Layout Newbie...need some benchwork advice

If you're looking for something to read until your book arrives then try this:

http://www.building-your-model...lroad-benchwork.html

Most of us use marine grade plywood (particle board will warp) and 2x4s for legs and framework. A cover of 1" or 2" foam board will allow you to carve ditches and stream into the surface, but it will not quiet your trains. To dampen the noise use Quiet Brace or similar product on top of the plywood; it's cheap at $8 per 4x8' sheet and works well.

I'm sure others will chime in with more info.

I built my benchwork using 3/4 plywood strips that I found in a Builders Surplus Store.  The strips were 16' long and 2 1/2" wide by 3/4".  I assempled L girders using wood glue and drywall screws.  I cut stringers out of the same material and spaced them every 12".  This may be over kill, but I can put my 325lbs on top and it didn't fall down.  I also covered the fram with 3/4 plywood purchased from the same store cheaper than I could buy 1/2 OSB at the big box stores.  I covered all of this with 1" green foam boards.  I think its the same as the blue or pink foam.  CTC has a series going on right now where they are building a 5 X 9 platform and they are using 2" foam for the deck.  Remember the foam itself is not structual  and if you go this route don't put any amount of weight on it.  Such as a knee, foot or all your weight on a hand.

Materials are avaliable at Home Depot, Lowes or any other building supply center.  Somewhere on the forum I have pictures of my bench work.

Here's my summary of what most do:

Layer 1 is the foundation. This can be plywood, OSB, MDF, etc. Many use 3/4", some use 1/2". Many believe 3/4" plywood is the most stable, others are more concerned about cost, weight, etc.

Layer 2 is a sub-roadbed. Many use Homasote while others use high density foam available at places like Home Depot and Lowe's. Some use ceiling tiles and other sound-deadening material, even carpet. Homasote is usually 1/2". Foam is usually 1" or 2". Some use these materials under the track only. Some may use Homasote under the track and use foam elsewhere for landscaping. Some don't use anything.

Layer 3 is the roadbed. It can be cork, thin foam, rubber, etc., or nothing at all.

Layer 4 is the track itself.

Mine is 1/2 Plywood on 1X4 grid with 2 layers of sheet insulating foam, then Celotex Soundstop, then Woodland Scenics foam roadbed, then Track.

I want the thickness of foam because I'm modeling a mountainous area. Lots of deep ravines and such.

Soundstop is similar to Quietbrace but without the tar coating. Homosote is older and more costly but liked by many.

Ceiling tiles are also made for sound damping but I suspect will end up costing a lot once you buy the number needed. And watch out for the beveled edges.

I use 3/4" BC plywood over 1x4 frame with 2x4 legs, then fiberboard over the plywood. I don't use foam under the tracks, but will use it to fill in for landscaping where necessary.

Do yourself a big favor and build in nice looking storage around the outer edges. Lowes and Home Depot have kitchen cabinet kits. Only other thing you need is an access section to wiring underneath and even more storage when complete.

The whole layout here. 11.5x9.5 with extention through closet.

http://www.jcstudiosinc.com/BlogShowThread?id=958

Pbuff,

My current layout is my seventh and my second in O-Gauge. The frame is 2x4’s topped by 5/8” plywood and QuietBrace. Up until this one, I had always used 1x4’s for the frame, 1/2” plywood, and Homasote. When I built the previous one, I couldn’t find Homasote locally, so I discovered and used QuietBrace from Home Depot, a Temple-Inland sound deadening structural sheathing. A lot of other modelers also have used QB successfully. QB, by the way, is about one third the price of Homasote.

When I was ready to buy the 1x4’s for my current layout, I had a difficult time finding straight 1x4’s at a reasonable price, and since I had just used well over 200 2x4’s for finishing the basement, I decided to use 2x4’s for the layout as well. These were half or a third the price of the 1x4’s, and as it turned out, it was the best choice I made. I used 120 2x4’s for my layout, and my wife and I handpicked them at HD.

Using 2x4’s allowed me to space the legs much further apart than when I had used 1x4’s, and the result is that I have a lot of unobstructed open space under the layout. This is good not only for storing stuff, such as empty boxes, but also makes it very easy to work under the layout, as for wiring. It also is plenty strong and solid for me to walk on it.

You may take a look at my bench work, etc. following the link to my layout, below, and look at the first page of the thread. Other pages show other construction details.

Good luck, and keep us updated with your progress.

Alex

I checked a while back looking for Quietbrace.  I found out by calling the company that there is a limited distribution of the material.  The home depots in my area could not get the stuff.  I used the green foam from Lowes.  Some people complain about the noise when you build a layout with FasTrack.  Thats what I'm using and have too much invested to worry about changing.  I visited a layout that used only metal three rail and it was so noisy you could'nt hear anything.  Now the guy was running everything wide open.  If you serch the forum for an older post I started you can see pictures of my benchwork frames.  I'm at the point now where I have all the plywood down and the elevations are set.  I used 6 inch blocks of foam for the upper level.

Guys, thank you so much for all of the advice.  I have a bit of prepping to do to the room itself - it's got really old, warped paneling, plus a floor that was half ripped up (old school asbestos tile, so there's no way I'm ripping the rest of that up on my own).  Plan on starting the track plan this weekend using the MTH Railware software.

On a side note, right now I have a mixture of Fasttrack, MTH Realtrax (which is crap compared to the Fastrack) and even the old tubular stuff.  Trying to figure out what type of track to use for the layout itself...have been researching Atlas, ScaleTrax, Ross and Gargraves (Looks like I'll have to post separately on that topic ).

I finally also bought the MTH DCS system and have been impressed so far.  Finally on my way to making my dream layout a reality!  Will post up some pics of the room this weekend and report back on progress.

Again - much appreciated!

The benchwork on my layout is modular; constructed out of 1x4s. Everything is bolted/screwed together so it can be disassembled someday. I've topped it with 3/4" plywood. Legs are 2x4s with 3x3s on the corners.

I prefabricated everything and carried it to the attic in pieces. Everything is constructed with Kreg pocket screws.

I'm a realist. It will be coming out of this house some day. I just hope I'm not the one that has to do it!

Gilly

I also built my bench work in modules, my modules are 2'x8' open grid, plywood ripped down the center gives me the top, 8' 2x4 cut in half gave me the legs, the grid made mostly of 1x4 and some 8' 2x4 gave me the length. The bench work is on it's second home and forth layout. The gargraves track also being reused all this time.