Was in the shed the other day seeing what lumber we had and eyeing up what I could use for the layout in the new year, anyways I stumble upon this bundle of masonsite in the corner from whatever project dad I got it for (from when we built our current house), anyways I'm looking at it and its just the right size I would do these splines. Not only that you can pick them up at the hardware store as a bundle and thats it.
Quick and easy I'm thinking all well and good but has anyone done splines in masonite, how good is it to work with and is it really good with moisture and does it warp and play up and effect the track and ballast.
Otherwise the splines are going to be ply and that will be it.
Thoughts and ideas I'm all ears
I'm sure I've seen threads about masonite splines. There is a search function on the right side of the page, but you might be better off using google.
My impression is spline people are happy with it. That form of roadbed seems like a lot of work to me, but to each his own.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
http://s145079212.onlinehome.us/rr/howto/splines/index.shtml
greg - Philadelphia & Reading / Reading
BigDaddy My impression is spline people are happy with it. That form of roadbed seems like a lot of work to me, but to each his own.
Their maybe a bit of work but will be worth the reward watching one of the local northerns at work or a cab forward, I'm trying to keep it a the forefront being steam engines are track sensitve and the bigger they are theres more of a chance something will rear its ugly head from somewhere.
So bullet proof it as much as possible
Thankyou Greg very much appreciated and very helpful
Thankyou
Cam
I am a guy that is willing to use any and all methods for a layout and will use many different methods on the same layout. I think spline is great roadbed in most situations. I had a lot of fun laying spline and it was over way to fast. It is incredibly cost effective and I don't understand why those on a budget don't jump at it.
On my current layout, I used spline and foam for the simple reason I had not tried them before. Two things I have since decided on if I do again are, one, I would not put mainline on the foam. Over time it gets a little rock and rolly. Putting secondary lines or yards on foam ads a little realism as it isn't perfect. The second thing is, I found foam so flexible to work with when it came to everything landscape. I have goo over cardboard strips on part of my current layout and changing it in a spot will be messy and hard to match up once patched. I have already changed a bit of the foam and it was cut and repainted in no time flat.
Spline appears to be sag proof and there is virtually no waste of material.
This four foot stretch has not sagged a bit after years of service. Someday a bridge will go in.
The outside pieces should be beveled and you will not need cork on top of the spline. Another big saving for those on a budget.
I think layout size has a lot to do with the methods we choose and everything should be weighed out when deciding on methods used.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
You can use any material for splines that will bend in two axes without splintering or cracking. I used 1/4" MDF. I had the nice folks at my local builder supply rip a 4X8 sheet of it into 7/8" strips on a table saw for a small fee. I got nearly 46 strips. At six ply thickness, that got me a lot of 8' long spline sections sitting atop risers.
When you are mounting those splines, consider tilting the risers a bit so that your spline sub-roadbed affords some super-elevation for the roadbed and tracks that sit on it.
selectorWhen you are mounting those splines, consider tilting the risers a bit so that your spline sub-roadbed affords some super-elevation for the roadbed and tracks that sit on it.
Wish I had thought of that. I did put a little superelevation in using a rasp, with a bubble level marked with a pencil as my guide. It didn't take much "rasping" to get it right, however tilting the spline during construction sounds like it may be a good method.
SAR 500 BigDaddy My impression is spline people are happy with it. That form of roadbed seems like a lot of work to me, but to each his own. Their maybe a bit of work but will be worth the reward watching one of the local northerns at work or a cab forward, I'm trying to keep it a the forefront being steam engines are track sensitve and the bigger they are theres more of a chance something will rear its ugly head from somewhere. So bullet proof it as much as possible
Yes roadbed prep matters in the process, Spline is one way to get solid roadbed, there are other methods that yield great results as well.
IMHO - track laying and tuning skill, bigger curves and switch minimums matter more towards your goal of "bulletproof" for large steamers.
Joe Fugate has a raft of material on Masonite spline - google him
Guy
see stuff at: the Willoughby Line Site
What radius curves are you planning? I used 1/4 x 7/8 masonite splines on my last layout and had about 1/3 of them snap when I tried to bend them to 24". At about 30" almost none snapped.
I didn't adhere to strict scientific protocols when testing this but they seemed to be a little more cooperative when I let them sit bent to a large radius for a few days before pushing them.
I have the right to remain silent. By posting here I have given up that right and accept that anything I say can and will be used as evidence to critique me.
Thankyou Batman (Brent) very nice of you're layout their I like a work in progress shot, I'm going to have to give foam a go at some stage, that's the other thing I like about the splines no sag unless you do something to it...
selector You can use any material for splines that will bend in two axes without splintering or cracking. I used 1/4" MDF. I had the nice folks at my local builder supply rip a 4X8 sheet of it into 7/8" strips on a table saw for a small fee. I got nearly 46 strips. At six ply thickness, that got me a lot of 8' long spline sections sitting atop risers. When you are mounting those splines, consider tilting the risers a bit so that your spline sub-roadbed affords some super-elevation for the roadbed and tracks that sit on it.
Speaking of length of splines.... how long should the spline be so its managable to work with, nice and long as 8' or half the size and 4' long.
I'll keep the elevation in mind
Carl 425
I'm aimimg for 42" curves but if I can get it a bit bigger I'll push for that as well,I've got that big broad curved aproach as a must for a LDE (Layout Design Element) as local SAR Northerns and SP Cab Forwards rule that factor.
I had the 4X8 sheet of 1/4" MDF ripped along the long axis of the sheet, so all those lengths were 8' long. It makes them like very springy flex track when you're handling them, but I got the hang of it. When you go to mount them, drive a small nail, or drive a screw, into the top surface of your riser in the center of that top surface. Then, taking three splines at a time, you glue them together, trying your darnest to keep their tops even with each other (you adjust and clamp, adjust and clamp). All three go on one side of the nail/screw. When they are set, say in about six hours or so, you add the other three splines to the other side of the nail/screw. When it all dries, you can remove the heavier whole and set it aside if you need to. It'll retain its shape. You can even remove the risers to get at something nearby if you must. You'll have to restore it all into place later, but the shape of the splines will let you know how to orient the risers so that you can drill into the top of the splines and secure them, with a recessed screw head, onto the risers.
I wonder if you could add the bevel afterwards, with a router?
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
BATMAN I am a guy that is willing to use any and all methods for a layout and will use many different methods on the same layout. I think spline is great roadbed in most situations. I had a lot of fun laying spline and it was over way to fast. It is incredibly cost effective and I don't understand why those on a budget don't jump at it. On my current layout, I used spline and foam for the simple reason I had not tried them before. Two things I have since decided on if I do again are, one, I would not put mainline on the foam. Over time it gets a little rock and rolly. Putting secondary lines or yards on foam ads a little realism as it isn't perfect. The second thing is, I found foam so flexible to work with when it came to everything landscape. I have goo over cardboard strips on part of my current layout and changing it in a spot will be messy and hard to match up once patched. I have already changed a bit of the foam and it was cut and repainted in no time flat. Spline appears to be sag proof and there is virtually no waste of material.
Hi Brent,Did you just use foam bocks for your risers?...or how did you elevate the spline roadbed over the bottom sheet of foam??If its some sort of foam blocks, how did you attach spline roadbed to top of risers?
Brian
My Layout Plan
Interesting new Plan Consideration
Randy, yes, or just add cork roadbed to the top and count the splines as sub-roadbed.
My bench is open grid except for the end where I added a bit of ply over top for strength. I made the end of the bench curved and it needed some structural support as I thought people would be bumping into that end a lot as they came into the room.
I attached the supports to the grid and cut out the foam to fit before I put it back into place. I used 1" x 2"s, 1" x 3"s and 1" x 4'S for risers depending on the orientation of the spline with the grid. I used blocks where the plywood is.
I used a hot glue gun to join the splines together. I would just glue the first two feet or so, making sure the tops were dead even. Soon as it was dry the rest of the spline would line up perfectly and I would glue the next six feet.
A rasp is a good tool to use to level any bits that need to be fine tuned or have bits of glue removed that oozed out. A rasp could also put the bevel in on the edges. I used a rasp to put in my superelevation in the curves, it took little effort but a fine touch.
Once all the spline was glued I used drywall screws every twelve to eighteen inches through the sides for extra strength. Be sure to drill pilot holes for the screws, hardboard demands it. I also used drywall screws down through the spline into the top of the riser to hold it in place, though I don't think it was going anywhere. A pilot hole is really critical for this.
Here you can see the nail in the top of the riser, this is where the centre spline will be. Be sure to really stagger the splines for strength.
Need to put in a bridge, just take a saw and cut out the spline. With past layouts, cutting out the plywood was a lot more work, awkward and time consuming.
rrinkerI wonder if you could add the bevel afterwards, with a router?
While that would work (I've done it) the mess it makes is spread out all over the layout and a real pain to clean up. I find Masonite dust to be even worse than homosote dust. It tends to be just sticky enough that the shop vac has trouble pulling it up. It's a better idea to lean the table saw blade over as Fugate suggests and cut them outside.
Another option that works is to make the width of the spline roadbed match the length of the ties and then use the scenery to form the sloped shoulder.
danno54Strongly recommend cutting masonite outdoors
I agree. I moved my saw outside to rip the splines. The dust cloud was huge, The Department of National defense showed up to investigate, saying Russia had spotted a UFO on their Radar heading North over the Pole.