I'm intrigued by the rather simple construction of the domino style benchwork. Especially for something not intended to be permanent (being a young guy, moves are anticipated in the near term and small relatively mobile sections are nice). Now, the question I ponder as I eyeball the plans are the lack of any sort of bracing between the two pairs of legs or the tabletop portion. So just how stable are they in a left-right motion sort of way? Obviously I'm not going to be shaking them around, but I am a fan of over-engineering things. I hope my question is clear, as my brain doesnt want to work very well right now.
My current layout started out as a domino setup. I did find that there was left/right issues. I solved this with a 6" wide "base" board. It was thin stock, 1/8" that I mounted to the lower back with four 1/4" bolts I mounted to the legs. I just used wing nuuts and a fender washers to hold it in place. By having 2 points of contact on each side the racking was gone.Where possible I tried to stager the jonts
ratled
Modeling the Klamath River area in HO on a proto-lanced sub of the SP “The State of Jefferson Line”
I think you are very wise to keep in mind the possibility of moving the layout. I have started several layouts, but I moved before they were what might be considered completed.
I learned my lesson, and my present layout is domino style construction so that it might be moved in the future. It is not at all portable, but it could be move if need be.
You asked about stability. My layout is mostly against walls, and therfore, I anchored it to the walls with screws for stability.
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
As Garry mentions, as lond as some of the benchwork is attached to walls, you will gain stability. This can help sections attached but free standing, however, those freestanding ones will need some sort of bracing to minimize side movement. Braces either dw screwed or bolted work fine. Yes the braces can be a PITA for working under the layout, but that is a compromise.
Modeling B&O- Chessie Bob K. www.ssmrc.org
I built my layout in roughly 2x6 sections. I changed a few in order to accommodate my room, but there are none larger than that. I live in a rented townhouse that we'll likely live in for two to four years. This means that I wanted to be able to move whatever I build. My sections are 1x4 clear pine boxes with two inch foam for the deck. The legs are 2x2's supported by 1x2 gussets. It stands at a height of fifty inches. Standing alone, they are quite sturdy. When bolted together, they are rock solid. I put simple leg levelers in the legs to make sure the sections lines up of the carpet. I've found that each and every brace on the legs are needed. I have not mounted anything to the walls. Being a rental, I didn't want to have to fix a bunch of holes when I move again. Here is a picture of my layout when I first build the sections. I hope this helps in some fashion.
My entire layout is made up of David Barrow style dominos, which followed the drawing in his 1995 Model Railroader article as closely as I could. I use 2' x 4' plywood tops, 1x4 pine for the framing, and 2x2 legs. In the drawing I was following Barrow used two levels of box frames made of 1x4s, with the lower box frame attached to the legs and the upper box frame under the plywood top. (It almost looks like it is a double deck layout, in other words, but isn't). Later drawings seem to suggest he switched over to a single level of box frame, as in the photo above. That saves lumber and time but read on because I think it decreases the stability.
I initially built four complete dominos and kept them separate just so I could take advantage of the idea of moving them around the room to see what could fit where, clamping them together temporarily if I wanted to see what a large T shape would look like, etc.
When they were separate they wobbled. So I got in the habit of using 1x2 pine to create a simple truss on all four sides, and also spaced the legs about a foot from the floor. I created a template so that I could space out the legs evenly from top to bottom. Once I did that, each table became rock solid.
What I learned when I fastened the first several tables to the wall and that even 24 feet and more from the domino screwed to the wall, the dominos were fairly sturdy and solid even if all support, trusses and bracing, was removed. Even when I then made an L shape from that far end, so at that point I was considerably removed from the part screwed to the wall, once various dominos were bolted together they became solid and sturdy. I got in the habit of removing the trusses and support from every other domino, to aid crawling underneath and getting to the other side of the domino easily (really only one part of the entire layout is bolted to the wall -- the rest is standing free).
Note however that I was bolting together BOTH the lower and the upper box frames. My bolts by the way are 1/4 inch threaded rod, cut to length, and fastened with wing nuts on both ends (washers protecting the wood from the wing nut) so I could tighten them by hand from above without having to crawl under the tables with a wrench.
Interestingly however -- and here is my point about the double box frame -- when I built an isolated domino with only the LOWER box frame. and the upper level being a river valley -- at that point the subsequent standard dominos bolted beyond that had less stability and I needed to go back to having trusses and leg support.
I conclude from this that the stability of bolted dominos is greatly aided with the double box frame approach.
I hope this explanation is clear. You do not need an X brace on each side, just one truss but alternating angles from one side to the other provides ample stability, and consider also straight bracing maybe a food from the floor to keep the legs evenly spaced and strong.
Dave Nelson