Walthers 130' turntable

[tonyd453]

Recently purchased this table. The instructions mention mounting in foam or plywood. Any suggestions or experience with mounting this table. Anty advice would be appreciated as this is my first experience in mounting and using a turntable.

[ndbprr]

Don't know anything aboiut the table but you are going to have to cut a fairly accurate hole to fit it in. If it has a horizontal edge or lip on the outside it won't be as difficult as you can stray a tad in cutting it.

[selector]

If you intend to have a roundhouse as well, you should get it ready for installation, and than situate both by placing them on the layout where you'd like them to go. Figure out how the tracks will mate between the house and the table bridge tracks. Are the angles going to be okay?

Once you are confident that you have everything in the right position, circumscribe the perimeter of the table pit, or basin, and that will be your cut-out line.....for the FOAM (if you have it). The underlying plywood, if you have it, can have a much smaller hole, perhaps, depending on the drive mechanism, or how clean the lines are underneath the pit.

Once done, if the table doesn't quite fit, use a rasp or file to enlarge the circle a bit, checking frequently that the table will fall into place with ease. If it is a lipped edge to the table, as ndbprr says, it will sit nicely flush, or nearly so, against the wood or foam surface. If no lip, then you now know why the hole below the foam should be somewhat smaller in diameter; you need to sit the pit on something!

[tonyd453]

Thanks for the replies. The table has a horizontal lip on it. Only question is can it be mounted only in foam or should it be mounted directly on plywood and screwed in?

[selector]

I am quite sure that the foam, if largely uninjured by your ministrations during the cutting phase, will suffice. However, I would be happier with a single layer of fortified plaster cloth wetted and shaped over the lip of the cut-out for added strength. Of course, that would mean even more rasping of the hole perimeter to accommodate the plaster cloth, but the effort would be worth it, in my view. Also, it would add height to the landscape at the lip of the pit, and the bridge rails might snag against it where it is not quite flat...bumpy cloth would harden into snagging thorns. They can be filed, though.

I suggest you try the non-cloth approach and see if you are confident with the foam's ability to hold everything in place. Even with the weight of a hefty loco, it should be okay, but it is easily recitified if not.