In this month’s MR, the article about the Hoosac Valley discussed using pool table underlayment as a nice clean material to cover the front fascia of a model railroad. It looked like something I could use. However, I’ve not been able to find anyone in Las Vegas or on the internet for that matter that sells it. Any thoughts? Does it go by other names? Any other suggestions? HD and Lowes doesn’t sell anything that even looks like it.
Those are hardware stores. You need to try a cloth store.
Ask your wife or girlfriend.
Try something like this felt at Joann’s (formerly Cloth World)
Hi, Nevin
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I have re-covered several billiard/pool tables and I’m not familiar with “underlayment”. I used billiard cloth and most of what I bought then was quite expensive, in the neighborhood of $100 for a 108" x 61" piece. And that was the “economy” stuff!
My fascia covering is a latex-backed fabric that looks a bit like corduroy and it is light weight and durable and relatively inexpensive.
IMG_8441_fix by Edmund, on Flickr
It can be found in at least four colors, light gray, green, blue and tan/beige.
I even used some to cover the 2 x 4 legs in some areas of my layout.
IMG_8469_fix by Edmund, on Flickr
Home Depot sells it as “Indoor-Outdoor carpeting” but it is much thinner than what I would consider as carpeting.
IMG_8464_fix by Edmund, on Flickr
Above is what the tan color looks like. If you go to the store when they aren’t too busy, they will use their cutting machine and cut the material into strips for you. I bought ten, 12" strips which are twelve feet long for under $50. A
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I went with regular felt from Joann Fabrics, Pool table felt was too much $$$ for me. I used it as a buffer on my layout so that it wouldn’t ding my backdrop. One of my back drops is attached to the garage door (have to remove it to open the door) and my layout is on casters. The felt protects the backdrop from scrapes and scratches when the layout is moved.
Mel
Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951
My Model Railroad
http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/
Thanks to everyone that has replied so far. This is very helpful. Now I have two further questions: what did you use to attach the material to the fascia and for a desert shelf type layout which would look better black for a shadow-box look or tan which is the predominant scenery color for the layout. The beige thin carpet material at HD looks pretty interesting.
Click on the bottom photo in my post. When you get to Flickr click on the photo again to enlarge it. You can see an open can of Roberts 6700 Indoor/Outdoor adhesive and you can see it being applied to the fascia with a notched trowel.
Just my opinion, I think the tan would work nicely.
Ed
Thanks. I think I will head back to Home Depot with the photo from the website in hand. It may be that it isn’t carried by all HD’s in Las Vegas.
Or ask a male who is open minded enough to have fabric skills in his toolbox. They’re useful skills, guys. BTW, my daughter does her own home electrical work, and my son makes a mean pizza.
Yes they can be very useful. I don’t make my own clothes but I do use cloth material to cover studio equipment that I make myself. Sometimes I use “speaker carpet”. I also upholstery the furniture that I build and car seats.
Speaker carpet is similar to pool table felt but it might be tougher and slightly more fuzzy. It is usually a dark shade of gray.
http://www.matchaknob.com/sound_felt/grey_speaker_carpet_4_x_15/
The outdoor carpet mentioned by others is good too. I’ve seen it used on the walls of radio and TV stations and low end recording studios to absorb sound.
P.S. My dad is a gourmet chef.