Hi,
I am currently working on my third layout and I’m begining to build the benchwork. In the past, I’ve used 1x4 pine boards to construct my layout. However, with the way lumber prices are nowadays, I was wondering if 1x3 furring strips are sufficient enough to support the rest of the layout?
Thanks,
Jake
Furring strips are usually some of the lowest grade lumber there is. It will almost certainly warp, twist and split. Buy quality benchwork wood. You only have to buy it once.
I agree with Dave, the 1x3s are a poor choice. I use a considerable amout of 3/4 pine in my business of kitchen and woodwork. The poor quality of #2 pine has me even using D select or c or better.
If you are looking to use a stable product for the benchwork and want to have some saving too, look into using 7 ply birch cabinet grade ply ripped to the 1x4 (3 1/2" net) If you don’t want to use a Kregg pocket screw system, just fasten any end grain screws by adding a 3/4 x3/4 block. This material is superior to any #2 pine. An additional option would be to use steel studs.
I wouldn’t recommend 1x3 furring strips. If you go that route make sure that there are no wide knots or other major defects in the boards you select.
You might check “white wood” at Lowes. It’s hit or miss on quality, but you might get lucky.
One of the things I do, is salvage the wood from one layout to the next. I built my last three layouts using open grid and have salvaged most of the grids and legs from each one. The pieces are in my new basement awaiting the next one. Some of the wood is 25+ years old. So buying quality can be for a long time.
Enjoy
Paul
Not being in the wood use business at all, and having no history, I’ll happily defer to the other fellows’ adivce about the furring strips…know nothing about them.
However, for my last layout I took my time at the pile and selected nice 10’ lengths of clear spruce 1 X 4’s and I ripped some of them to make 1 X 2 so that I could fashion some L-girders. Legs and bracing were ripped sections of the 1 X 4’s. The construction is open frame with risers and spline roadbed. That sucker is rock solid with nothing more than the legs and 8 lag bolts keeping the four modules tightly against one another. I’ll definitely use that method again in the next year or so.
Wood can be recycled, or largely trimmed and reused, but not if it is split and warped…not easily, anyway. I would cough up for some decent milled lumber or good quality ply and do the work of getting it usable.
I think it is sound advice above.
-Crandell
Years ago I learned the hard way using poor quality wood. It was on a small deck and it warped like crazy. As the others I recommend the good stuff so you do it once.
When I started building my current layout I went out and bought 1x3 furring strips. I got most of my benchwork built that weekend-- and then watched while over the next month or so it all warped and twisted. So I ripped it all down and that was my first lesson of benchwork. I’ve learned some additional ones since then. About the only thing I’d recommend the furring strips for is temporary legs, and temporary joists. They warp so quick you can’t even use them for straight-edges.
I hold my nose and buy the white pine. The price stinks but its better than the furring strips. But I haven’t been able to bring myself to buy the fir. Perhaps I should have.
One thing though that I would recommend-- if I had it all to do over again I’d probably go that route-- is to buy several sheets of good quality 3/4 inch plywood or better, and then rip it down into 1x3 strips. Plywood is a lot more stable in all directions than dimensional lumber. So effectively you get more for the same money.
John
This is one area in my o/p that you can not skim on. Money is tight for all of us no question but this is literally the foundation for your railroad. Every penny you saved would go right out the window if something were to happen to the layout like those 1x3 legs collapsing. I had always until recently used 1x4 pine boards purchased in the big box home improvement stores, but my gripe with them is you’ll spend half a day looking for straight lumber. At least around here thats pretty much the norm. So I have now opted to using 3/4" birch or oak plywood. Either one is a good choice it’s been my experience that the birch for some reason is usually a cleaner piece of wood. I rip the plywood into 4" wide strips which gives you 12 8’ lengths of bench work building lumber. Plywood is a better choice as it’s always straight and less likely to warp. I screw and glue all my connection points. I have friends who use 1/2’ plywood as a top to the bench work covered by 1/2" Homasote but again I opted to use 3/4" again. I just completed the bench work and glued down the yard pads of Homasote today for my 16’x12’ yard and If I recall all the plywood for the bench work cost me less then $50
You guys might think I’m nuts, but here goes! When I retired from teaching, the first thing I did was rip up my layout and start fresh. I built a smaller layout, with an emphasis on “bullet proof” trackwork, comprised of 2X8 foot “panels” that bolt together, and can be disassembled if I move.
My benchwork is 1X4 MAPLE from Lowe’s; each panel with legs cost about $70. I don’t think warping, etc. will be a problem. I’m very happy with how it turned out; the four panels I’ve connected so far cost less than a good loco. Solid as a rock; and a good investment in my opinion. I don’t think benchwork is the place to save money.
Steve
You can get good 1x4’s at your local home store, no problem. The trick is to do modular construction so no board is over 4’. I just bought a pile of straight 1x4x6’. The longer the length the more chance of warp!
Take this from an old wood butcher, I started with 1" X 3" and 1" x 6s" and after my fourth extension I believe in the future I will use only 3/4" plywood ripped on a table saw.
My legs are 3" by 3" by 3/4" ply wood.
joists 3/4 by 3"
Beams are are “C” beams. 3" with 1 1/4" top and bottom cap.
My last 5’ by 8’ extension frame was made entirely out of one sheet of 3/4" 4’ by 8’ plywood sheet of exterior grade plywood (for cost purposes), there were almost no voids. Cabinet grade birch plywood would have been good also.
The joist ends are pre drilled and counter sunk. For leveling I used a 10" long 2" by 2" slipped in the “V” of the legs and screwed in place. One side of the leg is long enough to over lap the “C” beam and screwed in place. Angle braced in the cross direction makes the table very ridged. Also use carpenters glue were you feel you need it.
Just my opinion.[^]
Good luck
Lee
If you did it right you should have salvaged a good percentage of those 1X4s from layouts #1 and #2. When a move–I was an apartment dweller for years–required me to dismantle a layout and start afresh I always had quite a bit of lumber available to keep my benchwork expense down. Roadbed, homasote, cork, and track . . . . . . . . . . now those are horses of a different color.
Hi!
I’ve used 2x2s on my previous (1993-2008) and my current 11x15 two level HO layout - lots of 2x2s. You COULD use 1x3s, but I would make sure they were straight, dry, and I would screw two together (edge to side) to give it added strength. The thing is, skimping on your benchwork is going to bite you - sooner or later.
Mobilman44
This might be overkill for your application, but I noticed my local Menards stocks Gorilla Shelves (racks?). These are tan enameled steel shelf risers with separate steel cross pieces (like how you’d use an L-girder). They come in at least 18-in and 36-in widths and are about $20 each and stand about 3 ft high. (I assume they’re stackable.)
You could slap those babies down, attach plywood, sealed Homosote or foam to the girders and the things would probably last forever. I use 2-in foam on cheap shelf brackets so I have no experience with these things, but if I were ever to make a freestanding peninsula, I’d consider these. (Plus they would certainly survive a move, a flood, maybe even a fire…)
Just a rambling thought…
My local lumber yard has available milled 1 x 2’s (which are being sold for furring strips) which I used for most all of my benchwork.
I purchase these by the 10 pack bundle and hand pick the best ones for the longer sections of the benchwork. Many of these 1 x 2’s are better than the so called #1 grade lumber that costs 10 times more than my so called furring strips. The rest of the so called furring strips are cut up for the required shorter joists!
Most of the supposed good lumber at the big box stores isn’t even worth being called furring strips!
I also use 7/16 OSB for the base material and Homasote tops. I build L-Girder and Open grid benchwork where needed and many of the sections for the layout are only 3 to 6 inches wide as I am building a multi-level layout (with some areas having 5 levels) thus the reason why the benchwork is so narrow in spots!
A some would say that 1x2s are not strong enough to build benchwork - I can say that I have been on a lot of my benchwork as many sections are quite wide and I have to crawl up on the benchwork to reach some track as I am building.
And I am not no light weight person - so the idea of using this size dimensional lumber won’t build a strong enough layout doesn’t hold water with me.
Now you have to build the benchwork like you would a house - 16" on center joists and the proper positioning of the legs.
This is where I see so many layouts fail as the owner cut corners - trying to keep from spending a lot of cash and the layout fails to remain a solid base to hold your track.
BOB H - Clarion, PA
Here in the Dessicated Desert it isn’t a question of whether forest products will warp, twist or otherwise assume unuseable shapes, it’s a question of how long and what the final shape will be.
Combine that with the fact that I am, at best, a mediocre woodworker.
My solution? STEEL! Heavy duty steel studs for L girders and legs, lighter studs and header stock for joists, fascia mounts and risers. They cut with tin snips, shape into almost anything with tinbender and standard vise-grips, and DON’T swell, shrink or transform themselves into corkscrews or compound bow stock. They assemble with tiny screws, and WON’T split if you don’t pre-drill the screw holes.
Granted that steel is somewhat expensive. There is virtually no waste. Cut-off joist ends become risers and odd bits become brackets for attaching terminal blocks and electrical boxes to the benchwork. When wiring, the wires tuck inside the C-shaped studs and can be urged to stay there by installing short lengths of header stock. (Eliminating the subterranean spiderweb? Priceless…)
I still use some forest products: thin cookie-cut plywood for subgrade and Masonite panels for fascia and (eventually) valences. All are steel supported, and any tendency of the plywood to twist or warp is beaten into submission by screwing steel angle iron to the underside. Where does the angle iron come from? Just cut a narrow steel stud lengthwise…
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - on steel stud benchwork)
I’ve found that working around steel studs etc. is like working around the mouth of a tiger. You are going to come away with scars. [(-D] (my experience building metal framing).
Lee
And working around wood, you are going to come away with splinters…[:-^]
Having just inventoried my scars, I can’t find a one caused by working with steel studs. Maybe my years as a flight line mechanic toughened my hands - or maybe it’s because I turn the sharp corners in. Of course, it might be my willingness to wear gloves when actually cutting the stuff…[swg]
Scars or no, you’ve gotta love the dimensional stability.[8D]
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
I built my benchwork out of 1 x 4 Fir open grid with 2" foam. However I have built non railroad related projects out of steel studs and would not hesitate to use them on a MRR project if the climate was a consideration. I would still put foam on top of open grid. Steel studs are quite inexpensive and very lightweight. Three thing to be careful of though. Cut fingers, Cut insulation on wire ( shorting ) and when used laterally you can’t let them twist or they will bend easily. This shouldn’t happen once your foam or plywood is glue to the top.
Brent
Greets… I like the idea of using steel studs for benchwork and have been doing some research. Some people have been very successful with it. The top complaints I see with it are:
cutting is messy (metal shavings/sparks)
possible sharp edges can cut flesh/wires
Well, as I have been doing steel framing work and own a chop saw and other tools for working with steel studs (including a crimper) I don’t have a problem with 1 or 2… obviously if you use a power tool to cut steel, use it in an area where sparks and metal shavings/particles won’t be an issue and/or will be easy to clean, and of course use proper tool handling (i.e. face shield/goggles, gloves). You can use bushings and grommets in stud openings to run wires (same as you do to run cabling when framing walls). Edges can be turned, sanded somewhat, or covered with other materials.
So Chuck- where’s the pictures man! We need pictures!