benchwork

[Anonymous]

Has anyone used 1/2" plywood, ripped to 3" and 2" to build L-girder benchwork? All the books and diagrams I have seen have specified 3/4" lumber. My thoughts were that plywood would be a little lighter, a little stronger and more uniform in strenght. This is my 1st layout and my intentions are for approx. 24' dogbone, 2-tracks for continuous running in each direction, L-girder benchwork attached to wall with some sort of shelf brackets(ref Aug model railroader), with 1/4" plywood on top of that, then extruded foam insulation board for scenery.
As a beginner I am open to all coments and any other info you guys can send my way. Thanks

[Anonymous]

Has anyone used 1/2" plywood, ripped to 3" and 2" to build L-girder benchwork? All the books and diagrams I have seen have specified 3/4" lumber. My thoughts were that plywood would be a little lighter, a little stronger and more uniform in strenght. This is my 1st layout and my intentions are for approx. 24' dogbone, 2-tracks for continuous running in each direction, L-girder benchwork attached to wall with some sort of shelf brackets(ref Aug model railroader), with 1/4" plywood on top of that, then extruded foam insulation board for scenery.
As a beginner I am open to all coments and any other info you guys can send my way. Thanks

[nfmisso]

Hi Jeff;

You are mixing benchwork types. L-girder is for cookie cutter or spline subroad beds. It does not make sense with flat (thin plywood/thick foam) construction.

That said, ½" ripped plywood makes sense for both, but not completely for L-girder.

For the flat construction, build your joists using the ½" ripped plywood; 3" wide, on 16" centers. Use 4d finishing nails and wood glue to hold the endcap piece(s) to the joists. Your legs should support both end cap and the joist. Put the ¼" plywood on top, glue and finishing nails into the ½" section. Then lay your foam on top, use foam compatible Liquid Nails for Projects to secure the foam to the ¼" plywood.

For L-girder construction, some screws need to go into the thin section of some of the pieces, use standard 1 x 2 or 1 x 3 lumber for those few pieces.

Ripping plywood for this has been the subject of articles and columns in MR in the past. It is economical and strong, if you can rip the plywood for no cost. But you do not want to go thinner than a ½".

[nfmisso]

Hi Jeff;

You are mixing benchwork types. L-girder is for cookie cutter or spline subroad beds. It does not make sense with flat (thin plywood/thick foam) construction.

That said, ½" ripped plywood makes sense for both, but not completely for L-girder.

For the flat construction, build your joists using the ½" ripped plywood; 3" wide, on 16" centers. Use 4d finishing nails and wood glue to hold the endcap piece(s) to the joists. Your legs should support both end cap and the joist. Put the ¼" plywood on top, glue and finishing nails into the ½" section. Then lay your foam on top, use foam compatible Liquid Nails for Projects to secure the foam to the ¼" plywood.

For L-girder construction, some screws need to go into the thin section of some of the pieces, use standard 1 x 2 or 1 x 3 lumber for those few pieces.

Ripping plywood for this has been the subject of articles and columns in MR in the past. It is economical and strong, if you can rip the plywood for no cost. But you do not want to go thinner than a ½".

[Anonymous]

Nigel,

Thanks for the input. My intentions were to run the "joists", for lack of a better description, down the length of my layout, and was thinking the L-girder would make it stronger. But, after reading your reply and thinking about it, the only benefit from L-girders would be lateral strength, and I will be getting the lateral strength from the plywood top. Once again, thanks for your help.

Jeff

[Anonymous]

Nigel,

Thanks for the input. My intentions were to run the "joists", for lack of a better description, down the length of my layout, and was thinking the L-girder would make it stronger. But, after reading your reply and thinking about it, the only benefit from L-girders would be lateral strength, and I will be getting the lateral strength from the plywood top. Once again, thanks for your help.

Jeff

[bruce22]

3/4 lumber usually measures out at between .625 and .690 so using 05 ply with itsoriented strand wud be equivalent

[bruce22]

3/4 lumber usually measures out at between .625 and .690 so using 05 ply with itsoriented strand wud be equivalent

[Anonymous]

kia ora from new zealand! i have a free-standing 4' x 8' layout in n-gauge and i used plywood exclusively for the frame/benchwork. it is 16mm thick and cut it into 90mm (4 inch) strips. lengthways, it does not / will not 'sag' as ordinary lumber does, nor will it twist or warp, and is stronger. if u are covering this framework with a solid top then L-girder type is not necessary....just I-girder. i screwed/glued all my joints, and the centre 'lateral' joist piece is double thickness because the bracing for my legs is secured to them. good luck and enjoy !

[Anonymous]

kia ora from new zealand! i have a free-standing 4' x 8' layout in n-gauge and i used plywood exclusively for the frame/benchwork. it is 16mm thick and cut it into 90mm (4 inch) strips. lengthways, it does not / will not 'sag' as ordinary lumber does, nor will it twist or warp, and is stronger. if u are covering this framework with a solid top then L-girder type is not necessary....just I-girder. i screwed/glued all my joints, and the centre 'lateral' joist piece is double thickness because the bracing for my legs is secured to them. good luck and enjoy !

[Anonymous]

Bench work material can be of almost any size if you do a few things. First remember that material less than 3/4 inch is questionable for retaining screws. If you use some other fastner, lesser thicknesses can be joined. Second remember that glue in a hot dry environment will ofter dryout and separate.

When you use the thinner guage material you may have to rely upon your own or some other expert advise as to the spacing and size of components. An egg crate environment will support tons of weight -- if properly designed and joined.

[Anonymous]

Bench work material can be of almost any size if you do a few things. First remember that material less than 3/4 inch is questionable for retaining screws. If you use some other fastner, lesser thicknesses can be joined. Second remember that glue in a hot dry environment will ofter dryout and separate.

When you use the thinner guage material you may have to rely upon your own or some other expert advise as to the spacing and size of components. An egg crate environment will support tons of weight -- if properly designed and joined.

[BR60103]

I question using plywood for L girders. When you assemble the L girder, you put glue along one edge and drive screws into it. I can visualize the screws ripping out of the inside ply of the plywood. Comments from the carpenters out there?

[BR60103]

I question using plywood for L girders. When you assemble the L girder, you put glue along one edge and drive screws into it. I can visualize the screws ripping out of the inside ply of the plywood. Comments from the carpenters out there?

[Anonymous]

hi David,..who/what's gonna rip the screws out of plywood ???? suggest drilling a pilot hole for the screw,squirting in a dab of pva/eliphatic wood glue and using coarser threaded dry-wall screws. have built household joinery this way before mdf came along and it's outlasting the modern methods. really, it doesn't matter what lumber is used....i've simply found that ripped up plywood costs a lot less than dressed lumber, and is more dimensionally stable.

[Anonymous]

hi David,..who/what's gonna rip the screws out of plywood ???? suggest drilling a pilot hole for the screw,squirting in a dab of pva/eliphatic wood glue and using coarser threaded dry-wall screws. have built household joinery this way before mdf came along and it's outlasting the modern methods. really, it doesn't matter what lumber is used....i've simply found that ripped up plywood costs a lot less than dressed lumber, and is more dimensionally stable.

[Anonymous]

I'm into furniture making and the question about using plywood for benchwork framing has been on my mind. Plywood is a lot more stable, meaning very little expansion/shrinkage with changes in humidity. Also I would use sheetrock screws to join pieces together. If one makes a error in cutting or whatever, removing a screw doesn't damage the wood as removing a nail would. I framed up my basement walls using screws and had to make changes, which was easy. One can laminate strips pf ply to obatain the desired thickness for framework again screwing the pieces together.

[Anonymous]

I'm into furniture making and the question about using plywood for benchwork framing has been on my mind. Plywood is a lot more stable, meaning very little expansion/shrinkage with changes in humidity. Also I would use sheetrock screws to join pieces together. If one makes a error in cutting or whatever, removing a screw doesn't damage the wood as removing a nail would. I framed up my basement walls using screws and had to make changes, which was easy. One can laminate strips pf ply to obatain the desired thickness for framework again screwing the pieces together.

[Anonymous]

Greetings............I don't have my August issue here at work with me, so can anyone tell me what the brand name (actually the web site URL) of the shelf bracket "system" that is referred to in the first few paragraphs of the article? I'd like to look it up on the computer while I'm here at work.

Thanks,

R.A.
South Plainfield, NJ

[Anonymous]

Greetings............I don't have my August issue here at work with me, so can anyone tell me what the brand name (actually the web site URL) of the shelf bracket "system" that is referred to in the first few paragraphs of the article? I'd like to look it up on the computer while I'm here at work.

Thanks,

R.A.
South Plainfield, NJ

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by CNJLVRR

Greetings............I don't have my August issue here at work with me, so can anyone tell me what the brand name (actually the web site URL)

Kujawa used Hirsh but gave no web site. (Probably a few seconds with Google would answer your question!) He mentioned Sterling as being the same. johnsterling.com I did a slight variation using yet another home center brand which is identical and interchangeable with the Hirsh. Tossed the packaging, so I can't be more precise!

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by CNJLVRR

Greetings............I don't have my August issue here at work with me, so can anyone tell me what the brand name (actually the web site URL)

Kujawa used Hirsh but gave no web site. (Probably a few seconds with Google would answer your question!) He mentioned Sterling as being the same. johnsterling.com I did a slight variation using yet another home center brand which is identical and interchangeable with the Hirsh. Tossed the packaging, so I can't be more precise!

[Anonymous]

Hello Group, I'm in the process now of building a wall shelf layout in N using steel brackets which are the same as in the previous post. I have 3 corner sections in one room, each corner being 3 ft square using 2-20" brackets and they will support 600 lbs each. I'm using 5/8" D grade fir plywood ripped into 2" strips for the sub-roadbed framework and I doubled it up and placed a flat 3" piece on top of that to form a T section that I used to put between the steel bracket and the framework. That T section is so strong I could drive my 3/4 ton pickup over it and it wouldn't break and seeing as this layout is in a basement environment I needed something that wouldn't be affected by changes in humidity and moisture and plywood is the best way to go for that. I've set my layout height to 48" above the floor and the beauty of the bracket system is there are no obstruction underneath the layout, I can set my office chair to its lowest height and work underneath the layout in comfort. I'm just now starting on the shelf system in the recreation room along a 25ft wall and then at a right angle off that I'll have a yard 13 ft long to store my cars. I'm looking for a resistive soldering unit to solder wire drops onto my track to my main power bus so if anyone out there knows where to get a reasonably priced or used one let me know. I have 125 pieces of flex to solder drops on and I want to make it as painless as possible. Thanks, Bob

[Anonymous]

Hello Group, I'm in the process now of building a wall shelf layout in N using steel brackets which are the same as in the previous post. I have 3 corner sections in one room, each corner being 3 ft square using 2-20" brackets and they will support 600 lbs each. I'm using 5/8" D grade fir plywood ripped into 2" strips for the sub-roadbed framework and I doubled it up and placed a flat 3" piece on top of that to form a T section that I used to put between the steel bracket and the framework. That T section is so strong I could drive my 3/4 ton pickup over it and it wouldn't break and seeing as this layout is in a basement environment I needed something that wouldn't be affected by changes in humidity and moisture and plywood is the best way to go for that. I've set my layout height to 48" above the floor and the beauty of the bracket system is there are no obstruction underneath the layout, I can set my office chair to its lowest height and work underneath the layout in comfort. I'm just now starting on the shelf system in the recreation room along a 25ft wall and then at a right angle off that I'll have a yard 13 ft long to store my cars. I'm looking for a resistive soldering unit to solder wire drops onto my track to my main power bus so if anyone out there knows where to get a reasonably priced or used one let me know. I have 125 pieces of flex to solder drops on and I want to make it as painless as possible. Thanks, Bob

[Anonymous]

We belong to an HO Modular Group, my husband uses door jam material for the sides of his modules with bracing running crossways for support of the construction foam we use as a base for our layouts. We use metal leg brackets and legs made from square tubing (they don't swell with humidity or splinter). The foam is glued into the frame with water soluable contact cement.

[Anonymous]

We belong to an HO Modular Group, my husband uses door jam material for the sides of his modules with bracing running crossways for support of the construction foam we use as a base for our layouts. We use metal leg brackets and legs made from square tubing (they don't swell with humidity or splinter). The foam is glued into the frame with water soluable contact cement.