Has anyone been able to either locate an online or local store that supplies 1/8" thickness MDF? The thinnest that I can find is at Home Depot (1/4") . I plan to use it for a helix roadbed and I can't seem to find it anywhere in the Cincinnati, OH area.
Thanks!
LION thinks you will find it not. You are using N scale?
Matters not. Helix needs no road bed since it is not seen as part of the scenicked layout. You want to keep your helix boards as thin as possible so that you do not force your trains to climb a stiffer grade.
LION would look at 1/2 boards such as Celotex or Homasote and with appropriate support, these will work fine all by themselves. Look at ceiling tiles, the 2' x 4' kind, and cut your turn segments out of these, as they may have better dimensional stability over a wider range of ambient humidities and temperatures.
Helix of LION is 5/8" inch OSB, ROARS like a LION in a Subway Tunnel! WTH: It IS A LION IN A SUBWAY TUNNEL!
The West helixes are built on 2" thick roofing fiberglass boards, but then this helix is 5 feet wide and 12 feet long, so LION has space to be creative.
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
1/8" is too fleable to provide reliable support!
1/8" is thin but actually, I will be doubling it per the instructions in the link below. It contains an Excel spreadsheet with calculations for a great helix. I have already began building it with paper to test my calculations based on it. I will hold off on further comment until people have a chance to view it if interested.
http://www.stayathome.ch/gleiswendel.htm
Gidday, Now I'm a fan of MDF for road bed , 6 mm usually, but in this case I'd think that you'd be better off to use, at the very least, the 4 mm plywood that is used by http://www.stayathome.ch/gleiswendel.htm
My reasoning is that two lots of 4mm plywood laminated together would be far stronger than similar thickness MDF laminated together.
A clever way of not wasting material while still having structural strength.
Thanks for bringing that site to my attention.
Cheers, the Bear.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Bear,
For some reason,I cannot get that site..
Cheers,
Frank
zstripe Bear, For some reason,I cannot get that site.. Cheers, Frank
Gidday Frank, perhaps it's because I'm used to working upside down, and drink tea , but try it now.
Cheers, the Bear
"JaBear" zstripe Bear, For some reason,I cannot get that site.. Cheers, Frank Gidday Frank, perhaps it's because I'm used to working upside down, and drink tea , but try it now. Cheers, the Bear
Thanks,,,,yeah!! I forgot,you were upside down,,HE,HE, I thought at first,it was because of all the Tea,you guys drink,,,LOL..
"JaBear"Gidday, Now I'm a fan of MDF for road bed , 6 mm usually, but in this case I'd think that you'd be better off to use, at the very least, the 4 mm plywood that is used by http://www.stayathome.ch/gleiswendel.htm
Yeah, I just don't think thin MDF is the way to go here, either. That stuff is wavy enough to use over something else, let alone structurally, like in a helix.
Plywood will work when thin if laminated and carefully supported.
It's the same amount of work either way, which is a bunch. I would not risk all that labor on MDF.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
I've never used MDF, but doesn't it have a bad habit of absorbing moisture and warping?
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
All - thanks for the replies! I will attempt to find 4mm plywood instead - it will probably be a lot easier to find it, too.
I have been using this method of building Helixs for a number of years (straight sections with angled ends) !
I never could see doing it the other way with the huge amount of waste (unless of course you have lots of FREE material)!
Most layout Owners are unsure when I begin building this type of Helix for them (as no one else wants to build these things - so I get elected).
But are surprised how easy and fast it goes together and it actually works!
Most of the time I need to built a one or two turn helix and using this method really is a lot quicker as I can rip the material with a table saw a lot faster than a saber/jig saw will cut it out!
BOB H - Clarion, PA
Very clever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
MisterBeasley I've never used MDF, but doesn't it have a bad habit of absorbing moisture and warping?