Dismantling Mianne Benchwork… how easy?

It comes pre-sized and milled. It goes together with some sort of special twist lock connectors. It should come apart as easily as it goes together.

Don't fret over it. It's really great stuff.

Actually, IMO the beauty of using Mianne Benchwork is that not only that it is quick and easy to build, it it just as easy to take apart.

I know because I first built a large basement layout, about 35’ X 15’. Took it down, moved to CA, built a 12’ X 17’ new layout. Took it down and built my current 9’ X 9’ layout. Extra parts were sent to my brother in PA for a 4 ‘ 8’ addition to his layout and another 4’ X 8’ went across the street for a layout my neighbor is building.

So yes! It comes apart easy!

Enjoy!

It sounds like you want to build the layout, attach the decking, tracks, etc., and then remove just the legs when you move. I could be wrong, but I’m not sure you can do that because the rails are attached to the top section of the legs. What you could do is have Tim make you several spare sections of just the top part of the legs. That way you could replace the legs with just the top parts so everything is still connected and tight.

I would address this directly with Tim at Mianne. I'm sure he has dealt with this before. I am also a big fan for his work.

Max;

Dave is correct. Here is a picture of my Mianne benchwork when I was starting out (I am not a very good carpenter, so using Tim’s benchwork saved me a lot of time and frustration… I highly recommend it). As you can see, the legs are tied into the cross members at the top and the spreaders lower on leg. If you are planning to move the layout in the future, as has been suggested, give Tim a call - he may be able to create an almost modular design where there are multiple “base units” that are not connected to one another.

I have two model railroads in my basement, both built on Mianne benchwork, and I have asked myself the same question for years. But, in my opinion, the Mianne benchwork (legs and beams) is the quickest, easiest way to build a strong, lightweight train table that is durable and looks like it was built by a professional. One layout is 12’-by-8’ (assembled in 1999) and the other is 10’-by-5’ (assembled in 2014).

The legs and beams are assembled with "camlock" fasteners that tighten (or loosen) with just a screwdriver. So those parts of the table go together and should come apart easily. The question is how you fasten the plywood table top to the benchwork. That can make the disassembly difficult if you use strong fasteners that become inaccessible once the table top is covered with track, structures and scenery.

On my 12'-by-8' layout, I used fasteners supplied by Mianne that connect the underside of the plywood to the table frame so the fasteners are not visible or accessible from the top of the table. That layout would now be difficult for me to take apart.

On my 10'-by-5' layout, I didn't fasten the plywood to the benchwork at all. The two 5'-by-5' plywood pieces just lay on top of the frame. Once they were in place, I glued two wood blocks (3 inches by 3 inches by 1/2 inch thick) to the underside of each piece of plywood and positioned them against the inside corners of the frame at the ends of the table (see photo of table underside). These blocks lock the plywood into position on the frame but allow each 5'-by-5' section of the plywood to be lifted off the layout individually and without damage if it has to be moved. Most of the seam between the plywood pieces is covered by structures and is not visible. Thus, the layout is modular and can be disassembled easily. The Mianne beams and legs will be easy to disassemble. Just turn the “camlock” fastener ¼ turn counter-clockwise with a screwdriver. The pieces will come apart and the “camlock” fasteners can be reused for reassembly.

This method has worked well for me. The layout is solid but should easily come apart without damage and be transportable. My plywood table top is covered with extruded pink foam (up to five inches thick) glued to the plywood as a scenery base. I glued cork roadbed onto the pink foam and simply fastened the Atlas O track into the cork and pink foam with Atlas track screws. My 10’-by-5’ table was assembled in 2014 and after 8 years of operation, the track is still secure onto the cork roadbed.

I should also mention that on my layout, the plywood overhangs the frame by about 6 inches on each edge. The table is 10’-by-5’ and the benchwork is 9’ by 4’.

If I were to build another layout, the first thing I would do would be to order Mianne benchwork.

MELGAR

Looking at Paul's picture above, I concur with his assessment.  Further complicating the matter will be the location points where you screw down your tabletop.  Your best bet might be to plan 2 separate 5'x5' structures which you place next to each other and attach so that you finish with a 5' x 10' layout.  To make it truly recoverable, you would also have to use 2 separate sheets (5' x 5') of plywood, and then ask the builder if there is some way he can make the legs detachable from the frame and tabletop.  Unfortunately, that process might weaken the structure too much to make it workable.

Since you already know that this will not be your permanent layout, why not just build a frame (or 2 5' x 5' frames) with the plywood on top (again, 2 pieces) that you set on a couple of cheap folding tables.  Clamp the two frames together, and you're ready to build on your 5' x 10' tabletop.  If the folding tables aren't high enough for you liking, just put some hard plastic pipe extensions on each foot of all the folding legs.  This method can be quite stable and will still provide excellent portability for the future.

Chuck

I just disassembled my 6x10 Mianne table about an hour ago. It was straightforward and I didn't have any concerns of damaging any of the components while taking it apart. You can see the size of it here: Second layout one year and 2,700 miles later.

What you described sounds similar to where we're at. We moved into our new home at the beginning of August and we don't expect this to be our last move.

When you do plan on taking it down I think the key is take your time, take each piece apart completely, except I felt confident leaving the legs sections assembled. And make sure to keep track of all the little pieces (screws, pins, etc.)

It was only last month that I put together the benchwork, attached the table top put a few loops of track down to see how it would look. And to see how much space it actually occupies in the garage, which is primarily my wife's studio. After realizing it took up more volume than I had thought I moved it down to our basement earlier today.

Keep in mind there was no scenery or wiring. For the table top I had the plywood already cut into three sections, two 6'x3' and one 6'x4'. And another 1'x4' for the transformer shelf. All together it took me maybe a little over an hour to take it apart and carry it downstairs.

And next weekend I'll put it back together so I can work on the layout during the holidays.

I would be comfortable in recommending  the Mianne stuff. Especially after tearing down and scrapping my first table (not a Mianne) in April of this year.

I would recommend Mianne Benchwork Highly. Very easy to assemble and it will be just as easy to take apart if needed. I have a Facebook page with a series of 4 short videos showing the assembly process. I would contact Tim Foley of Mianne and he will assist you in design and everything else you need to do the work. Take a look at Pocono Model Trains on Facebook. The videos are short it won’t take long.

Very easy......my 6x16 Mianne layout was taken down in about an hour by 4 people with large Phillips screwdrivers.......and, with additional components, has been reassembled.

......into a 14x22 L.

Peter

I'm sorry, but most answers here are about how easily Mianne benchwork assembles and disassembles without considering what's built on top.  If the OP plans to build something on top that he would like to move intact, this benchwork, as most of it is being used, would force him to carry single sheets of unframed plywood with whatever track, scenery and wiring he added during construction.  IMHO, that is a recipe for disaster.

However, if he is just looking for reusable benchwork to rebuild on, then Mianne may well be the best way to go.

Chuck

@PRR1950 posted:

I'm sorry, but most answers here are about how easily Mianne benchwork assembles and disassembles without considering what's built on top.  If the OP plans to build something on top that he would like to move intact, this benchwork, as most of it is being used, would force him to carry single sheets of unframed plywood with whatever track, scenery and wiring he added during construction.  IMHO, that is a recipe for disaster.

However, if he is just looking for reusable benchwork to rebuild on, then Mianne may well be the best way to go.

Chuck

You are correct Chuck. I’m not asking about dismantling in general, but doing it with a whole layout on top still.

Max, then my suggestion to get Tim to cut some replacement leg top sections still seems like the way to go, unless he has a better idea. Legs are around $20 each, so buying extras and cutting them yourself would be a bit expensive. Either way, I’d give him a chance to come up with something before you build your own bench work.

You could instead use Sievers benchwork or Model Railroad Benchwork, both of which call for building 1x4 box frames with legs that are removable. This system is much more flexible for those who want to move more than the benchwork from one place to another. Also, the second link offers curved benchwork modules which I don't think I have seen anywhere else. I plan to use them for my next O scale layout.

You should be able to use Mianne. It is all held together by the camlocks that are standard on pretty much most assemble it yourself furniture and it should come apart pretty easily (given that the Mianne wood is light years better than the press board they use with assemble it yourself furniture, it should be easy).

If you are planning to move in the short term, then I think the frame is the least of your concerns. In terms of holding the tabletop to the frame, you can have L clips on the bottom that attach to the frame, that would be the way to go. You really won't need a lot of them,plywood tops are heavy, and a couple of clips at the corners would hold it just fine.

The big thing is making the tabletop in multiple pieces, and building the layout with the idea that it will be moved (basically like a modular layout). It would mean that structures should be removable, if you have lighting in the building have plugs that allow it to be removed easily, if you have things like hills and the like, try and make it so they can be removed, things like that get easily damaged in moving. Wiring can be a pain in this scernario, the wiring at each section would need to have plugs so they can be pulled apart (key thing here? Label the wires, color code them, put number tags, so it is easy to match, if each pair has a unique number, you can't cross wire).

5x10 will have trouble going up stairs, around corners and is really bulky to move.  The frame can be a full frame, you take the top off then you dis-assemble it (you may want to take a picture of the fully assembled frame, maybe multiple ones, so you know what it looked like).  IMO even 5x5 is pretty bulky, you may want to make it so you have 4 pieces, maybe roughly 2.5x5 x4 (and the thing is, the pieces don't need to be the same size, the only rule to me is that any piece can easily be taken through a door and moved.)

Hi Peter.  It appears from your images above that you added a lift gate to your benchware.  This would be nice addition to have. What is the difficultly level to do this?  Is there a video available? The basic framing plan is not good if your eyes have trouble with different color hues.  Mine do but I survived using a tape measure.  Thanks for all of our input.

Tommy

@thebeeman posted:

Hi Peter.  It appears from your images above that you added a lift gate to your benchware.  This would be nice addition to have. What is the difficultly level to do this?  Is there a video available? The basic framing plan is not good if your eyes have trouble with different color hues.  Mine do but I survived using a tape measure.  Thanks for all of our input.

Tommy

Just search on You Tube…….Tim has a video and Sean of Sean’s Train Depot has a series on its installation. Both are good.

Peter

Hi Peter, thanks for your follow up, I appreciate your input.  I could not locate Tim's videos for the lift gate assy.  Sent an e-mail to Sean.  Gunner has some very good suggestions also.

My best regards.

Tommy

@thebeeman posted:

Hi Peter, thanks for your follow up, I appreciate your input.  I could not locate Tim's videos for the lift gate assy.  Sent an e-mail to Sean.  Gunner has some very good suggestions also.

My best regards.

Tommy

Here’s the lift gate video Tommy.

https://youtu.be/IDfl5QUimtI