd gladly send you a couple. (I've had so much kindness and support and generousity on here, it would be a pleasure to pass the favour on).

I will message you tomorrow if thats ok

Hi
Received your e-mail (didn't know you could do that - I've always used private messaging on the site).
I'll get a couple of tiles in the post tomorrow. Pass the karma on.

 

[Deadeye]

Meant to add, do you want them planed and perhaps one resawn if thinner is the thing?

 

[toysandboats]

Having finished my second house which was built from a set of plans called Park View from Hobbies (Hobby's is a separate company), most modern houses are built from MDF or sometimes ply. MDF is available in so many thicknesses, I bought sheets of 2mm, 4mm, 6mm, 9mm and 12mm and went from there. The real work tends to only start once the house "skeleton" is built, with painting, decorating and furniture making and "fitting out". A lot of real wood comes from the US and so is actually imperial rather than metric.

If you really want wood, then I have used all of the following:- Alwayshobbies, Hobby's, 4D model shop, Cornwall Model Boats, Bromley Craft Products & J & A Supplies. They all do mail order and some go to the shows around the country.

There are numerous shows, the biggest being Miniatura at the NEC twice a year and the Kensinsington Dolls Fair in London which is impressive.
There are also 2 or 3 monthly magazines , try W H Smiths.
As you may have guessed, this is an area that I have now migrated to and I'm very happy to talk about it and answer any questions.
As someone else suggested, it is yet another slippery slope, building your own "Dolls House" can easily cost well over £1000, but you do get some excellent little tools!

David

 

[gog64]

This sounds quite a project, do a write up as you go (please), I'd love to see it. I've built exactly two dolls houses as I have two daughters! The first one was when I still lived in Murca, and came as a set of plans and all the timber included (right down to tiny individual shingles for the roof). It took me months! The second time was after I moved back to Blighty. No kits available, so I bought a book and sourced the materials. That took even longer, but worked out OK in the end. It's a labour of love and will drive you nuts.

 

[Garno]

Meant to add, do you want them planed and perhaps one resawn if thinner is the thing?

Yes please if it's not too much trouble.

Remember to let me know how much the postage is, if not I will throw a tenner in the Ashgate Hospice collection tin your behalf.