Screws or nails for a layout to hold track down? Thanks!
Most of my layouts featured Homasote. On 'HO', I used track nails and on 'O-27' tubular, I use screws.
Screws......One miss with the hammer and your track might be out of alignment.
Celebrating 18 years on the CTT Forum.
Buckeye Riveter......... OTTS Charter Member, a Roseyville Raider and a member of the CTT Forum since 2004..
Jelloway Creek, OH - ELV 1,100 - Home of the Baltimore, Ohio & Wabash RR
TCA 09-64284
I use 4x1/2 Phillips button-head sheet-metal screws into pre-drilled 3/32 holes in 1/2-inch plywood for O27 track.
Bob Nelson
Found that using Fastrack, don't need either. I currently have it screwed down, but as I get going with scenery, plan is to caulk along the track bed and remove the screws. Regardless of the method, just make sure you don't go down into the plywood as this will transfer the sound and it will be loud.
Dennis
TCA#09-63805
Screws, if you want to change some trackwork you can't unscrew a nail.
"IT's GOOD TO BE THE KING",by Mel Brooks
Charter Member- Tardis Train Crew (TTC) - Detroit3railers- Detroit Historical society Glancy Modular trains- Charter member BTTS
I am planning on using screws into plywood. Under the track I will have foam road bed. I plan to use a black paper washer under the screw head. Any thoughts on that?
Terry Thomann Fredericksburg, Virginia That is me on the left. My brother got the train TCA 09-64381
One more 4 x 1/2 screw vote
Don
Screws have more holding power.
laz57
Terry, i'd stay away from any screws into the plywood. Another method I have seen is to use wire ties that go through to the under side of the plywood and then put a keeper on the bottom. Alot of folks like to use sound stop/homasote that they can put screws into and it holds them. Having screws go through and into the plywood makes the sound transfer to the wood and it resonates.
excatly. here's been several times I'll go downstairs just to run the trains, and I'll end up changing things. Or when I come home with a new acessory.
Dave
It's a TOY, A child's PLAYTHING!!! (Woody from Toy Story)
dwiemer Having screws go through and into the plywood makes the sound transfer to the wood and it resonates. Dennis
Having screws go through and into the plywood makes the sound transfer to the wood and it resonates.
On my layout I use screws to attach the tubular track directly to the plywood. The rumble of the engine and click clack of the cars as they pass over the rail joints does resonate...I LOVE THE SOUND!
Another way to deaden sound is to hang heavy drapes or blankets from tabletop to floor.
To deaden sound use homesote. We have it here in local lumber yard. I did get it at Lowes once, I don't know if they still have it?
Laz,
I checked at the local Lowes (Belle Vernon, PA), and they don't stock it. They can order it for you. It was about $20 per 4'x8' sheet.
dsmithOn my layout I use screws to attach the tubular track directly to the plywood. The rumble of the engine and click clack of the cars as they pass over the rail joints does resonate...I LOVE THE SOUND!
I tend to agree. I don't feel that homasote will hold a screw well enough, and I want a solid surface to attached accessories to. I was wondering if foam core would work better. It is thinner has a nice flat clean paper board surface on both sides and the screws would go through it into the plywood. I think a small paper washer between the screw head and the track tie would greatly help to dampen the sound transfer from the track to the plywood. I am also going to use a foam track bed between the track and the plywood. Thoughts?
Terry,
I have used homosote in the past and it does hold screws well. The track isn't under much stress and the screws are mostly to keep the tracks in position more than it is to keep the track fastened downward. It's a good idea to leave the screws about a half turn loose so that you don't inadvertantly bend the track downward. I don't use many screws, just enough to keep the track in place, about every 3 or 4 track sections(tubular track). I haven't found that homosote keeps the track just a little bit quieter than 1/2" plywood, but the difference in volume is slight.
I don't think that a paper washer will make any difference in sound deadening. And you would think that foam insulation would keep things quiet, but it doesn't. You would need long screws to go through the foam and into the plywood.
If you want to keep things quiet, I would use cork or spongy foam roadbed under the track but then you need to either glue the track down or use ty wraps to attach the track. If you use screws, the vibration will go right through the screws into the plywood.
Once I tried using foam window insulation (3/8" wide x 1/4" thick and) that has a sticky back and applied to the insides of the tubular 027 track ties. The track then floats on the spongy foam and is VERY quiet. Use ty wraps and keep them loose if you try this method.
Personally I love the natural sound (conventional postwar), but it can get loud if you are running more than one train at a time, so loud that you need to raise your voice if you're trying to talk to someone. If you are using modern trains with sound modules that you would like to hear, then it really is necessary to dampen the natural sound of the trains.
I pre-drill holes and then put the screws into plywood, but I use plastic screw anchors. I also space these out and where the track bed is real stable I take the screws back out, and the anchors alone tend to hold the track in place very well. I use foam road bed also and the overall noise level is tolerable.
Screws: purchased here: http://www.microfasteners.com directly onto the plywood. Predrilled; Gargraves.
I've never understood the passion for "silent trains."
Ever stand 20' of a Greenbriar passing by, at speed?
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