Wood for chesses

[Mark Heaps]

Although Armortek used Sapele in the first production run, they have stated that other suitable woods can be used in the new run which comes without them.
After some internet research. Sapele (Sapeli / Sapelli here in Germany ) would be difficult and extremely expensive for me to aquire here in the length needed.
After some more research, I have not been able to identify what type of wood was used on the World War 2 originals & later. Maybe someone on the forum has this info ?
Eiche ( Oak ) is at the moment looking to be the best option for me, availability & price. I will have to purchase a band saw and then get used to using it so likely some mistakes and wastage on the way.
Can anyone here give a reason why Oak should not be used ?

[Phil Dawe]

Interesting Mark as Oak when I enquired was more expensive than Sapele here in the UK

[Steve Lewington]

Hi mark

I don't think it really matters what wood you use.
At the time they would most probably have used whatever was available at the time probably not soft wood as it would need to be hard wearing due to the quantity and weight of tanks ect.
I hope this is of some use mate.

Kind regards

Steve

[John Fitzsimons]

It would be interesting to know if anybody found a reasonable cost option for planking. Anything I found was very expensive.

[Adrian Harris]

I used Boydells Timber in Leigh for the wooden ribands. They cut them to length and cut the angle profile for me out of Sapele.

Time spent doing the set up is usually the expensive part, so it would work out cheaper if there was a bulk order.

Adrian.

[Mark Heaps]

I think I will have to pay a visit to my local lumber yard and speak to them extremely nicely.
I had been basing my cost and availability calcucations using a single piece of timber to manufacture all 52 chesses,plus a safety factor for wastage / mis-cuts. Had a spreadsheet set up with different combinations of length, width & height required.
Just came to mind that their off-cuts, which they would then bin may well exceed the dimensions of an individual chess. Although 68cm long, they are not very wide or high.
Maybe a chance to raid their discard bin for suitable bits in return for a suitable donation to the petty cash ( Kaffee-kasse ).
Possibly end up with a combination of different woods but maybe typical of a late WW2 bridge built from recycled parts of earlier bridges replaced by a more permanent solution ?

[John Fitzsimons]

I am wondering what type of saw would be best to cut oak strips accurately. I am not a carpenter so not sure. Would a table saw do the job. I have leftover oak skirting board. I would need to cut strips and would hire a table saw if that would be an option. In the meantime I will ask some carpenters for advice. Could you use 10mm instead of 8mm thickness?

[Gary Richardson]

Hi all

I have skimmed through the Bailey Uniflote handbook and the US version of the bailey bridge manual and neither mentions the type of timber used for the chesses. I therefore suspect as others have stated they used whatever timber was at hand that could withstand tank traffic.
I will probably use Sapele as it is readily available here and cheaper than oak. I will need 66 chesses ( includes 1 spare) for my 3 panel bridge so happy to go in with others if it helps bring the cost down.

Regards
Gary

[Charles A Stewart]

Hi all.

In answering John's query about a table saw to produce the bridge timbers, a table saw would work, no pun intended

I used a table saw to cut wood for this barn like structure . I was able to cur strips of wood to 3mm wide from de-nailed pallets.

Hope this helps with the decision making.

Cheers Charles

[John Fitzsimons]

Hi all.

In answering John's query about a table saw to produce the bridge timbers, a table saw would work, no pun intended

I used a table saw to cut wood for this barn like structure . I was able to cur strips of wood to 3mm wide from de-nailed pallets.

IMG-20240704-WA0000.jpg

Hope this helps with the decision making.

Cheers Charles

Certainly does. I would give it a go using a table saw. Either rent or buy with future projects in mind. I have a few lengths of solid oak skirting and door frames that might cut up well. The pallet material could be good too. I have had som treated wood in garden projects for years surviving the extremely damp Irish weather.

[Jerry Carducci]

When I was planning to get one of these bridging sets I intended to use American oak. I planned to use a small table saw with a fine
carbide tipped blade.

The small table saw is all I'd feel comfortable using for this. I have a much larger table saw driven by a 1 1/2 hp motor which is
the only power tool I have that makes me nervous. No tool is more efficient at whisking away fingers or throwing pieces of wood at you than a table saw!

So if you guys plan on using table saws to rip thin hardwood planks for these models please stay frosty! Use all the safety equipment your machine has..

Jerry

[Mark Heaps]

Many thanks to all of you who have commented.
I had not previously thought about re-cycling pallet wood for this purpose and I can get it for free.
The firm I work for gets some items delivered on single-use pallets, same dimensions as Euro pallets but not as sturdy. We do not ship anything out on those pallets so the firm is more than happy for anyone to take them away for firewood. Saves the firm the expense of calling in a contractor every couple of months to take them away.
Soft coniferous wood so not considering using those, however we occasionally receive a Euro pallet that is so damaged we cannot re-use it, and that is also free to take. Euro pallets can be soft coniferous or hardwood like oak.
I could practice and perfect my manufacturing technique using the single-use pallets before experimenting on the hardwood.
Although I think a table-saw would be okay for cutting them length, width and thickness ( taking all possible personal safety precautions ), I am not sure a table-saw would be suitable for cutting the indents at each end. May or may not work. I have a table saw already and can experiment on a single-use pallet before having to decide on purchasing a small model-makers band-saw.

[Charles A Stewart]

Hi again.

Mark and Jerry make very good observations.

Yes, practice cutting and above all read the instruction of the machine you choose to buy. I will admit hiring isn't my first choice. Why, "what blade is fitted?"

Cutting: "down/along the grain of the wood, "ripping", is likely to throw the pieces back at you very fast and it will hurt. Don't stand directly behind the piece being sawn, feed from the side and use a "prog"(a stick to feed the wood through).

I would respectfully suggest, cut the corners out with a hand saw. I have recently started to use Japanese saws, they cut on a back stroke which is very controllable.

Just an overview.

Charles

[Armortek]

The cut outs on the chesses are clearance for the bolts that go through the riband and fillets.
You can just as easily drill or file clearance holes instead. That way you just need rectangular pieces of wood.

Kian

[Mark Heaps]

The cut outs on the chesses are clearance for the bolts that go through the riband and fillets.
You can just as easily drill or file clearance holes instead. That way you just need rectangular pieces of wood.

Kian

That info certainly does make the job easier and no need to buy extra tools. Any chance of letting us know what diameter hole and at what positions is needed ?
Mark