Thin Branch Series: Building Benchwork Part 2 - Frames

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Thin Branch Series: Building Benchwork Part 2 - Frames

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Hello all,

There are plenty more Thin Branch series videos to come - some 40-plus in all! We will roll these out over the next several months, and you should get about one Thin Branch video a week on average. For those waiting for benchwork part 3, you’ll be happy to know that it will be posted on Thursday, April 4th. Also, the Thin Branch will appear for a short 2-part series in Model Railroader starting in the August issue.

Enjoy!

David Popp
Producer, MR Video Plus

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Benchwork Part 3 - Building Subroadbed is not available??? Can’t find it.

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Thanks - I get so worked up about building trains that I neglect the basics of building a good SOLID base for everything. There are some really nice carpentry tips in this video also. Looking forward to Pt.3!

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Been thinking of getting a nail gun since I am beginning to have a bit of trouble using a hammer as I age - I can see it’s a Porter-Cable - can you tell us the model number or least what type of gun it is (finishing, framing, etc.)?

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Hello Michael, thanks for asking a question. The nail gun I use is a finish nailer, and it is several years old by now. Porter-Cable makes a variety of nail guns, and I’m not sure if mine is a current production model or not, but the gun will shoot up to 3" finish nails, which is more than enough for most any project I’m building. I got the gun as a “freebie” when I bought my air compressor, so if you need a compressor, you may want to look for that kind of deal.

Best wishes on your projects!

David

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Thanks David for the great Thin Branch videos. One of my fears of of building my railroad has been the benchwork. Currently I have a 4x8 (just foam resting on the top of an old Ikea dining room table as the base) that I want to take down and build an around the walls modular layout. But fear of building the benchwork has stopped me from starting it. But now I’ve seen this video and I am actually excited to start building it. I just went to Home Depot this weekend and got all the wood to build my first module. Thanks!

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If the layout is to be built to a taller height, say 48 to 50 inches, are there any additional cross braces or added lengths for the angle support pieces of the leg assemblies?

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When you build your trestle tables, David, how do you determine the placement of the legs? In particular, how far in from each end do you place them? Perhaps you use a given percentage of total benchwork length? Thanks.

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I enjoy The video’s, but navigating through them is frustrating. When you finish one, you never know what will be in the stack to watch next. If I have watched Thin Branch #4 I would like to watch #5. At this stage a photo of 5 is not necessary. #5 in related topics would help. Keep up the GOOD work.

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I intend to build a version of the beer line project layout. I’ve been watching videos from other projects where there is more detail about various bits and pieces. I easily followed your style of building the legs for the Thin Branch Line right up to the point where you turned it right-end up. All four legs are of uniform length, but the front of the layout is “shorter” than the back by the difference of you 1x4 in back and your 1x3 in front. The legs, however, are flush with the frame they are bolted to. What did I miss about the framework?