Have you spent dozens of hours making gratings for your models?

Here’s an interesting project that will make your life easier and will give you excellent results. Below is a picture of a grating that can be laser-cut from 1/8-inch thick wood. This simulation pictured has a 16×7 pattern, but we can design the pattern to any dimensions you like.

	In this case, the wood we are using is solid teak and the openings are square, matching the dimensions of the wood. We can do this with 1/8-inch wood but we can also do this for smaller scales, using 1/16-inch wood and also 1/32-inch wood. We can design various sizes of grating and all you have to do is assemble the parts together.
We can, of course, design the pattern you want and you don’t have to stick to a regular pattern, either. In the case on the right, the wood is 1/8-inch hardwood but the spacing between the strips is 1/4-inch. This gives a more open feel to the grating and allows light to pass more easily to lower deck levels. This can be most helpful when you want to see what is going on below.
It may happen that you want to use grating as part of the bottom of the cockpit of a contemporary vessel or you are unsure of the dimensions of the gratings you are going to build. We can easily design grating that you can cut yourself to fit whatever needs you may have. Here is the same pattern shown above but in continuous board 10 inches long. We send you a sheet of wood with a number of strips included. You cut to measure. Now, there’s an advance in modelling for you!
Here is a picture of the prototype parts assembled in a test pattern. This pattern was specifically created so the spaces between the slats are about double the size of the slats themselves. As you can see, in one direction, only every second slat has been installed. This is intentional for the test pieces. In period ships, the typical pattern shows that the slats and the holes were approximately the same size but using a wider pattern allows more light into the model and makes it easier for people to see your wonderful work. With a little sanding and stain, these gratings will look amazing.
And here is the completed product. As the strips come in 24-inch lengths, you can cut them to any size you like. In this case, I used two or three strips to make this grating. The parts were sanding lightly first then assembled then painted with Tamiya Clear Orange. This will now become a product and will be available in our Building Materials section.

Why don’t you drop us a note and let us know if we can build some custom gratings for you?

Best Regards,

The Modeller’s Workshop
Montreal, Canada