How to make ladders?

My dwarves need ladders to move around. How do you make your ladders? Materials?

I take two long thin bits of balsa-wood (for fancier ladders use the thinnest gardening sticks you can find) and glue really short thin strips of balsa (rungs) down them. You can't go wrong.

That looks good? I'll try it out.

if your really stuck cutting cardboard and then sticking the cross sections to the 2 long bits works and then put another 2 long sections over the cross sections. make sense?

Not really, cardboard is kinda like paper?

cardboard like on ceral packets.

cut 2 long strips place on table, cut small steps and glue to the long bits, then cut 2 more long bits and stick them on top, so the step bits are between the long bits.

I use the LONG fireplace/BBQ match sticks. They're nice sturdy, hard wood & about the right thickness; they ARE also quite inexpensive [cheap IS good ]. Just cut the long pieces [whatever they're called ] & the rungs & glue them together starting with the top & bottom rungs. I usually rough up the wood to bring out the grain by drawing my razor saw along the length of the piece prior to cutting. If you want to get fancy drill [a #60 bit works well] a hole at the junction of each riser once the glue [Plastic Surgery glue works GREAT] has dried & insert a head pin to represent the nails.

If you make the ladder wide enough, you can stick the corner of the minis base in to hold the little suckers in place when they don't make it ALL the way up [an IMPORTANT consideration for Dwarves ].

Thanks for the tips guys.

Something else that speeds it all up: rather than put glue on the rungs put it on the poles (then wipe it off between the rung using a cotton-bud, or similar tool).

Next time you pass a Starbucks, pop in and swipe a handful of the wooden coffee stirrers. They are handy material for ladder building. Take paint well too.

No starbucks close.

catferret wrote:

Next time you pass a Starbucks, pop in and swipe a handful of the wooden coffee stirrers. They are handy material for ladder building. Take paint well too.

Ohh you little magpie catferret

To be fair I usually buy something too. But I have known people to walk in and just ask for a whole box of them. The staff don't really care so just hand them over.

Well if you spend all day in a StarBucks you end up a and a bit of conversation helps.

I have this image of cat hovering round a corner with his head tilted making raptor type noises before swooping in and grabbing a handful then disappearing to his hideout

catferret wrote:

To be fair I usually buy something too. But I have known people to walk in and just ask for a whole box of them. The staff don't really care so just hand them over.

Heh I bought a box from the local coffee shop - not a Starbucks - which I frequent on a daily basis.

Starbucks

We are building a church for mordheim and the clocktower needed some ladders. So I took icecream sticks and drilled small holes in. Then I put toothpics into the holes and voila!! I had great looking ladders

Trulsa wrote:

We are building a church for mordheim and the clocktower needed some ladders. So I took icecream sticks and drilled small holes in. Then I put toothpics into the holes and voila!! I had great looking ladders

Oooooh, good idea for professional ladders. Mine made of balsa look totally homegrown.

I took a some bamboo skewers and cut them up. then I notched the longer parts and glued the steps into them. This is how they turned out:

Second the notion of bamboo skewers. I've used them in the past for various projects, and they hold up GREAT.

I plan on stopping by the local starbucks tomorrow to get some coffee sticks. I was thinking of using them to make a couple of walkways (for between buildings).

Hi - have a look at my previous post <https://boringmordheimforum.forumieren.com/t6288-ladders-another-work-in-progress> on making ladders!

Ladders!
Great detail for any kind of scenery. I usually use some 2x2 mm sticks and drill holes every 2-3 mm apart
in it and toothpicks with some glue to form a ladder. To speed up process it is recommended to use a
drill press and at least 4 sticks prepared alltogether to be drilled.

Salute

step 1: click on this link
step 2: add amount you want to buy
step 3: buy