WEST ORTON

[Steve M]

I mentioned that my detail static grass applicator had died so I have decided to see if I can utilise some of its parts with the static unit from a bug zapper.

This is the one I ordered from Amazon and the old unit.

20211008_093806 by Steve Mumford, on Flickr

I removed the ‘racket head’ and cut the wires leading to the metal grids. These grids are in a three part sandwich with one side of the circuit connected to the two outer layers and the other wire to the middle layer. I had seen on line that it is the middle layer wire that needs to be connected to the dispenser - in this model that’s the red wire.

20211008_094631 by Steve Mumford, on Flickr

I had removed the dispenser and the crocodile clip from the old unit and now soldered them to the wires in the bug zapper and used some heatshrink for insulation. After reassembly of the handle which becomes the battery holder, I sealed the end with hot glue. Of course for a more traditional static applicator you can use a metal tea strainer instead of the dispenser I used.

20211008_104228 by Steve Mumford, on Flickr

And yes it works.

[Steve M]

Today I have been replacing the felt on the shed roof.
The weather forecast said ‘warm, sunny’, the phrase ‘Indian Summer’ has been widely broadcast.........what they failed to mention was that my part of the country would get the monsoon part of that summer!
At least I just managed to get the underlay layer down with two minute sleep to spare.
Hoping it’s dry enough tomorrow to get the capsheet on.

[Steve M]

I was lucky that it stopped raining while I was watching the GP but there really is nothing as ridiculous as a grown man using a window squeegee and a towel to dry the roof!
Still, managed to fit the cap sheet and seal the overlaps with a very hot air gun and roller.
Another busy day tomorrow though, refit the wood trim around the roof and trim off the excess felt, and try and get an appointment at the vet for the dog. He needs his annual boosters and there is a suspicion of toothache - that is not going to be cheap.

[Steve M]

This week I completed the ‘broad brush’ static grass around the yard and TT although the detail tufts and weeds are still on the to do list. I’ve also put in some barrow crossings although a track cleaning exercise has just shown that there is some adjustment needed.
It also appears that a section of track has gone dead so some investigation is needed.

20211016_113020 by Steve Mumford, on Flickr

20211016_112951 by Steve Mumford, on Flickr

[bulleidboy]

That looks very good Steve - did you use the same process with the static grass as before - 2mm followed by 4mm?

[Steve M]

That looks very good Steve - did you use the same process with the static grass as before - 2mm followed by 4mm?

Yes, 2mm spring/summer mix layered with 4mm summer followed by a top layer of 4mm dead grass.

[Taxidad1]

Looking forward to seeing the progress.

[Steve M]

Having been presented with a big vet bill this morning, any work on the layout will have to follow a strict budget for a while.
I’ve been thinking about some lineside fencing for a while and have now gone into production.
The posts are matchsticks - £1 per packet from Hobbycraft. Drilled in a small jig to keep the spacing consistent. The wires are just that - two strands of thin copper wire (found in the bits box ) tightly wound together. There’s a trial piece in the photo.

20211019_112413 by Steve Mumford, on Flickr

The paint finish is going to be a bit of a conundrum. In the past, I have sprayed wood with Halfords white primer then given them a black wash to get that typical silver-grey of weathered wood. I’m not sure spraying potentially a few hundred of these posts, is a practical option though.
So a few test pieces using wood dye, white paint, white wash, black wash, white ink - not sure which is best.

20211019_120633 by Steve Mumford, on Flickr

[Brian]

Interesting project Steve.

I would treat the matchsick posts the same as the real fence manufacturers do (in the main!) and dip them in a bath of wood dye. OK the real ones are dipped or pressure treated in preservative, but a wood dye dip will be simple to use. Leave for a few minutes, strain and leave on newspaper etc to dry!

[Steve M]

That’s the way I am thinking Brian. The stick on the left is plain Colron wood dye in the second photo. They should match the sleeper wall around my TT which had the same treatment. And, as you said, very easy to apply.