Help with milling profiles in thin wood

[Shawn Cavaretta]

I need to mill scale clapboard profile in wood that is 1/16" thick.

Any idea what type of machine i could buy to do this.

thanks
Shawn

[DOUG ANGEL]

What scale and how much clapboard do you need. Architectural models usually draw faint lines on the material. Go to evergreenscalemodels.com if you can use plastic. A table router with a self made jig would work.

[Shawn Cavaretta]

The scales i work in are 1/87 1/64 1/48. I produce a line of structure kits for model railroaders. that are laser cut out of basswood. I have been buying the clapboard milled in wood already but i am limited to a max width of 6".
I want to produce my own in widths up to 12" wide.

[DOUG ANGEL]

What scale and how much clapboard do you need. Go to evergreenscalemodels.com if you can use plastic on your project. A router table with a special jig would work, but I would be concerned about safety with such thin stock. Mabe use double sided tape and stick the thin stock to a thicker backer board. The biggest problems I see is getting the clapboard angle right and even spacing for the simulated boards. A micro adjustable router fence, and shimming the router on the table to get the correct clapboard angle, might get you the repeatability you need.

[DOUG ANGEL]

The scales i work in are 1/87 1/64 1/48. I produce a line of structure kits for model railroaders. that are laser cut out of basswood. I have been buying the clapboard milled in wood already but i am limited to a max width of 6".
I want to produce my own in widths up to 12" wide.
I just saw your answer, AFTER I replied to the first question. If it were me, and I intended to produce the clapboard commercially, and IF I didn't want to use a laser, I would go with a heavy duty router table, good router, router lift, and Incra Jig. I would probably just shim the router on the table to make the correct clapboard angle. The Incra Jig would give you the necessary repeatability for clapboard simulation and allow even wider boards. This is an expensive solution, but if you are doing it commercially it would probably be a tax deduction. Please keep in mind that this would be MY solution to this problem, and others may have a more ingenious solution for you.

[Shawn Cavaretta]

my orignal idea was to use a woodmaster moulder and have knives cut for the profile. but after talking to the guys at woodmaster they are saying the wood is to thin and would not feed right.

[DOUG ANGEL]

my orignal idea was to use a woodmaster moulder and have knives cut for the profile. but after talking to the guys at woodmaster they are saying the wood is to thin and would not feed right.

Ask them if you used your thin stock double stick taped to 1" plywood would work and be safe enough.

[John TenEyck]

my orignal idea was to use a woodmaster moulder and have knives cut for the profile. but after talking to the guys at woodmaster they are saying the wood is to thin and would not feed right.

I think that would work fine except you need to start out with a thick piece of stock. After you cut the profile on the molder slice off whatever thickness you need on the bandsaw and then sand the backside to final thickness with a drum sander. Obviously you need a bandsaw with 12" resaw capacity and a drum sander for this approach to work.

John

[David L Morse]

Could you use a CNC router modified to hold the motor at an angle? The versatility of that would seem to match up with the rest of your shop better than hard tooling on a moulder.

[Lee Schierer]

Build a shim for your router to tip the exposed end of the bit to the angle needed for your clap boards. Use a flat bottom cutting bit and raise it above the table to get the depth of clap board you need. Use your fence to guide the thin stock across the table. The bit will make an angled cut, raising and lowering the bit will change the width of the clapboard face to what ever you need. You can use feather boards or a flat push block to run the thin stock across the table for each cut. The Incra fence suggested above will give you the precise spacing you need for each clapboard row.

[Peter Quinn]

Perhaps a sled on a drum sander would work? Or maybe a glue line blade on a TS in conjunction with a jointer whose fence is set at the correct angle. Joint and edge at say 8 degrees or so, rip it square using a thin stock jig or a good push block that rides the fence, repeat.