Benchwork Question.

[yankee flyer]

 My

I prefer ripped 3/4" plywood nailed and glued into an "L" 3" on each side. Two pieces one 2 1/4 and 0ne 3" this makes both sides of the leg measure 3". the 3" board I make long enough to over lap the "L" girder which is then screwed to the "L" girder. The "L" girder sits on the 2 1/4" side of the leg. This side of the leg ties to the leg on the other side of the bench with a 3" piece. This accepts an angle brace and  Makes for a very strong bench.
Something I haven't seen anyone else mention. I level the bench with shims untill every thing is correct.Then at the bottom of the leg I drop a 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" piece into the "V" of the leg to take up amount shimmed and screw in place. This is solid and can be adjusted if needed. Cheap an good.

Good day 

Lee

[tgindy]

I have used 1"x4" wood legs paired into a lengthways L-shape with literally rock-soild results.

You also get a 90-degree angle to screw into the 90-degree benchwork top corners with 3, or 4, or 5 wood screws on each side.  Thus, using 5 screws per top benchwork leg-side would equal 10 screws per leg plus at least 3 screws to assemble each leg lengthways.

Glue is optional.  Remember to countersink a slight recess for each wood screw head.  1"x3" legs should also work just fine the same way, but with a smaller area to screw into benchwork top corners. 

[Steam4Ever2]

Before you decide to use PVC legs, I offer the following information, and advice.  There are several different kinds of pipe, all considered PVC Pipe.  One is known in the plumbing trade as "Foam Core".  It is white in color, and states "Not For Pressure".  Basically, it is a thin layer of PVC material inside and outside am expanded foam cylinder.  It is the least expensive, but imho not anywhere near sturdy enough to be used as legs.  Then there is Schedule 40 DWV (Drain/waste/Vent), also white in color.  It has the same wall thickness as foam core, but the pipe is all the same material throughout.  Its price is a bit more.  Next up the ladder is Schedule 40 PVC rated for pressure.  It too, is white in color, has the same wall thickness as both the previous mentioned items but has a higher tensile strength and burst point.  These items are all available from a reputable plumbing supply house.  Some may be available from your local "Big Box" store. The last one is Schedule 80 PVC.  Its wall thickness is greater, it has a higher tensile strength, and is gray in color.  It is available in "Better" supply houses.  None of these products should be painted as most paints cause the material to become brittle or do not adhere.  I am a commercial plumber and pipefitter and plan to use wood for my legs.  Hope this helps

[Allegheny2-6-6-6]

 I have to ask, unless your considering making a portable layout such as a modular type which is probably what you saw at at the trains show why use PVC pipe? I can see it on a portable where you want something light weight and strong, hence the reason of the pipe or cylinder as it will be pretty stable and rather light weight compared to lets say a 2x4 or a rectangular piece of pvc material.

If your building a home layout that you have no intention of moving go with 2"x4" legs they are relatively inexpensive and very very strong if you brace them with opposing 45 degree struts. Some say a 2x3 is strong enough or something even lighter but why take a change? No one ever got into any trouble by a little over building but plenty have by trying to save a few penny's when it came to bench work construction. I have seen plenty of world class model railroad where the builders made their bench work strong enough to stand on..

[tomikawaTT]

Javelina

tomikawaTT

There's an article in the May edition of (name of magazine deleted)

I gotta ask, did you delete the name of the mag, or did the site hosts?

Lou

I did - it's RMC.  (Now, let's see if that gets deleted or ***-ed)

Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)

[Doc in CT]

 There is an article on PVC legs at: http://www.gatewaynmra.org/articles/ho-module.htmy

There is also an article in Model Railroad Hobbyist  that describes legs made from 2" PVC pipe (http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/1705)

Alan

[Javelina]

tomikawaTT

There's an article in the May edition of (name of magazine deleted)

I gotta ask, did you delete the name of the mag, or did the site hosts?

Lou

[tomikawaTT]

There's an article in the May edition of (name of magazine deleted) which details how one modeler built several movable modules with folding PVC pipe legs - 1.5" stock, with Ts for attaching cross braces.  Judging by the article, they have been in use for some time and have proven strong enough.

For my own (large, fixed-location) layout I have used heavy-wall steel studs for legs - but then, all of my benchwork is steel stud material.

Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)

[Hamltnblue]

 PVC is very strong and will also last for years.  Like mentioned earlier you just have to find a good bracket to secure it to the layout.

[rrinker]

 A single 2x3 should be plenty. If you have a table saw, rip some 2x4's and make 2x2's - those are plenty strong. No place near me sells a straight 2x2 so I make an L out of a 1x3 and a 1x2 for my legs. Also gives you 2 nice flanges to attach diagonal braces. I take the junky 2x2's I can get and saw them up into 4-6" chunks that I attach at the bottom of the leg so I can drill a hole in the bottom to attach a t-nut for levelling - actually I use some packaged felt-bottomed furniture levelers as when I started my layout it was placed on a hardwood floor in a rented apartment that I didn't want to scratch.

                                                --Randy

[cowman]

1 1/2" PVC should be plenty strong for legs.  Not sure if you can get a flange to fit it into that would be deep enough to hold if it is going to be moved much.  Might have to use a short (6") piece of whatever size slips over it to give you a strong connection.  If you are not planning to move the table a regular flange should work, especially if you add some cross bracing.  It comes in 10' sections, so you will have to price it at your local supplier to see how the cost compares to lumber.  The leftover pieces make good oil tanks, probably other things too.

Good luck,

[BC Don]

   I had planned on using paired 2 X 3s for my legs but at a recent show I thought I saw someone using PVC piping for legs.  Has anyone used this material?  My first thought was that it would be too flexible but then I was thinking that putting in some cross supports should fix that.  It would be lighter but I don't know about cost over conventional lumber.