I am rebuilding a layout and I want to do an L-girder bench. I have been reading basic model railroad benchwork,second edition by jeff Wilson. I understand the fundamentals of the lengths of the L-girders but is there any rule of thumb about the WIDTH? the book doesn't really cover the width with the joists. how far apart should the girders be?
Replies sorted oldest to newest
Not sure exactly what you mean by width. Width of exactly what?
General thoughts:
Span and bay dimensions vary as to size and material of members.
From my experience I would suggest to avoid dimensional lumber and use quality plywood or steel studs for structural components.
The L-girder along with other styles are fine.
Lynn's book gives suggested lumber sizes adjusted to spans. IMO, some of his thoughts are on the light side and there are dated product suggestions, but for the beginner it is an excellent starting point.
I like 16" for cross member spacing.
I like 3/4" Birch/Maple plywood ripped 3 1/2" or 4" for support members.
You can save money if you use shop grade hard wood plywood. It only has esthetic blems.
Solid lumber can move a lot.
3/4" plywood makes excellent subroadbed.
If well supported L-girders can be of unlimited length.
Bore your wire management holes before assembly, much easier. All holes in the center third of the board face. I use 1 1/8" holes in 3 1/2 members.
The larger you build, maintaining a consistant datum point of referrance is extreamly important.
You can not have enough clamps.
Make sure all L-girgers are fully glued. Use poly urathane construction adhesive with a 18 ga brad gun if not able to clamp. C-clamps on all Tight bond III joints.
Check out the Yahoo groups layout construction site. Those guys are hard core.
You may find something you would like to copy at www.curvedbenchwork.net
tt
Access to this requires an OGR Forum Supporting Membership
