Before I start to rip sheets of homasote for my roadbed, should the edges be cut at an angle such as cork roadbed, or should the edges be vertical?
For attaching the homasote roadbed to plywood subroadbed, which is the preferred option, drywall screws or carpenter's glue.
Thank You,
Ray Barry
I also used California precut homasote, but surely cutting your own can work in spite of the mess to cut. Articles I read about it, tended to suggest vertical cuts and then shape the slope with ballast fill when ballasting.
I too glued it down with carpenters glue to the roadbed, tacking with brads. Then pulled the brads, sanded, and gave it a coat of latex paint. It has been excellent for me.
Have fun building your layout. Hal
Here is a link to detailed instructions to cutting homasote and a great site in general:
http://www.housatonicrr.com/DIY_Roadbed.htm
I have cut homasote and therre is no easy way to do it without a mess. I use blocks of wood with drywall screws in them as clamps to hold the homasote down while the the glue is setting. I literally screw the blocks down to the surface of the homasote, back em out when the glue is dry. Try to find non-bumpy pieces of homasote (I check each piece with straight edge). Some pieces have big variations in thickness which means lots of sanding and filling (too much work).
Guy
see stuff at: the Willoughby Line Site
If you want to make the homasote the full width of the ballast section cut it with bevels. If you want it just larger than the width of the ties and build up the ballast sections, cut it straight.
Stack a bunch of strips on edge and cut slots about 3/4 way thru the strips with the thinnest saw blade you've got to make the strips bendable. When you bend them put the kerfs inside the curve so they tend to close up.
Everybody makes a big deal about the dust. Do the cutting outside. If you are cutting spline or roadbed, cut a bunch at one time. You make a mess once and then can build railroad for months afterwards. Its not permanent, its just dust.
Dave H.
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com