For various reasons, I’d like to use 1/8" board on top of my bench instead of 1/4". Has anyone done this and if so, was there any problems with mounting (ie. switch machines or anything else that uses screws?) thnx…J
Are you putting foam on top ?
If not that is pretty thin you have to becareful on where your supports are
Rich
Actually, thanks Rich, you’ve very simply answered my concern and will now use 1/4"…much thanks…J
I agree, unless you add mounting blocks of 1/2" ply or 3/4" X 4" planking upon which to fix the machines. I mean, you could use 1/16" bristle board for a layout base if you supported it well enough, say with 2" strips of 3/4" ply every 6-8". Far better to just use 1/2" ply.
Sound is another factor. 1/8" plywood would resonate from train movement enough that you would find it annoying. I have some 1/4" ply, but it is noisy, too, so I use 3/8" baltic birch for my base ply now. It is a lot quieter, especially where the scenery is built up with foam.
I plan to use 2" extruded foam insulation glued to 1/4" Luan plywood. Is this going to present any problems?
I used 1 1/2 foam for my layout with no plywood under it. It work ok. Only thing I might complain about is the noise of the steel wheels. It seems to be a little louder than expected.
I have used 1/4"plywood under 2" foam but I wish I didn’t. The wood warps as soon as the glue hits it. I tryed varnish first, same results. I now glue 3/4" pieces of wood only for attachment points. The foam is ridgid enough alone. However, and I don’t know why anyone would need to do it, you can’t walk on it. If you want a layout you can walk on, make it out of 2x10 oak and concrete.
You were using caprtenter or white glue? Still, it surprises me that you had that result. I believe that if you had used PL300, and spatulaed it thin, as it is usually done, you would have had much better results.
I use 2" foam over 1/4" ply with no problems at all. Certainly no warping.
Now, I glue-and-screw the plywood to my 1x4 framework (2’ square framing), then glue the foam to the plywood. So my ‘no warping problems’ should be taken with that in mind…
I used Elmers Carpenters glue on one piece and tried Liquid Nails for Foam Projects on the other. Both pieces of plywood were 4’ X 4’. I used gallon cans of paint for weights which flatten them out fairly well but not perfectly flat.
What I’m doing is a little different. I’m building a sectional layout. For example, I built a 15 stall roundhouse and turntable on a 4’ X 4’ section. Other structures are built on smaller sections. Then the sections are attached to the bench work.
In case I decide to move, I can disassemble sections and reuse them on a new layout or rearange the layout if I need to.
I really don’t like gluing things together. It seems every time I do, it’s always something I need to change.
If I understand you correctly, you’ll never get a solid base that way. If I’m correct, and you mean you’re not solidly attaching your 1/4" plywood to your framework, then you’re asking for trouble of various sorts, starting with the warping. 1/4" ply is not strong or stiff enough to use for any kind of structural integrity, IMHO. It’s more a sheeting material.
Those who use it under 2" foam (like myself) usually do so only to have something on the ‘underside’ of the layout to which we can easily attach switch motors, eyehooks for wiring, etc. The benchwork beneath it (typically 1x4’s or 1x6’s) is what gives you structural integrity and solidity, supporting both the 1/4" ply and the foam. And that only works if they’re integral - i.e. the plywood is very solidly attached to the framework. As soon as you don’t do that, the framework becomes “weight transfer to the legs” only and all your rigidity and structural integrity above comes off the plywood/foam combo… and that ain’t enough.
Short version: 1/4" + foam is great if you support it with a framework, but when you essentially make it the framework, that’s a bad idea. For the situation you describe, where you’re