thanks
If you are talking about the Lion's photo the wood strips are to represent the third rail covers on his subway layout.
Joe
What are the strips of wood for that are glued between the tracks?
I only needed three sheets. The price difference between the 1/2" and 3/4" was not that bad. I could have went with maple or oak plywood. With it put down, it looks really nice.
3/4" Birch??? Wow!
LION used 1/2" OSB (second hand OSB) . Gap what gap, you see a gap, I don't see no stinkin' gap and neither do my trains!
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
As others mention, no real need to fill the joint except maybe to keep scenery materials from falling through during scenicing. But if you must:
Put masking tape on the underside. Fill the joint with Gorilla Glue. Cut off excess above the joint after glue dries. Gorilla glue expands with a foam-like leftover. Joint will be filled and stronger than the plywood itself with no further concerns about humidity expansion/contraction related failure.
Alan
Freelancing the LK&O Railroad
The reason why I went with 3/4" is due to the fact that it seemed to lay better than the 1/2" did. The 1/2" that I saw was wavy, and it was not birch. I went to Home Depot and Lowes. Home Depot had birch 1/2" but their saw was down, and I did not have a way to get a full sheet home. Lowes did not have 1/2" birch and their saw worked. Also some of the members here had recommended 3/4". It really looks good and it lays down flat well.
Wow, 3/4" birch plywood, that's not a cheap material. Any reason why you went with birch plywood and 3/4". 3/4" to me seems to be overkill especially with framed bench work. I assume you are referring to the cracks where two sheets of plywood meet. It should take care of itself when you put your roadbed, track, structures and scenery down. If you are really concerned, you could use some drywall compound between the sheets, but I don't know if it will be affected by seasonal movement of the framework. I would not even worry about the cracks between the sheets. Best of luck with your layout,
If your are concerned with gaps, what I do is cover them with masking tape. I then paint the tape brown , green, black or whatever color will match the surrounding area. The tape will prevent any diluted glue, scenary material or ballast from dropping through the cracks.
Frank
As long as the top surfaces are flat and even, you don't really need anything. Your track, I assume, will be on roadbed which will bridge the gap. For anything else, your scenic cover will do the job.
If you have an issue with light shining through or whatever, put a strip of plaster cloth across the gap.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Well, since my last post, I have finished the benchwork frames and purchased the decking. It is 3/4" birch plywood. My big question is what do you put in the cracks between the plywood? Even though I tried to make it as close as possible, there are still gaps. Suggestions anyone?
Thanks