Hobbies And Interests
Home  >> Hobbies >> Model Railroads

How to Scratch and Build HO Scale Fences

For most people, detailing is what really makes a model train layout special and it can be the most fun part of the process. It is the little things, especially when they are handmade, that give a model railroad its character. Scratch building fences is a nice way to add that kind of character and it is not particularly difficult. Naturally, a picket fence will require more out of a builder than a split rail fence, but the process is basically the same.

Things You'll Need

  • Calculator
  • Metric ruler
  • Balsa wood sheets, 1/16 inch and 1/8 inch width
  • Dowel rods, 1/16 inch and 1/8 inch diameter
  • Mechanical pencil
  • Hobby knife with blades
  • Razor saw or coping saw
  • Cyanoacrylate glue
  • CA glue accelerator
  • Toothpicks
  • Paint or stains
  • Small brushes
Show More

Instructions

    • 1

      Collect real world measurements of the fences you wish to model and convert to millimeters using an online conversion calculator. For example, a picket that is 36 inches tall and 4 inches wide would be 914.4 mm tall and 101.6 mm wide.

    • 2

      Divide the millimeter measurements by 87 since HO scale is 1/87th the size of real world objects. In our example, the HO scale picket would be 10.5 mm tall and 1.16 mm wide.

    • 3

      Round the scale dimensions to the nearest millimeter. In this case, the picket becomes 11 mm tall and 1 mm wide.

    • 4

      Draw pickets and flat rails to scale on 1/16-inch thick sheets of balsa wood lightly with a mechanical pencil and cut the pickets from the balsa wood slowly with a hobby knife using a blade.

    • 5

      Mark round rails, crossbars, and posts to scale on 1/16th dowel rods and cut.

    • 6

      Glue the cross rails to the posts at right angles using cyanoacrylate, or CA glue, applying a small amount at the bonding points with a toothpick and spraying CA glue accelerator for a quick bond.

    • 7

      Apply any pickets or vertical bars with CA glue, toothpicks and accelerator.

    • 8

      Paint or stain as desired using detailing brushes before inserting the fence into your model railroad layout.

Model Railroads
Model Railroads

https://www.htfbw.com © Hobbies And Interests