In surfing this site, I found a post where someone mentioned installing a foamboard scenic divider with dowels attached to the foamboard base. Has anyone tried this? I may give it a try. I have a 1" thick foamboard base and have scrap 1" foamboard which could be used for the divider.
Sorry Mods, meant to post this in the layout forum...
I made my scenic divider out of 1//4 plywood, no reason a piece of foamboard shouldn't work.
Don't remember the article you refer to, but did see one attempt, in person, at putting dowels into 3" foam, it was a disaster. The foam did not drill cleanly, leaving a very rough hole. If you decide to try it, use a pratice piece first and try using a hole saw in a drill instead of a drill bit.
What I did was to cut a groove in a piece of 2x4 to slip the divider into. (You could use two strips of smaller material if you wanted.) I wanted mine removeable for transport, so didn't totally secure the divider in place. I then used inexpensive, foam safe, latex caulk to hold it in place. Works just fine.
I did not leave the divider parallel to the side of the layout, but had it at a slight angle. I have it just high enough so that you can't see the trains on the other side of the layout without going to the end. My control panel is at one corner, so if I stand at the narrow end I can see to operate both sides.
Used a rock cut on one end and a clump of trees on the other to hide the disappearance. A bridge, building or tunel are some of the other ways to hide the transition.
My foam mountain in front of the divider starts to pitch down toward it. I think it looks better than looking like you sliced the hill off.
Good luck,
Richard
The holes in the foam board would have a tendency to egg out if that were the only support for the dowels, even if it did work the first time. Would I would probably do, and it would amke it removeable as well, would be to glue down a piece of 1x2 or 1x3 (depending on how big the dowels were) to the base, then drill the dowel holes through this wood and into the foam. This would provide better support than just holes drilled into the foam. 1" foam by itself is not going to be a great support - if there is plywood underneath, drill all the way through, then you have support at both ends of the lever that the dowel will be, not just the foam, which can be compressed, to resist the tendency of the divider to tip one way or the other. If there's no wood under the 1" foam - the same thing may work, a second 1x3 glued to the bottom where the dowels will go.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
i saw a presentation by someone that used large (4x8') sheets of styrene he was able to aquire. I thought he used j-track (?), used for vinyl siding, to hold it in place. Not sure if he used a piece on top, but the bottom piece was curved.
wonder if j-track could be similarly used to hold foam.
greg - Philadelphia & Reading / Reading
gregcwonder if j-track could be similarly used to hold foam.
"J" channel, used in a variety of siding trim applications, most typically where the siding meets the soffit, among other applications, such as inside corners, and around windows and doors.
It's going to be hard to find 1" J channel. Some European suppliers have it, but the OP would have to search around and see where he could get it. Possibly a special order from a siding supplier, like ABC Supply. They have facilities all over the USA.
It is an idea. Maybe some other type of fabricated sheet metal channel could be found, or made up.
The only thing I found on a quick search of the community is a thread where the OP thought about using dowels in the divider where the divider meets the wall, for a quick vertical alignment. I didn't dig too deep, maybe the OP can find the thread again, and supply a link.
I used a piece of drywall permanently fastend in place. There could be many ways to make a piece of 1" foam divider removable. Where it sits on the layout base would be the easy part, where it connects to the backdrop would be the tough part, trying to hide the joint.
I'm with others, as far as mounting dowels in foam, and making it sturdy enough for repeated removal, the hole for the dowel is not going to be a clean hole. Maybe if the hole was filled with caulk, and then insert the dowel, and let it dry, for days, just maybe?
My You Tube
mbinsewi"J" channel, used in a variety of siding trim applications, most typically where the siding meets the soffit, among other applications, such as inside corners
I think your refering to a F channel ??
I just reread the OP post, He didn't say it was to be removable;If so for a one shot deal the dowels should work
Anyway, dowels in ''1in'' foam may work once or twice,befor the holes egg out as stated.
Could you cut the foam out,and build a track with 3/4 lumber ? say 1 3/4 wide on edge. Should be able to hide that with trees and brush. The foam would hide the first inch leaving only 3/4 to hide.
Nope, "J" channel, it's used on siding installations. A cross section of it looks like a squared of J.
Mike.
Excellent thoughts and suggestions!
Mike, The old post on this forum only suggested that dowels + foamboard may work as a scenic divider but no indication that it had been tried. I was hoping someone had tried it and would report in this thread.
Cowman, thanks for reporting your past experience with drilling foamboard and the suggestion to use a hole saw.
Randy, I do have 5/8" plywood under the 1" foamboard base so there would be a firm base for the dowels. It is not necessary for the scenic divider to be removable as this is a short term layout that will be taken down in a couple years.
As mentioned by others, making a channel to slide the foamboard into is an excellent suggestion. Given the plywood subbase, I should be able to create a 1-inch deep channel by carving down to the plywood base. My plan is to attach two long shallow buildings to the scenic divider on each side. It would be possible to glue foamboard braces inside these building locations to support the divider.
Given this additional information, would gluing the FB to the plywood + U-channel + adding braces be sufficient to keep the scenic divider square? If need be, I could also add the dowels. I had thought using the wood biscuits (alternative to wood dowels) but it would be a channel to accurately cut the grooves in the plywood sub-base.
Thanks guys, you're always very helpful!
I think you'll be alright, especially with those buildings on either side, as they would act as the braces, maybe add good bracing to the inside of the building shells, just to make them good and rigid, to hold the divider in place.
That's right, this is all coming apart in a couple of years.
i used dowels on one of my moduals to hold a mountain with a tunnel that gave access to the staging yard , glued the dowel in the removal part and glued brass tube that dowel could slip in base to prevent egging of the hole , used this set up for 5 years with no problems .
Now that makes great sense, a sleeve for the dowel to slip into. Great idea.
For permanent installation, I think it should be stable enough if you cut a slot down to the plywood and drop the vertical piece in, secured with something - latex caulk would be a good option. A 2 foot high backdrop should be fine with no extra braces. Make the slot just barely the width of the vertical board so it's a bit of a tight fit.