Would a piece of plywood between two sawhorses hold a small layout?

[rrinker]

Had layouts like that for many years. We used to put it up in November and take it down at the end of january, since it occupied a good chunk fo rht family room. It started as a 4x4, then grew to a 4x8 and eventially has a shelf extension along the outter edges and a 2 foot piece on one short side to make room for an outer oval of 22 inch radius track. All supported by a couple of sawhorses. Based on today's wood quality (or lack thereof) I'd guess you'd have to go to 3/4" plywood - and that's heavy stuff.
That said, unless this is for a temporary thing, a more conventional framed construction with thinner or no plywood and extruded foam is a much better choice. For a handy portable small layout, a hollow core door maks a good base to glue foam to, and would be quite lightweight. ANd easy to support on a pair of sawhorses. More rigid and lighter weight than a thick chunk of plywood. Fasten a couple of pieces of 1x4 to the bottom and you could screw on a set of those foldable legs, making it self-contained and saving the sawhorses for other projects.

--Randy

[jeffers_mz]

A sheet of 3/4 inch plywood will set you back $25 to $30, and over time, will sag and delaminate and make a mess. It's also heavy and and difficult to transport home, and hard to move around the house, and it will prevent you from creating terrain below track grade.

Two by four studs in 8 foot lengths will set you back about $4 each, so for $16, or half the cost of the plywood, you can cut 4 lengths at 45 inches, and construct a three bay frame that will serve your purposes much better.

I used 1/4 inch luan scraps for the railbed, cut with a jigsaw set to 45 degrees, and allowed the saw to wander off the lines a bit while cutting. (Have you ever seen a razor straight gravel driveway?) A few minutes with a sander and 60 grit to kncok down the splinters and it was ready to lay. I used two by two cross members to support the luan and scabbed two by twos onto the two by four frame where it had to be cut for a stream crossing.

That gives me a base (lowest possible) elevation of minus two inches, a general track elevation of 0 inches, and the upper level elevation of plus 3 inches. This will make it easy to plan and apply the foam for the scenery. I drew a simple topographic map on my layour plan, with one inch vertical elevation lines, and each line corresponds to the rough outline of one layer of 1" styrofoam, laid flat. Rather than waste foam, at the base of each "stack" there is a one layer subbase of quarter inch luan, which is supported as necessary using scraps of two by two attached to the frame in strategic locations.

These give you more support for when you have to lean over the layout to reach a distant item, and alo allow easy removal of certain terrain features for access to tunnels, etc., or for modular building projects assembled and painted at your workbench and then placed on the layout after completion. PL400 construction adhesive does a good job (too good a job if you make a mistake, it's permanent) cementing foam layers together and a surform tool allows you to smooth the layers easily.

I used three inch self tapping wood screws for the two by four frame, and used a Kreg jig and 1.5" self tapping screws to attach two by two frame members. There is no subsittute for a Kreg jig or for square holed screwheads and a square bit on a cordless drill. A brad or pin nailer also makes fast work of the myriad pieces of wood you will use for supports, a cheap chopsaw speeds the cutting, and be sure to have a bundle of commercial door shims on hand for fine elevation adjustment on hand before laying the roadbed.

With the roadbed and track laid on a 4' by 8' HO layout, my five year old daughter can easily handle one end if it's necessary to move the entire assembly, and I can handle the other end with one hand.

[HAZMAT9]

I second or third the 2" extruded foam, boy it's strong! I would do scenery w/ the foam as well, it's light, strong and shapes very easy.

[dgwinup]

Sounds like you want something quick, easy and semi-portable. Sawhorses work well as supports. It's what you put ON the sawhorses that counts. Unsupported plywood eventually WILL bend under it's own weight. 2" blue or pink foam won't bend as much because it will not absorb moisture from the air, but it can sag over time.

The quick, inexpensive and rock simple way to support either plywood or foam is to use 2"x4" stringers on top of the sawhorses. Just mount the stringers so they stand on the narrow edge (just like ceiling joists or roof rafters). With plywood, run a few drywall screws through the plywood into the stringers. With foam, apply some silicone-latex caulk on top of the stringers, set the foam in place, add some wieght over the stringers and let dry for a day or two.

Two stringers will probably be enough for either plywood or foam. Three would offer more support. When you put the stringers down, sight along the length of the stringer. It will have a bow in one direction. Install the stringers with the bow facing up. It's less likely to sag that way.

Good luck and have fun!

Darrell, quiet...for now

[ARTHILL]

Good advise here. A little extra work at first will save many hours of frustration latter. A simple 1x4 frame on 2x4 legs braced with 1x2 diagonals will hold 2" foam and you will love yout decision with every step.

However, If you want lots of mountains, steep grades and many bridges and tunnels, consider cookie cutter framing.

[vsmith]

you need to put 1x's like a 1x2 or 1x4's around the full peremeter at the very least just to prevent warping. I would also add one mid-span again to prevent warpage because without it the ply WILL warp eventually just under its own weight if not including things like moisture and tempurature changes, just screw the 1x's into place.

A 5'x6' central part of my layout is this way, I used 1x4s at 24" intervals with 1/4 plywood then I used steel sawhorses that rest on intermediate 1x's, the rest of the layout is peremeter mounted to the walls.

[MACKINACMAC]

I highly recommend picking up the DVD by Kalmbach regarding building your first layout. It shows how to build a very simple train table that has legs that come apart for transporting or storage. Built out of a couple sheets of plywood, it's a neat table for a 4x8 layout.

[MisterBeasley]

This is the time to think about using 2-inch extruded insulation foam. It is much lighter than plywood, costs a bit less, and is very easy to work with. I would still recommend a frame, but you could lay it on sawhorses and it wouldn't sag under the weight of an HO layout.

[IRONROOSTER]

While you could lay 3/4" plywood over saw horses, I would recommend that you take the time to build a grid to attach it to. It's a little more effort and money, but will avoid warping problems. You could also use 1/2" plywood. The Kansas City Central pdf on this page http://www.trains.com/Content/Dynamic/Articles/000/000/001/215lorqk.asp has a good diagram on page 2. For sizes other than 4x8, adjust the dimensions. You could sub sawhorses for the legs if you want.
Enjoy
Paul

[Anonymous]

Yes, but you will need some bracing underneath (1x3 or 1x4 on 16" centres) to stop it from sagging. This is how I started.

I have now moved on to 2x4 modules, using ply ripped to "1x4 size" for the frame, and 2" extruded (blue or pink) foam for the deck. Much lighter!

Andrew

[Anonymous]

Would a piece of plywood between two sawhorses hold a small layout[?]