Need recommendation for O scale chain link fence - any suggestions?

I did it the cheap way: small wooden dowels painted silver, aluminum window screen, and very small zip ties painted to match. Looks pretty good to me.

Check out  www.brennansmodelrr.com and look at their chain link fence kit, plus their soldering paste.

Also check out Scenic express.

http://www.sceneryexpress.com/.../productinfo/EX0585/

  Bridal veil painted silver

Plastic screening painted silver, with solid-wire for the braces. Solder for the posts. Using solder, you can melt the tops to form hemispherical "caps".

Greg:

Plastruct sells a window screen mesh (7 x 12 in - https://plastruct.com/?s=swm-12&post_type=product) that they also use for HO chain link fence (https://plastruct.com/shop/str...-shapes/90451-fen-4/). The HO scale fence is 8 foot high which makes it 4 feet O scale.

Joe

Wooden skewers and wedding tulle. Silver spray and glue.

I second Clem and SIRT's advice on using wedding veil material to simulate the chain link fencing.  I've used it with great effect in the past.

I second HW's suggestion of Brennan's fence:

Here is a sample of a kit by TW Trainworx comes complete with gates and rollers.

One of our newest kits and turning into a kit favorite, is our Chain Link fence kit, which includes 300 scale feet of 8’ tall chain link fence, 3 rolling gates, warning placards and even a post hole jog for planting the fence on your layout!

Our Chain Link fence is the most economical scale fence for the money!

A friend used panty hose, it comes in various colors, is a much finer "fabric," and is an almost in-exhaustible supply for very little money.

John, 

I am not ready to purchase chain link fencing, but this scene is extraordinary.   Outstanding modelling work.  

Lots of contributions here. I've used Brennen's but he provides steel rod which he suggests to butt solder the joints. I found this very difficult and very insecure. I spent more time going back and re-soldering joints that fell apart as I did making new fence. That being said, he provides an excellent jig upon which to construct the fence. And the bridal veil he provides is a perfect match for an O'scale fence. I built the fence surrounding my refinery using brass rod that was cross-lapped to provide more soldering area, and you need to paint the steel fencing anyway so it might as well be out of a material that's easier to use. Here's the assembly fixture. You can rotate the screw slots to produce different aspects of the fence such as building a gate or adding more bracing.

This is just a tiny sample. The fence is over 10 linear feet long. I soldered it together as one unwieldy assembly. To make installation easier, I made every 5th pole long, and then next on shorter, and the middle one shortest. This way, I didn't have to get them all then pre-drilled holes at the same time. The hole positions were marked from the fence poles themselves. The bridal veil was available JoAnn Fabrics and for about 20 feet of 3" high cost me about 50 cents. Seriously! It was the cheapest hobby purchase I made in years.

SIRT posted:

Wooden skewers and wedding tulle. Silver spray and glue.

This is exactly what I did.  I purchased the  Tulle at the fabric store for less than a dollar.  Got a yard of it.  Enough to fence the world.

Have Fun!

Ron

I am currently writing a 'How To' for OGR on this right now.  This is very easy to do and cheap too!

Dave

I just checked out   www.brennansmodelrr.com  from an earlier post. I like it!

chris a posted:

John, 

I am not ready to purchase chain link fencing, but this scene is extraordinary.   Outstanding modelling work.  

Same here - are these kits or scratched built?

Joe

Chris A and Joe...Thanks for the kind words

Joe..The building on the left is kitbashed from Dennis Brennan's hydrocal roundhouse. I am writing an article for OGR on how I did that in particular and kitbashing hydrocal structures in general. The building on the right is made from N Scale Architect building fronts

Dave..I am looking forward to your article

Myles (and others) as for Brennan's fence, I like it because you can include all the cross bracing, and the individual panes in the door sections (See the second photo in my post above.  Myles is right that the kit includes a very versatile jig.  I found the easiest way to assemble the fence is with Staybrite Silver bearing solder and Superior 30 liquid flux and a temperature controlled soldering iron.  After positioning the steel bars on the jig, use rubber bands and strip wood to hold them securely:

Then apply the flux to the joint, then apply the solder to the tip, and then apply the tip to the joint.  Work quickly so the flux does not evaporate.  Make sure the tip is well tinned. I used Tip Thinner from Thermal Tronics.  When the sizzling stops, you will have a nice solid filleted joint. The fillet is not so big as to be oversized, show, but big enough to "fill in" the cylinder between the two intersecting rods.  (Look just below the clamp in the above photo.)  Myles..it looks like you used a Resistance Soldering unit.  I have the same one, and for what it's worth, I never ended up with solid joints.  

It is somewhat irrelevant for this discussion, but that soldering technique is what I used to assemble my catenary (see in the third photo of my post above). The joints are surprisingly strong

I am surprised that you're getting good joints by applying the solder to the iron and transferring it to the work. Everything I know (and do) is heating the joint and adding solder to the opposite side to draw the solder through the joint. I do find that the RSU is underpowered for heavier gauge work. The Hobby version is not that powerful. Having the flux evaporating is not a problem since it's done it's job to remove oxide, but you do need to get solder on quickly or it will re-oxidize.

Trainman2001 posted:

I am surprised that you're getting good joints by applying the solder to the iron and transferring it to the work.

A BIT UNORTHODOX, BUT I HAVE HAD GOOD SUCCESS WITH THIS APPROACH IN EXAMPLES SUCH AS THIS  (SOLDERING WIRES TOGETHER) 

Everything I know (and do) is heating the joint and adding solder to the opposite side to draw the solder through the joint. I do find that the RSU is underpowered for heavier gauge work.

MINE IS THE 250 WATT UNIT AND I STILL HAD PROBLEMS. I HYPOTHESIZE THAT THE CONTACT AREA (WHICH IS WHAT GETS HOT) IS TOO SMALL TO GET A FILLET, BECAUSE NOT ENOUGH AREA IS HEATED

The Hobby version is not that powerful. Having the flux evaporating is not a problem

YES IT IS.  THE UN EVAPORATED LAYER OF FLUX TRANSFERS HEAT LATERALLY ON THE SURFACE MUCH MORE RAPIDLY THAN THROUGH THE METAL ALONE.   WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANT TO MAKE A GOOD FILLET

since it's done it's job to remove oxide, but you do need to get solder on quickly or it will re-oxidize.

avanti, could you explain your posts a bit more?  thanks

wb47 posted:

avanti, could you explain your posts a bit more?  thanks

Not too much to it:

Get a spool of fairly heavy gauge solder. Unroll  and straighten an appropriate length (an 8' pipe would be 2"). The trick is to then use a soldering iron or a small torch to melt one end while holding the piece vertically. The solder will bead into a perfect hemisphere. Let cool and you are all set.  Of course, you can't solder the fencing to the post. I used Super Glue.

(This all assumes that by "posts" you meant the vertical pipes in my fence, and not the words of my messages.) 

Solder is one of my favorite modeling materials. A number of years ago, I posted a "how to" on various things you can do with it. It is probably lost in the mist. Maybe I should repost it.

Greg, Thanks for starting this topic. Wonderful contributions by all.

-Tom