Need some suggestions on methods to build benchwork for a modular style layout. I would like to build a free standing layout along 3 walls, with a 2' width with an increase to 3' on the ends. The layout does not need to be portable. I am looking for suggestions for size of lumber, methods of fastening boards together, what to use for legs and what to place on top of benchwork prior to using foam. Thanks for your help.........
Try this link it will get you started, Im using somw of the ideas for my bench work. http://www.railwaybob.com/Modules/ModConstr/ModConstr01.htm
Check out KALMBACH PUBLISHING's(Model Railroader Magazine) book about how to build benchwork. This book gives several different ideas on how to build benchwork.
We always use plywood, since there is no problem with warping. Home Depot can rip sheets in 4" wide strips, perfect for frame construction.
They generally charge 1 doller per cut, just be prepared. Plywood is actually superior in price to dimensional 1x lumber, since it is so stable, and straight. Also can be cheaper if you have the equipment to rip it down.. Honey, can I buy a table saw???
hmm..... Like the idea of plywood, but the tablesaw idea is out. Just picked up a DeWalt Mitter saw for redoing our " baseboards and door jambs", what a coincidence it will be great for my benchwork. Thanks for the ideas PLEASE keep them coming.........
We always use first quality Baltic Birch for our NTrak modules. When they are done, it looks like fine furniture. Shame to put scenery on it! The lesson is not to use too poor of plywood. Some of the stuff is only for sheathing on really bad houses!
As someone who builds theatrical sets for a living and uses plywood all the time, I have to vociferously disagree with the idea that it doesn't warp. It most certainly warps, especially if left outside (like any other wood). It depends on the quality you buy and where you buy it from, and how bad the humidity is where you live. A lot of the time it will be fine, but you have to be careful not to waste $45 on a bad piece. If you want something that really doesn't warp, try MDF (medium density fiberboard). In fact, take a look at this thread anyway... Modular Shelf Layout
Since I are a professional carpenter, I would like to offer my suggestions based on years of experience. Since ripping plywood is not in the cards, and having Home Depot charge to make the cuts sort of kills the savings. I would suggest using 1 X 4 pine boards for the frame, 1/2 inch A-C plywood for subroadbed or table top and 2x2 legs. The simplest way is to make 4 or 6 ft long frames. Since you have a good miter saw it makes cutting equal sized pieces easy. If you carefully pick through the stock to find boards with no bows or crowns and find the clearest (few if any knots) you can make some quality benchwork. If you do some math you can buy boards in the right lenghts to avoid too much waste. If you use drywall screws and carpenters glue to assemble the frame it will be strong and stable. For example, if you made a 2ft X4ft frame you would need 2 8ft 1x4s and 2 8ft or 10ft 2X2s, depending on the hight. You would cut 1 8ft into 2 4ft and cut one 8ft into 4 @ 22 1/2 inches. ( 24" minus the thickness of the 1X4 = 2X3/4 = 1 1/2" ) Glue and screw the two cross pieces to the face, then the back 4ftr to the cross pieces with 1 5/8 or 2 inch drywall screws. WORK ON A FLAT SURFACE. Then square the frame by measuring from one corner to the other DIAGONALLY, adjusting to make these numbers equal. Using the other two cross pieces to temporarily hold the frame square by screwing them flat diagonally from the face to the cross piece. If you are doing a table top, you can cut the plywood 2ft X 4ft and flip the frame and screw it down with 1 inch drywall screws. Flip it back over take the temporary braces and mount them 16inches in from the ends with screws and glue. while it is upside down you can cut the 2X2 legs and screw them in the corners with the 1 5/8ths or 2 inch screws. Change any of the overall measurments to suit need.Then bake at 450 for 35 minutes on a well greased cookie sheet. Serves six and is especially good with a Cabernet. When you flip this onto it's legs you will have completed the basic 2 X 4 table top. From this point the sky is the limit. Add 1 X2 braces if it stands alone or eliminate two legs and screw it to the wall, add some tee nuts and bolts for leg levelers. You can even try a 2ft to 3 ft X 4 ft end module using the 45 feature on that Dewalt Our next class will be on Cookie Cutter benchwork. Bring a sharp #2 pencil and a Jig Saw I hope this helps,Sknarf. "Nothing like the smell of Sawdust in the mourning"
I tried making my first railroad out of 1x4 pine boards. Boy howdy, I went out to the lumber store and built me the prettiest lil' box you ever did see. Perfectly level, 8' long with cross braces every 2 feet. I was so proud of my handi-work. The next morning, I went out to check on it, and got a rude shock. The poor thing had warped up on me. Not just a little, about 4" at the ends! Kinda looked like a section of the DNA strand. I tried everything to coax it back into place. Weights, no good, it just made a teeter totter. Turn it over? Naw, it just made an arch bridge. Well, the poor thing is still sitting outside, propped up against the house. The second version of my benchwork was made with stout 2x4s! Sucker weighed a ton, but you know, it was straight as could be, and I didn't need too many legs! The moral of the story is that 1x4s are cut mostly from trash pine. Sure, you can get good material these days, but don't bet on it! Hain't never had a problem with plywood.
My layout is built on a combination of 24"x80" and 30"x80" hollow core doors mounted on some fairly cheap composite bookshelves 48" x60" in HO scale. My experience with 1" and 2" by 4" lumber has been miserable. I was allowed to go through a pile and pick my own pieces, picked the straightest I could fine (~2 hours), had to pay to have it delivered, placed it in a climate-controlled area and the following day I had a collection of "propellers" from wrecked aircraft! If you can find some "good one side" hollow core doors, they're normally available at a very good discount.
Instant cheap benchwork. http://www.officedepot.com/browse.do?N=1000000200+10324 They come in a large variety of sizes. You can get adjustable height ones. They can be fastened to each other with cleats screwed to the bottoms. The plastic topped ones have to be used as is, but the particle board topped ones can be cut down to some extent (up to the edge of the metal framework) to adapt to different spaces and configurations. If you use foam for landscaping instead of plaster, they are lightweight enough to be portable (even the largest can be carried by 2 people) This site is just for an idea of what is available, other stores carry different sizes and some even offer free delivery.
I used pressure treated lumber - moisture does not warp it. My plywood was warped though. I had four 4'x8' sheets left over from having to cover my garage openings for a hurricane before the doors were installed. Used it but tied it down good with drywall screws.
This is not true. In most cases it is just the opposite. The chemicals used to pressure treat wood protect the wood from rotting due to insects and microbial agents, and have no effect on the change of moisture content of the wood. Wood warps the most as it loses its natural moisture content. This is why those of us in the cabinet making business buy our lumber 6 months to a year in advance, so that it can dry before use. Pressure treated wood (especially the stuff you get at home centers) has an incredibly high moisture content compared to any other dimensional lumber and has a much higher warpage/ unusable board loss rate than any other dimensional lumber. Most lumber, you have to have a moisture meter to tell when it has dropped to a suitable level to be used, normally between 6% and 12% for indoor use, depending on local conditions (i.e. desert southwest to humid southeast). Much of the air dried lumber at home centers has a moisture content over 20%, but the pressure treated can be much higher. With most pressure treated lumber you do not even need a moisture meter to see how wet it is. Water oozes out of it when a screw or nail is driven into it, and you will notice that it is much heavier when you pick it up. After 2 to 3 weeks of being stored in a dry location, you will notice that it is much, much lighter. Contrary to popular belief, painting or finishing will not prevent a piece of wood from warping, it may slow the process slightly, it may take a finished board 3 days to warp instead of 2 days for an unfinished one, but will not stop it. If you look at the normally non-visible sections of a piece of fine furniture (real wood, not particle board or mdf with a veneer on it) like the under side of a dining table or the inside of a chest of drawers, or the back side of pre-finished hardwood flooring, you will most likely see they are unfinished. Painting or finishing only one side of a board that has not already dried to its average moisture content for its use area ( known as EMC or equilibrium moisture content) can actually cause it to warp much more severely as it dries, compared to an unfinished board, due to the uneven drying rates it will cause.
Greg: I'm surprised you used 4x8' plywood sheets that were used to cover your garage openings for hurricane protection for your benchwork. Those pieces must be very warped. Would drywall screws really prevent the plywood from warping any further? Stay cool and run steam.....
The moral of the story is that 1x4s are cut mostly from trash pine. Sure, you can get good material these days, but don't bet on it! Hain't never had a problem with plywood. </font>[/QUOTE]I have to disagree. It depends on where you get the wood and when you seal it after assembly. Here's my 3' x 5.5' made with 1x4 select pine purchased from Home Depot (picking and choosing the best): Here's a closer look. All hand cut with a miter box: And here it is all stained and holding a layout in progress:
MK: The layout benchwork and trackwork is very nicely done as is your wiring which I remember from another photo. Stay cool and run steam.....
MK, Nice looking bench, brings a tear to my eye. Like I originally posted: If you carefully pick through the stock to find boards with no bows or crowns and find the clearest (few if any knots) you can make some quality benchwork. Yes, some wood can warp, some climate conditions will effect it. That's why a lot of trim material is now made of MDF. It is stable in a stable environment. However if it gets wet it will crumble into the pressed paper that it is. There is no perfect answer, just my suggestions.
