Well here i am starting from scratch building a "U" shaped HO scale layout......I'M SO EXCITED......my question is this.....What should i use, - Timber? Chip Board? An old Door? Any piece of wood i can find etc etc???? What do you guys think?
These pics are what i've got to work with so far...............
Make sure it's well supported. I personally like plywood for table top, but many people have used doors with good results. I'm not a fan of chip board, particle board, etc. It's heavy and difficult to work with.
These track plans http://www.trains.com/mrr/default.aspx?c=a&id=603 include some diagrams for tabletop benchwork.
Enjoy
Paul
Thanks
You'll likely get a lot of different responses here. I plan on a plywood for the top also, but many use foam. If you don't already have one, by the way, I strongly recc. that you get the Kalmbach books Basic Model Railroad Benchwork by Jeff Wilson, and How to Build Model Railroad Benchwork by Linn Westcott. They're quite complimentary, Jeff's being more basic, as the title implies, and Westcott's being more detailed. They go over L-girder vs. butt joint construction, legs, risers/cleats, cookie cutter, etc. These are a neccessity for novice wookworkers like myself.
Jim
jbloch wrote: . snip. . and How to Build Model Railroad Benchwork by Linn Westcott. .snip . . neccessity for novice wookworkers . . snip.Jim
. snip. . and How to Build Model Railroad Benchwork by Linn Westcott. .snip . . neccessity for novice wookworkers . . snip.
Plywood is my preference, start way simple and make it work, then add complexity.
Joe
I don't think anybody else can answer that question for you as different methods all have positives and negatives. I think you should ask yourself a few things like what sort of experience do you have with woodworking, what tools, do you want to get better at it but be willing to learn from the mistakes you make as you go along? How much noise, dust, mess can you put up with? How much can the family deal with? Do you want your layout to be light and portable or something you can climb on? Modular?
I'd suggest searching these forums for the discussions on foam vs plywood vs Homasote, etc - there are a LOT of them - and get some more background info. The same goes for scenery techniques.
I'm not trying to be discouraging, but there are a lot of things to consider while you're in the planning stages. ('Course there are also people here who just wing it.) I've done plywood, Homasote on L-girder, foam on L-girder and foam on shelf brackets. I think I've learned something from each. For me, foam is the best for my current layout, but as of a week ago I also have a couple of salvaged closet doors waiting for me to do some experimenting.
So do your due diligence before you sink time/money/effort into the thing.
nucat78 wrote:I don't think anybody else can answer that question for you as different methods all have positives and negatives. - snip -I'd suggest searching these forums for the discussions on foam vs plywood vs Homasote, etc - there are a LOT of them - and get some more background info. - Snip -So do your due diligence before you sink time/money/effort into the thing.
I don't think anybody else can answer that question for you as different methods all have positives and negatives. - snip -
I'd suggest searching these forums for the discussions on foam vs plywood vs Homasote, etc - there are a LOT of them - and get some more background info.
Actually, I'd suggest you spend your research time LOOKING at the best, most similar railroads to what you intend to build. Your head will hurt trying to read all the contradictory opinions which are typically only that.
When you find 5 or 6 layouts that are very similar to what you desire, look carefully at how THEY did their benchwork.
Personally, I strive to build a model railroad that the late Linn Westcott would want to take a second look at.
On the other hand, if all you want to do is look at your pike and have no intention of running it or having people lean on it, or, or, or, well follow the rule of the jelly fish, no spine required.
The railroads that are the good examples of what I want to build all used spline and/or plywood for their roadbeds.
My 2 cents, about all it is worth.
trainhooked wrote:Jim - any idea where i can get these books from, can i buy them from the trains.com site?
If you click on the "shop" icon at the top of the page, that should direct you to the Kalmbach books. You also may be able to get them at a discount (freq. on sale in Model Railroader issues) or through other web retailers. However, since I note you're in Australia, you might be better off getting them at you LHS in order to avoid the shipping charges which I gather might be fairly stiff.
As others have said... The choice you make depends on a number of items.... Not least of which is the possibility of having to dismantle and move the layout.
Example: We built our retirement home complete with a finished train room.... This was our final home.... Having moved an average of 22 times in 44 years of marriage, I decided to make the sections modular.... Lucky me. We are now looking at larger homes and now I can move to a new home with little loss of benchwork.
I would suggest if you go modular make your sections 24" wide by 4 or 6'. These are easy to handle and move...
Good Luck...
Roger