materials for benchwork

[cheese3]

With the price of lumber rising i was thinking of inexpensive materials to use for my benchwork. I have decided to stick with wood 2 x 4's but I wanted something cheeper than plywood for the top. I was wondering if drywall would work. I would have to prime and paint it to seal it from scenery building materials and i am not planning on leaning on it or putting much stress on it...so would it work? Tell me what you think! Please![:)]

[Anonymous]

Since you live outside CA, you should have access to Pink or blue 2" thick insulation foam. Its sturdy, light weight, and easy to cut through for lower scenic features. They are sold in 4 x 8 sheets.

Check Home Depot or Lowes. Good luck.

[cheese3]

The problem with the foam is, here in maryland it is twice as much as plywood and i am trying to avoid the expense of building materials

[rrinker]

Wow, twice as expensive as ply? Totally opposite here. That's very odd.

I wi***he Home Depots around here had it in 4x8 sheets, around here they only carry the 2x8 sheets.

2x4's for the benchwork are serious overkill, although they are cheaper than nice 1x4's.

--Randy

[selector]

Whatever you do, don't use gyproc (drywall). It isn't strong enough to withstand any leaning, and will need more support beneath it than 5/8 G1S plywood. (Good on One Side). it will crumble at the edges, unless you were to fiber glass it. What will you bolt to it, and how, for a layout base? Too many headaches.

Scrounge 2X2, 2X4, and even plywood at teardowns or reno/construction sites, although you'll get what you pay for, if you get my drift.

How big do you intend to build? One sheet of 5/8" is plenty strong and will obviate the necessity of costly understrapping. At about $20/sheet, give or take, it should not be a show stopper.

[IRONROOSTER]

I would stay away from drywall. In addition to the problems mentioned above, it will be a mess when you add wiring and under table switch machines. It seems like needless expense, but you really have to invest in doing a good job with the benchwork.
Enjoy
Paul

[CraigN]

Check out in the back at your local Home Depot or Lowes store. Sometimes you will find a pile of lumber that is used to seperate the bunks of lumber. If you ask , you can probably get the wood for free. That will help with the benchwork and leave you money for the plywood.

[steveblackledge]

DON'T cut corners with the benchwork, you will regret it later, drywall will sag when laid flat even with lots of support below it.
I used 2" x 2" pine with 1" blue foam and in other area's i used 1/4" MDF where buildings and yards go. At places where the track is raised up i made curved splines
made with
1/4" X 3" X 4' long strips of MDF, these were offcuts from the local timber dealer, in fact all the MDF i use is offcuts from the waste bin, they only charge a nominal fee..
On it's own MDF is very flexible, but glued together or into box sections etc it's very strong, and unlike plywood you don't get splinters in your hands, just remember to use a dust mask when cutting it.

[Anonymous]

DON'T cut corners on your benchwork. Your benchwork is the foundation upon which everything else is built. If your foundation is poor, everything else, no matter how well it's built or how expensive it is, will fail and be destroyed.

Plywood is CHEAP. Lumber is CHEAP. Foam is CHEAP. If you're worried about spending $25 for plywood, what are you going to do when you want to order $300 or $500 worth of turnouts? Huh?

Spend the money. Cringe when you do it. Do a "Cadillac" job, and smile that everything turned out so well in the end.

My nephew has a good philosophy about optics and hunting:

"Cringe once, spend the money, and smile the rest of your life."

Mark in Utah

[cheese3]

QUOTE: I used 2" x 2" pine with 1" blue foam

I am trying to stay away from foam because of the cost so that is out of the question. I think i will use plywood but what is the best type, brand, and thikness, keep in mind i do not have the money to buy a glamorous piece of wood so it has to farely inexpensive.

[IRONROOSTER]

The cheapest is usally cdx, but that's pretty rough - used for concrete forms etc. I personally use bc interior. If supported 1/2" should be adequate. I use a grid with cross pieces on 12" centers, but you could probably get away with 16" centers.
Enjoy
Paul

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by cheese3

QUOTE: I used 2" x 2" pine with 1" blue foam

I am trying to stay away from foam because of the cost so that is out of the question. I think i will use plywood but what is the best type, brand, and thikness, keep in mind i do not have the money to buy a glamorous piece of wood so it has to farely inexpensive.

Adam,
As selector was saying, 5/8" thick plywood sheets would easily do the job. I've seen some people use 1/2" as well. What you can buy is the kind that isn't 'pretty', IOW the surfaces have knots and other imperfections. That dosen't matter because it will be covered anyway. Just be sure the sheets have enough "ply's" (layers) - the more ply's the stronger the sheet.

One more thing to consider: Do you have a table saw or a radial-arm saw at home? If not, make sure you have the Home Depot /Lowes guys cut it there for you. (The first three cuts are no charge, if I remember correctly.)

Good luck![:)]

[dave9999]

Adam,
I don't know if they have one in you area, but we have a salvage lumber yard here in Pensacola.
You have to do some picking and choosing, but you can usually find some pretty good lumber.
And you can get it at a fraction of the cost of Home Depot and the like. Good luck, Dave

[orsonroy]

The cheapest benchwork (made out of all-new material) that I know of is a support frame of 2x2s and 1x2s, with a tabletop of 1/4" Lauan (not pine) plywood and 2" of foam.

You've said at least twice that foam is not an option because of it's price. Have you factored in the fact that foam works multiple duties on a layout? Not only is it a major element in a lightweight (or modern) layout's support, but it also acts as both the rail subroadbed and roadbed, AND is the primary layer of your scenery.

Subtract the cost of 2x4s, plaster, hydrocal, rock molds. screen mesh, cardboard, staples, spline or conventional subroadbed, homasote or cork roadbed, and other miscellaneous (and completely unnecessary) items from "traditional" benchwork, and foam quickly becomes a MUCH cheaper alternative than plywood and the "usual" way of doing things. True, you're spending more money in one lump, but you'll be saving money down the road. My 3 level layout has something like 450 square feet worth of tabletop on it. It's made as I've described above. I estimate that it cost me $1.45 a square foot to build.