DOLL HOUSE Construction

[Thomp]

Im carving several charters from a western town and need to make a set for the charters to be part of,

presently planned is population of 10 and their prospective building, store front, boardwalk, saloon, bordello. and jail.

all so simple, to build it just like regular carpendry but resaw lumber dementions to scale.

walls built now for the roof's
building the roof trusses im stuck on,

the boards represenative of a 2x10 measure 5/8 x 1/8 inch, and at the peak of the truss there is no way to fasten them togather without modern building techniques, lap joints or

normally now days building trusses, we use sticker plates or plywood to sandwich the joint then bolt it togather or use sticker plates and press them into the wood with a press.
in the 1800's they didnt have this technology ....

any ideas how to make these look authenic to early 1800's construction?
nailing is out of the question, and just glue wont hold them...

[SharonW0111]

Thomp --- rembering from my childhood when the old west was young--it seems the trusses were made with wood as a bracket beam -- like a A but not as pointed ..../-\ .... I hope you can understand what I am talking about - I don't know all those fancy words for thing a ma jigs and whatch ma call its --but also I seem to rember that a lot of our roofs were only made from hay and mud..snicker,snicker
Sharon

[millwab]

Thomp,
Just a thought . . . in the 1800s did they use 2x10s (sounds like modern thought there) or did they use more of a square beam? I'm guessing it would be more like the sq beam (why oh why didn't I pay more attention to the buildings on Gunsmoke?). That may also give you enough surface area to glue them.

Bruce

[SharonW0111]

yea thomp --what bruce caaleed it-- i just didn't know the name of it ..
Sharon
ps it is made like the base frame on a floor

[Thomp]

Post & Beam Tenons & Pegs...

Post & beam construction,

surely came in to play in the west most certinly.

this technology was definately brought over from europe with the immigrants, as it is probobaly one of the most used construction methods from shipyards to mines. barns and townships.

but with the small timbers im dealing with doing post and beam construction will certinaly make the outer weight bering construction authenic.
but the time consumption! i dont think i got that many years left and would rather get old doing something else.

i was thinking along them lines with peg and mortis,

I Went to the local dedicated hobbie shop, he was no help as to authentic Methods, he had some balsa wood & railroading nails that you could only pick up with magnified tweezers. i forget the gage. but they were fine wire with heads. (Im thinking straight pins clipped off while im looking at them.) and he said they were very soft weak.. 100 for $8.00

another thought was piano wire, drilled into position and nipped off.

to make nails to attach this wood being pine in scale hardness to the size nail, it is above the stress it takes to drive nails into it. or the wood splits..

guess ill setup the dremel drill press and do peg and mortis.

wheres a shipbuilder when you need one haw!


I do believe the roofs were built to relation of slope for the weather requirements to shed the snow and ice or they would have been many of colder winters spent in them old places when they were burried in the avalanche. HAW...

being raised in some of the sawmill towns and mining shacks on the colorado divide as a child, i should have much better memories, my first cognisent memory of a place we lives in was a 1849ers miners hotel in montizuma colorado, where it wasent nothing to have a 20 foot snow drift block the school bus from comming to get us for school.. we missed lot of school but hated to have to stay home as well.
mom usualy kept us busy with catching up on chores...

thanks for the replys..

thanks for the help in getting me going,

[minowevie]

HI Bill. Yes I do believe most of the construction was with mortise and tenon joints. also over hanging dove tails in corners of walls eather out of logs or 6' thick boards. I won't pretend to know much about this. but I do believe alot of things was held together with locust pigs. pushed into holes drilled with augers. or whittaled buy hand, in differant shapes. I would think you could cheat alittle and use a modern drill and some wood pags , tooth picks might work. I bet you think im realy smart huh. NOPE> i just have a cool set of books, lots of pictuers, and you could find these in a liabrary. they are called The Foxfire Books . buy Eliot Wiggmton. then Foxfire 2 , 3 , 4 etc. there are 7 of them . and the first one has some pretty detailed pictuers in it. this was about hillbillys, back in the late 1800s an I believe alot of folks back then did building the same way. it speciahly has roofs in it. hope this is some help. oh ya didn't they use square nails back then too . your friend Evie

[Thomp]

Evie,

yes they had clip nails back then but probobally to expencive to use except for in the mayors house.

i have been lucky enough to latch on to one of the foxfire books i think its one of the last ones i think.
funny how a school teachers homework project turned into a 8 book volume... i told my kids that the set of books is all they need to bring back civilization from an ice age. they tell you everything.

(i googled) 'old style mortice and tendon joints' lastnight and came up with some good tips on old style framework where the bones - fraiming of the structure was mortice and tenden but the floorboards & roof rafters were inset into beveled notches so the weight would only make the joints tighter.

truly im thinking of throwing out the autheniticity out the window in lew for the better construction methods of metal tabs and 5 minuet epoxy, the set bones wont be seen anyway

i never intended to use a chizzle and mallet to make the mortisis and tendens thats why mr dewalt invented power tools...
thanks for the ideas minowevie

[minowevie]

lol BIll . I was sure you was going to use a chizzle and mallet. I think I would go for what worked the best too. Im sure your project will be grand. I for one can not wait to see . your friend Evie
ps I did not know there was 8 foxfire books. wish I had them all. I just love all that old way of doing things. from what to do with snake bites to making soap out of pig lard and lie. I betcha I 'd fit rite in there. lol.

[Thomp]

EVIE,

?? who bill is? if your conversating with me im Thomas G Perrin always called tom so i shortened it for the computer thomp so folks would know me.

never the less I found a set of Set 8 Foxfire Books - Volumes 1-8 on ebay shortcut to item
http://www.zippyauctions.info/goto?u...m%3D4626662692

and the link in my signature cowtown is a blog where i been posting charters i been carving for it...
leave a comment if you stop in let mew know how im doing.

[minowevie]

minowevie,

?? who bill is? if your conversating with me im Thomas G Perrin always called tom so i shortened it for the computer thomp so folks would know me.

never the less I found a set of Set 8 Foxfire Books - Volumes 1-8 on ebay shortcut to item
http://www.zippyauctions.info/goto?u...m%3D4626662692

and the link in my signature cowtown is a blog where i been posting charters i been carving for it...
leave a comment if you stop in let mew know how im doing.

TOM, I am so sorry. I have no idea where I got Bill. your friend ????? now what was my name.

[Thomp]

sorry evie,
I stand corrected...
thomp