Railway sleeper

[zac]

Front face. " dog spike" inserted in top edge

Back side

Latest project
Railway sleeper docked to length, sliced in half, one face surfaced, one left natural, "dog spike" inserted for hanging on wall.
Wayne

[jeb2cav]

That's pretty slick Wayne. What is your method for getting the black into the carving and what materials are you using?

[Eagle55]

That is very nice and rustic. I love it! Where did you get the railway sleeper timber? Did you plane the finished surface or do a planing cut on the Shark?

Roger

[Wolffie1]

That is very nice and rustic. I love it! Where did you get the railway sleeper timber?

Roger

Roger
He is in Australia
The railways are changing all the timber sleepers with concrete ones.
Cheers
Wolffie

[Eagle55]

Ha ha ha... guess that lets me out. I think the railway died years ago in the US.

Roger

[zac]

Hi Joe
I surface and sand the face first, apply a few coats of clear spray,
do the engrave then brush on black water based paint and wipe off with a damp cloth.
Wayne.

[zac]

Hi Roger,
Here in Australia we are able to purchased used railway sleepers from garden / landscape supply centers.
After the sleeper section was sliced in half I attached it to a sled and fed it through my thicknesser.
Only problem is this timber has a lot of grit embedded into it from years on a railway track, (not good for my tools.)
Wayne.

[Eagle55]

yes, Wayne, I would be a little uncomfortable planning grity wood too. Here in the states, the "cross-ties" as we call them here are treated with a creosote solution to keep them from rotting. Creosote is a carcinogen and not a good thing to work with much less get it airborne in saw dust, but also a somewhat tar like material which is also hard on tools.

I had a piece of 2" thick walnut that had just a bit of a twist in it that I couldn't get out. I clamped it in the Shard (anyway I could get it still) and did a surfacing tool path with a 1/2" endmill. When I flipped it over I had a perfectly flat surface to contact the table and clamp, then carved the top side. That wouldn't leave the rustic finish on the back side but a similar approach might work, although it is really slow and more difficult. The enmil is cheaper than dealing with a blade change on the planer. Great job the way you did it though.

Roger