I am considering building my first train layout and am wondering what style of benchwork I should use. Would blue foam on top of plywood work?
UPDATE: It is a U-shaped layout
UPJohn, wut does ur track plan look like, is it a U or just a simle 4X8, or is it a around the walls layout?
if it is a simple 4x8, u can use a simple sheet of plywood wit foam ontop of it supported by 2 saw horses.
if it is a U shaped layout or around the walls layout, u can use a modular kind of bench work or L supports, i believe there wuz a great series done in the model railroader magazine, where they built a small layout called Cat mountain or something like that. That series has a lots of great info on makin modular benchwork.
There are many other styles of benchwork also. Its all a matter of experimenting wit the various styles until u become satisfied wit one that u like.
Also the question on blue foam and plywood.
u can use blue foam seperate if its 2 inches thick, or u can use a combination of both, wit blue foam cemented on top of the plywood, or u can use just plywood.
if u want ur layout 2 be fairly sturdy and u don’t care about ur scenery, then go wit just plywood.
If u want 2 mold ur scenery and make it really interestin wit lots of elevation changes, also want the layout 2 be fairly sturdy then go wit the combination of foam on top of plywood.
If u don’t want ur layout sturdy enough 2 support ur weight then go wit just foam, because u can still mold it, its just there won’t be as strong as plywood and blue foam.
my personal advice would be 2 go wit plywood and blue foam because it is easy 2 work wit and is the most forgiving!
I use “L” girder because it’s easy to get roadbed on, it’s not as hard to build as “Grid” benchwork, it’s extremely sturdy, it allows for more under -the -table room to work on stuff under the table, and it forms a natural wire bundle holder if you drill aligned holes in the cross joists, also, it does use more lumber than "grid " but you have to make fewer cuts (not to mention, fewer precision cuts needed to for grid benchwork) with a circular or table saw…Chuck[:D]
check out my pictures of the benchwork…click Trains
img src=<“http://community.webshots.com/user/bayouman1”>
1" or 2" foam glued to at least 1/4" plywood works well, so long as you have a sturdy foundation. Virtually all of my 12x25, three level layout is 2" foam and 1/4" Lauan plywood, attached to metal shelf brackets screwed directly to the studwall. It’s not going anywhere. Foam and plywood works well with a simple 2x2 boxframe too, if you want a freestanding layout.
CWclark’s benchwork is beautiful, but designed around traditional cookiecutter construction. You don’t need NEARLY that much wood for a foam-based layout!
John,
Here’s an example of 1/2" blue foam used “cookie cutter” style on top of 1/2" plywood topped tables which are bolted together. Just ignore the white foam and pretend that it’s blue. The blue works much better.
The result is very sturdy, pretty light and has a lot of clearance underneath.
[:)]
Hooked on Phonics worked for me . . .
[(-D] 2" Pink foam and a spell checker worked for me.
You can use nearly any benchwork type for nearly any configuration. It’s a matter of preference, which is hard to have at the start. I’m almost ready to start building a new layout, much of which needs to be extremely lightweight. (Some long, narrow, portable sections connecting some more permanantly located portions.)
I’m going to be experimenting with building some L Girder sections completely out of foam.
As you can probably see, there are many possibilities, all of which are dependent on your needs, skills, budget and space.
Wayne