Got back from Home Depot and bought 1/2" red oak plywood for my subroadbed. Geez, it was all I could find that was somewhat workable. Didn’t want to spend $38 for a 4’ X 8’ sheet of plywood, but anything else they had to choose from that was 1/2" was crap. Tried to choose the straightest sheet I could, but even this one has some bends in it at one corner. Its a beautiful sheet of wood to look at fir (ha ha) sure, but did I do wrong buying oak? I hope I don’t end up being sorry later. Take care guys.
You’ll hate to cover it up, cause it looks so good. I use straight 1/2" BC sanded plywood. Yep, you have to look around but I’ve been able to get fairly straight wood at my local Home Depot.
No, lately all the plywood I looked at didn’t “lay flat”. Not even the 3/4" stuff. Not even at Lowes, 84 Lumber, or anywhere. Must be humidity or something. Quality control has REALLY gone to h**l. Not to worry, screw it to some good benchwork and it should lay flat. Either that or use the foam which is cheaper, lighter, and it lays flat. It doesn’t like any kind of solvents, though. Use water based paints, solvents, adhesives, etc.
Brad
It has to be the global warming. I’m committed to my current benchwork design, so foam is not an option for me. I’ve got it weighted down on my benchwork with paint cans, sawhorses, toolbox, etc. Going to let it get acclimated to the basement for a week or so. Just aggravating is all. One would think 1 sheet from the bunch would be “flat”. Had to go down to the 7th sheet to find something close to what I would accept.
The plywood curl is natural. It curls more with the less plys. Better (furniture grade) plywood will be 5 plys or more. CD is 3 plys usually. It will flatten out. Screw it down with drywall screws every 6’’ on edge and 12" in the centers. Stay 1/2" from the edge to avoid screw blowout. If you want to use plywood, as stated, go with BC or CD. Put the best side up and skim coat the surface with drywall compound or hardrock to fill voids and screwheads. I use OSB more than plywood as the OSB lays flatter than plywood and more structually stable.
Jim
2nd vote for OSB. it is the flatest that you can find. Price is not to bad either. We bought 10 sheets of 1/8" Luan for the facia now you talk about BENDING!!
early picture but all OSB.
For cookie cutter rather than the plywood empire, you need to use a better grade of ply. None of the “Home Centers"will carry a decent grade without selecting the Hardwood cabinet grades. In some locals, 1/2” to 3/4" underlayment grade or PTS (plug and sanded) may be found. If not using Luan, or Birch (my preference) look for min 5 ply fir not pine ply.
I work with wood on a daily basis and rarely purchase the crap from a Home Center. Maybe in the Northeast I’m lucky to have many quality lumber yards at my disposal. I don’t even want to talk about the garbage pine they try to pawn off on the unsuspecting public. If this junk was delivered to Cape Cod Lumber, It would be flat out rejected. The 2xs alone that I buy are 2x spruce that could pass for making patio furniture if desired. The 2x4s from HD or Lowes can be heard warping in the truck on the way to the job. Try to find a decent lumber yard or ask a local carpenter where they buy their stock.
Michael, try using birch instead of the oak. Although the oak is a great ply, you will have better luck with smoother cuts using birch. The oak tends to chip and slit out on crosscuts. When cutting oak I score w/ a knife blade and the cut. Any irregularities can be belt sanded to a perfect edge. A sharp carbide blade is essential.
Bob K.
My twp cents,
I use 5/8 7 ply A/C plywood that I can purchase at Home Depot. It give me a smooth defect free side to place Homesote on and the 7 ply gives great stability. It costs a little more, but certainly not more than oak plywood! Good Luck on your empire building
Randy Johnson
has anyone tried 1/8 masonite with a 2 inch foam glued to it? My theory here is the foam to work for hills and valleys and the masonite to be able to epoxy , glue, or screw switch machines , wire fasteners, anything you want to adhere to the bottom of the benchwork. pro’s? cons?
glenn
additional .02 worth.
3/4" MDF from HOme Depot. Working on it for 3 years, no warping, straight and true , great to paint and work with. I even added 3/4 to 4" foam for scenery and hills, etc.
[^]
I recently built my first table / benchwork with 1/4" birch plywood for the surface and used 1" x 3" poplar for the benchwork.
Being new to model railroading I bought several books on layout planning, wiring, benchwork and track laying. One of the books came with a DVD that showed how to build a complete layout. I pretty much used the same benchwork plan that was used in the DVD with a few exceptions.
I glued and screwed the plywood to the 1" x 3"s. The birch plywood had a very slight bend to it but that straightened out after fastening it to the benchwork. I covered the plywood with 1" styrofoam that will be the sub roadbed and scenery.
It’s been three weeks so far and it still looks fine. No warping.
Bill
The lack of straight lumber, even plywood, is why I’m building my layout on hollow core doors covered with two layers of Upson board.
I saw some 2x4s at a local lumber yard that were so warped they could have been used as an archery bow by Paul Bunyon.
After buying too much “pretzelwood” from Home Despot and Lowes, I’ve decided to only shop for that at a retail lumber store. It just isn’t worth the difference in cost to deal with wood that warps and twists after you get it home. Our local lumberyard guarantees that their kiln-dried lumber will not significantly warp. If it does, they will exchange it,
At first I thought this topic was going to be about … never mind!
I don’t buy plywood in 4x8 sheets – you can see where the warp comes from when you see how it is stored – and I avoid places that store it outdoors or out in the cold.
I have found that Menards sells 2x4 ft “Handi-Panels” of 1/2" plywood that is kept indoors, stored flat and thus far I have not had problems with warpage, including when I get it home. They also have Handi Panels in 5/8" and I think 1/4"
Now … the 2x2" pine whether made that way or ripped from 2x4s, that I use for legs that is another matter – many pieces look like bacon they are so warped. I can no longer find a good source for legs now that my favorite lumber yard, which stored and sold them indoors, has closed.
Dave Nelson
The Oak plywood I bought is 7 ply. The lumber yards in my area only store the 4’ X 8’s outside, so this is why I tried to avoid them. I thought that even though its Home Depot, at least its stored inside. I researched the MDF, and thought against after I read about the stuff they use to glue the fibres. Not good for your health if you cut it and inhale the dust. I can see, as some one posted above, about the chipping with the oak. I had them cut and rip the sheet to exactly 4 X 8, and it did chip a lot on the cut edges. Oh well, I bought it, so I’m going to use.
Thanks for the responses guys.
I use 1/4" plywood and 2" foam, which is close enough. It works great.
There have been several discussions on foam layout construction on this forum over the past few years; run a search for FOAM and you’ll come up with all sorts of ideas, tips, pros and cons.
If you want “straight” plywood, then go to a sheet goods dealer, which is even better than a true traditional lumberyard for sheet goods. They supply the cabinet trade and others with all manner of sheet goods. Formica for countertops, veneers for high end cabinetry, quality plywoods, MDF, MDO, etc. Get either some Baltic Birch or “Apple Ply”. 1/2" BB is 9 plys, comes in 60" x 60" sheets… Apple Ply, which is a North American product, is similar, but comes in the familiar 4’x8’ format.
5/8" GIS tongue & groove ply is just fine, even if it is not perfectly flat. Use 2" wood screws to snug it up to well-laid benchwork and you will find it to be an excellent choice.
Hi! I used a lesser grade of plywood and like Randy (previous posting in trend) covered it with Homesote board. Works very well. My question (when I was building the layout) was "Where do you find straight 2x4s for the legs and underlining? Good luck with your project.
Go to a REAL lumberyard. One that caters to building contractors.If possible, connect with one salesperson, so when you return you will get someone who knows what you need. I am just finishing a “yard office and shop”, a 1500 sf building to house my dream layout. I have been dealing with just such a company and have been getting good materials. (I like the comment about the OSB–I have 3 full sheets and a bunch of partials–was going to give them to Habitat for Humanity, but may keep it and give them the plywood instead.) (for those in northern California, I have been quite satisfied with Meeks Lumber. They even have “packages” for garages that make very nice layout buildings.)