Site hosted by Angelfire.com: Build your free website today!

Logger Shacks

skidsh~1.jpg (33091 bytes)
Two styrene & cedar simple log shacks

Primed.JPG (239143 bytes)Prime white styrene with base spray of yellow brown paint. Water based paint has fewer hazards than solvent based paint..

SideSk.JPG (249546 bytes)

Windows are sprayed on the back side black. The front of the clear window acetate has small painted mullion lines using one of three methods: A. The Remarkably Steady Hand (good luck)

B. Frisket film  (I prefer matte over gloss. Carried at art stores where air brush supplies are displayed)  overlay with mullions cut out using a sharp Xacto blade.

C. Use a line drawing pen purple~1.jpg (148462 bytes)  with thinned paint to scribe mullions using a cork backed ruler. The cork backed ruler prevents movement. This pen can be found in craft or art stores. Store clerks usually do not know this pen exists, even if on the shelf!

Styrene log shacks are relatively easy to make.
 

NOTE:

The techniques of building with styrene and hand made tools I learned at a two day workshop given by Glenda Bockel in Lake Oswego, Oregon. The painting  techniques were taught by Neal Tooze. The methods I outline below utilize what I retained of what they taught. 

Materials needed:

Circular paper cutter or table saw or other method of cutting styrene that works for you, riffler files, Menda Pump pots with MEK, cheap small paint brushes, sharp X-Acto blades with handle, sandpaper, and small home made styrene squares.

rifflers.JPG (22619 bytes)Coarse riffler file sets enable making boards look weathered. Inexpensive files work fine. The link attached to the "riffler files" list above has a low cost set far down the list of hand tools my link guides your browser to peruse. As Glenda Bockel suggested, I cut the files in half and add an oak dowel handle to each by drilling a small hole and pounding the file tang into the homemade handle.

mendap~3.jpg (20927 bytes) Menda pumps allow a tiny amount of volatile liquid (M.E.K.) to be dispensed with a tiny push of a brush on the lid which pumps a bit of solvent into the cup of the lid. This reduces the amount of fumes.

circle~1.jpg (16811 bytes) circul~1.jpg (19279 bytes)Circular paper cutters enable perfectly squared scoring of styrene sheets. Simply score, bend, and break off the styrene! No waste. No sanding. Fast and accurate cutting of styrene.

square.jpg (14638 bytes) Make your own styrene squares out of sheet styrene and a pair of strips M.E.K. bonded to both sides of one edge of the square. The strips form a straight edge to place your square against the styrene you are cutting with a Xacto blade.

gluesy~1.jpg (20065 bytes)Syringes for glue can be purchased at many wood working supply stores.

purple1.jpg (148462 bytes)Small drafting line drawing pens are useful for windows. Fill the pen's tiny cup with thinned paint and use a cork backed ruler to guide the pen so you can draw mullions. Alternate method is to use frisket film on the unpainted side of the window pane. Cut the mullions with a sharp Xacto blade and remove the thin mullion frisket so sprayed paint will paint the mullions.

logsha~2.jpg (25340 bytes)
fornycok.jpg (37858 bytes)