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Lessons Learned - More Instruction Needed
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<p>Peter,</p><p>Actually I lied. My duck-under is really only 5 1/2" wide. 5 1/2" is wide enough for a double track on 3" centers. One end of it can be seen in the photo below. This is part of my unsceniced staging area made from a large collection of older Atlas code 83 components. </p><p>The duck-under is 34" long to span a 2'-6" doorway plus casing. It is made from a 1 x 6 furniture grade poplar board topped with 1/2" homasote. The total thickness then is 1 1/4 inch. The duck-under is removable so this assembly just drops into place on a 2x2 ledge. A countersunk carriage bolt is used to hold it in place. </p><p>The brown stuff in the picture is latex wood filler used to smooth out any transition from one part to the next. Part of the head of the carriage bolt can be seen in the center mostly covered with wood filler.</p><p>My goal was simplicity with minimum thickness. This duck-under has been in place for 9 months with no sagging noted. If you have a longer span or want more strength 3/4x3/4 aluminum angle irons could be wrapped around the bottom edges of the poplar board with no real increase in thickness (1/8"). We have a tendency to forget that there are a number of metal solutions available when you need strength without bulk.</p><p>Eventually I plan to apply Central Valley Plate Bridge Girders to the sides of the duck-under to give it a more finished appearance. CV sells these side plates separately and they can be kit-bashed to create one long span if wanted.</p><p>-John</p><p>p.s. As I said, the duck-under was designed to be removeable but I have found that the quick bend-under needed to get through the doorway was just not an issue (51" clearance). So I have yet to get back to cutting the rails and wiring the duck-under section for removal.</p><p>[IMG]http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff209/jcampbell1615/2007_09150008_8x6.jpg[/IMG]</p><p> </p>
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