Recently, while attending the NE Prototype Meet in Canton, Ct; I attended a clinic by Mike Rose on adding to an existing layout. One of the things that caught my attention was his method of using plywood as the main framing components. He ripped out the 4" members from 3/4" AC plywood. This is a pretty stable way of getting around one of my annoyances in framework-pine, and to a lesser degree, poplar (whitewood) will work at will.
I am in the process of redesigning and rebuilding my layout, and I believe Iwill look really seriously at this as an alternative. Has anyone else ever used thjis method?
There are plenty that have used this method. I have not. My ability to rip sheets of plywood with the degree of precision I would like has not come to pass. Then adding the hassle of edge fastening the strips - I’ll pass.
A caution - the AC plywood available in my area is on a par with white wood for quality. There are way too many voids at the edges when cutting a sheet. To cut a sheet into framework strips, I would use AB or cabinet grade plywood.
But then I don’t use white wood or the really cheap lumber for my layout, either. The white wood splits with being looked at, and the cheapest pine looks like it was already steamed for boat building. With small layouts, I just bit the bullet and went with hand-selected #2 or select pine.
For the shelf layout, I’m examining alternatives. Given my mountainous terrain and grades, I’m leaning towards a grid of 1/4" luaun plywood, as diagrammed in the Rice books. Yes, I’m back to the hassles of glue/screw blocks at the joints. But I do like an open grid for wiring, control mounting, and mountain scenery.
When friend/ yours truly (both ex-members of defunct HO modular club) decided to build a few HO modules, Birch plywood (from local HD) was a Godsend! It was, for us, much lighter than Douglas Fir pw; much easier to cut/ handle and put drywall screws into. My 2 cents…papasmurf
I have used 3/4" plywood for benchwork as well. You need to buy quality plywood. I cannot remember the exact grade, but it was sanded on both sides. I had the local Home Depot cut it into 3 1/2" strips on their big saw. IIRC, it was about 25 cents per cut. The sign by the saw says that they will not do precision cuts, but on a quiet Tuesday morning they had no problem doing the work.
The ‘manufactured’ dimensional wood is very stable - no warping! You will need to pre-drill pilot holes - the stuff is tough. Sheetrock screws will not cut it here. I use #8 - 1 1/4" wood screws and Titebond glue to assemble my benchwork I have 3 sheets of 1 by 4’s and 1 sheet of 1 by 2’s cut up and in the layout.
If you cost out your project, you will find that using plywood is less expensive that ‘select’ pine(at least here in Southern Minnesota).
You have just seen a number of very good applications of plywood to layout framing. Now I am going to throw you a curve.
STEEL!
Specifically, steel stud material, used in a `C works like L’ girder framing system…
Advantages:
Light (not as heavy as equivalent fir or plywood.)
Dimensionally stable.
Easy to cut, form and assemble. Requires only a good pair of snips, no woodworking tools.
Easy to create special risers to support cookie-cut ply on several levels.
Little or no waste - even cutoffs can be used to make brackets.
Disadvantages:
Slightly more expensive than wood.
Can have sharp edges if not bent in or padded.
Electrically conductive.
Unfamiliar to work with - but techniques and tricks are easily learned.
Here in the Dessicated Desert forest products fall victim to our lovely combination of high heat and non-existent humidity. OTOH, steel studs don’t convert themselves to compound bows or corkscrews. All of my benchwork, some of which has been in place for six years, is steel stud material. I will be adding more.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - in a Southern Nevada garage)
I believe that the so-called whitewoods are typically S/P/F (spruce/pine/fir)-evergreen softwoods. Poplar-nice stuff-is more costly and actually a hardwood although relatively soft physically. It is typically used for trim and even cabinetry. Its color has a greenish cast.
i used ripped plywood (thank you Lee) but for the cost vs. hassle, i would have been better off using dimensional lumber. the plywood must be drilled or you risk splitting things. i have also found that there are voids in the plywood and it can make it a PITA to get a screw to bite and hold.
just don’t forget to subtract the width of the table saw blade from your measurements so you don’t end up with one width that is useless - you can’t make your rips 4" wide
On my new layout that I’m building right now , for the framing I used cabinet grade oak veneer plywood. 48.00 per sheet and worth it. I ripped it to 3 7/8’’ (1/8 to allow for each saw cut) on the table saw at my shop and I got 12 pcs. per sheet. Can you buy a pefectly straight 1’‘x4’’ x8’ for 4.00? I doubt it . It is way stronger too. You don’t need to pre drill anything either . I used an air nailer and 2’’ finish nails with wood glue .BTW I am a carpenter so this part was a cakewalk for me.
My layout, in the advanced planning stages, will be a shelf type with 2" extruded foam on top of 1X3 grids. The layout isn’t that big, it’s being built with rigid lightness in mind, and I don’t see where my need of stick lumber will be more expensive than ripped plywood. I’m a little leery of the lightweight plywood benchwork
I DID have 2 sheets of 3/4 plywood waiting to be made into a layout, but they didn’t move to Maryland with me.
Me too Jimmy. It’s really nice to have all the professional tools and boatloads of carpentry skills when it comes to benchwork. I think those of us who are in said position tend to take all the advantages we have over many model rr’s .
I find whitewood can be any one of several species. White pine tends to be pretty good, others not so good. I buy it when it looks good. You have to be pretty picky. I usually only find one piece in every 8-10 boards to be worth buying. When the white wood isn’t any good, I buy yellow pine usually select. You still have to be picky, but usually one out of every 3 to 5 boards is okay.
If you can rip boards, look at the 1x8’s. I have on occasion bought 1x8’s and ripped them to 1x4’s. It’s a bit of a hassle but 1x8’s are usually better quality.
I wouldn’t use the BC sanded sheathing you usually find at the big box stores (Lowes and HD) for ripping into 1x4’s. Also, in my area the birch at Lowes and HD is only a few plys like 5 or 7. Instead find some 13 ply birch. Personally, I don’t find it necessary to go this route.
Don’t go when there’s a sale - they’re selling all the boards I rejected.[(-D].
I guess I just learned the hard way the difference between the ‘reply’ and the ‘start a conversation’ buttons. :smack:
I would mount underneath mechanisms on a pad of lauan (sp?) and glue it to the bottom of the foam. Just a SWAG, since my solution is ground throws and high level stands.
It’s important to find the right plywood when ripping for frame material. I have used 3/4" birch that had one side paint grade and the other side finish grade, Left over from cabinet work. A little pricey. My last eight foot extension I used a 3/4" fir (?) plywood that had only one knot that needed attention , All other joints I predrilled with a counter sink tool so the screw would draw flush with out over torquing the screw. The only thing I glued were the legs and the two beams.
I am exploring using Baltic birch or Sitka Spruce for my roadbed. There are a significant number of plies in this construction, and to my knowledge, they are plugged upon assembly at mill. What also impresses me about this line of plywood is that you can machine it, as in routing out spaces for turnout machines, beveling an edge with a router or shaper, and that it takes finish sanding pretty well; which is important with tracklaying.
Birch to me, is a good plywood but, as you say, a bit pricey. I use birch a lot of times as a base for veneering if I make a piece of furniture. I am leaning toward the use of 3/4 AC or AB for my framing; only because it is consistent, and tends not to “work” like pine will without a finishing coat of shellac or varnish. Using plywood will mean that I will have to glue on a “fastening strip” of pine or whitewood for screwing purposes, as the edge of plywood wold be a poor choice for this proceedure.
I will have to glue on a “fastening strip” of pine or whitewood for screwing purposes, as the edge of plywood wold be apoor choice for this proceedure.
Rich
Not at all, I glued a 1, 1/2" piece of the 3/4" plywood to the top and bottom of my beams making them “C” beams. Then the screw goes up at an angle from the inside of the “C” beam into the plywood cross joist. I never had a problem splitting anything. I did glue the cap strips which makes the “C” beams straight and very strong.
The reason the birch plywood sold at Lowes & HD has only 5 plys is because the really good birch plywood is called Balkan Burch, is Metric is size and comes from the Balkan’s a part of the former USSR.
That is a great idea! I don’t know how famillar yo u are with construction industry, but a lot of times the joist systems in homes now are pretty much the same thing. See? You are about ten or so years too late…(ha ha). Seriously, that does look like something I would want to fool around with.
![http://cs.trains.com/TRCCS/themes/trc/utility/[IMGhttp://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii34/Yankeeflyer/IMG_0509.jpg[/IMG]:550:0](http://cs.trains.com/TRCCS/themes/trc/utility/%5BIMGhttp://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii34/Yankeeflyer/IMG_0509.jpg%5B/IMG%5D:550:0){kind=link}