Mianne Customizable Benchwork...

Spoke with Tim this AM. The original building that housed the shop for Mianne Benchwork was sold. Tim had to locate another facility (nearby) and have riggers move all of his equipment. He then had to get it all set up and back into operation which has now happened. He figures it set him back by about a month but he is now back to making shipments everyday. All of his contact information remains the same. He is also preparing for York and hopes all will stop by the booth and say hi. As usual, my wife and I will be at the booth assisting Tim and his wife Lynn.

Al 

I'm hoping I see mine soon, I'd love to get started.

Oh, I had to open another Mianne topic, didn't I!?  Well, if money was no object, I would have already sent for a custom order for my whole layout.  Money has been tight as I have been working part time for over a year now.  However, everyone did get me looking at Mianne kits again, and the Model 02-24 kit would actually work perfectly for the portion of the layout I plan to start building first.  Soooo..... $419 + 10% shipping is $460.90!  That is what I need to come up with for now!   Worry about the rest later!   I do have the last payments for two locomotives I sold coming in this weekend!  What to do?  

When it is all said and done, instead of having trains and no layout, I'll have a layout and no trains to run on it!  

I'll let you know what I do later!  

Mark, I think you probably have a few trains to run already, get working on that benchwork!

Checking out their website and prices, which I think are reasonable.  I’m so going with them when I retire and move.  Hope they are still around by then.

You are right John!!!  

Mark,

Maybe one other thing to think about, Mianne is extremely easy to add on to (or modify if you want to make a revision here or there). Not to mention it is extremely easy to assemble and goes together very quickly (along with all the other great features). With the basic kit you can than just order additional parts to expand, you don't need another complete kit. Which will save you some $$$ when you add the next part and Tim can help you with part selection too. Clear as mud, right? I think they mention that (much better than I do) somewhere on their website of in the catalog. 

This is what I planned to do from the start, just didn't think it would take me this long to come up with a final plan.   I could go on and on here, but I don't want you falling asleep right here in the middle of the thread.   Looks like nice furniture too! (BTW, can you tell I really like this stuff?)   Anyway, good luck with what ever you decide (not trying to influence you here or anything like that).   

Yes, Easy  is good!  My carpentry skills are okay, but I definitely want to hide all of it after!  LOL

I only have basic tools, so this looks great too.  Then factor in how it is so hard to find good wood that won’t warp, and I see Tim has that problem addressed. Then too, woodworking isn’t my hobby, only a means to an end, like wiring.  So fast is good too.

Yes I can see that it should be easy to add on.  Also, if I move I can take it apart and use it again, even in a different configuration if necessary.  All good things.  I talked with Tim, I guess his wife, and Al at York last October, so I saw it first hand.  

I had decided to just put shelves along the walls in the 11 x 11 room last winter which was easy, but now that my wife offered the family room I have one long brick wall, built in bookshelves under the windows, and a wood paneled wall so I want the layout to be freestanding in this room.

Glad you got to see it first hand, that is impressive too. After my wife saw it she asked about making a table out of it. Take a look at Strangtrain's stained and finished layout in a previous post here. It's really nice looking, it is furniture! 

I considered all that you have as well, and no mess! And as you say if you move it's fully reusable and reconfigurable when you get to your new place. It was just perfect for me. After considering everything I thought the cost was pretty reasonable too. All the advantages far outweighed the cost for me!

I agree Strangtrain's looks great!  The darker stain really makes it look like furniture.  I would have my layout top extend out from the frame a few inches just to have the legs receded back a bit so I'm not kicking them all the time.  I have taken that into account when comparing the Model 02-24 kit to my layout plan.

Good plan. That's the only thing I messed up on, not extending the top on mine. I wasn't sure how it would all turn out when I placed my first order? I didn't really think about it until my grandson brought it up. He wanted more room to drive cars around the layout perimeter. I can still fix it when I expand I think,  for the most part anyway. Unfortunately, I think my grandson is getting too old to want to run cars around like he used to. 

It doesn’t take long for kids to outgrow anything, and especially grandchildren I would think given how fast time flys and how slow we work when older.  

I just got off the phone with Tim Foley, and placed an order for one kit that will take in my 12' 3" wall under the windows perfectly.  I already have a roll out section of benchwork for 2 turnback loops that will but up against the one corner of the kit.  It will take me all winter and maybe longer to get to the point when I need to order another kit or custom project.  That will be for the 3rd and longest wall and turnback loop.  Thank you everyone for the positive advice.

Mark Boyce posted:

I just got off the phone with Tim Foley, and placed an order for one kit that will take in my 12' 3" wall under the windows perfectly....

Congratulations Mark! Have fun assembling the benchwork and building the layout. I'm sure you will like the Mianne parts. I have two such layouts and I think they are the absolute best way to build a layout.

MELGAR

Thank you Melgar!!

Tim said he could ship about 2 weeks after he gets back from York.  I won’t have time to start until all my and my parents’ leaves are cleaned up anyway.  They are only starting to turn colors now; late here in Western Pennsylvania 

I wish I had asked Tim Foley for some more of the brackets used to tie down the plywood top.  I found some at Lowes but they're metal.  I have a few spots that I would like to keep as flat as possible.

I didn't have the patience to order small sections at a time, I wanted the whole enchilada to hit me at the same time!!!

I barely have mine running and am already thinking about adding an island or 2, it never ends!!!

Good luck Mark!!!  This benchwork has made building fun again.

Bob, I went back to Tim's video, and I see the brackets you mentioned, and I have seen them before in metal also.  Yes, he says put them on the legs, but I can see where you may want them mid span to snug the top down.

My decision to order only part of what I need for the overall plan was strictly financial.  I would have rather bought it all at once also.

Thank you.  Yes, I find carpentry to be a chore, and as I get older, it has become painful too!  This should be fun!!

Doing all the carpentry for my layout would simply be a bit too messy in my basement, and I don't have another place to work.  My old house had a dedicated woodshop with all my large woodworking tools.

I talked to Tim, he's working on mine, but he probably will get it done about the time for York.  Since my wife is nursing a broken wrist, I doubt she could drag the boxes in while I'm at York, so he'll ship it on Monday after York.

Congratulations Mark! That's good news. I think you will be quite happy with your new benchwork. It's is really nice stuff and very easy to assemble. I sure like mine. You guys are making me want to add more...

Bob (and Mark), you can get more of those brackets from Tim. I got more of them myself, when I ordered my extra shelf braces and transformer cart. I could not find any like what Mianne uses anywhere else. As Mark said above, I added some to the cross braces in a few places for some extra hold down on the plywood top.  Actually you can get any of the small assembly parts you might need from Tim.

GRJ, that's good news on yours too! I know you have been waiting a while! That has got to be exciting to hear it's finally on the way. Sorry to hear about your wife's wrist, hope she makes a quick recovery. 

Bob Delbridge posted:

I wish I had asked Tim Foley for some more of the brackets used to tie down the plywood top.  I found some at Lowes but they're metal.  I have a few spots that I would like to keep as flat as possible.

I didn't have the patience to order small sections at a time, I wanted the whole enchilada to hit me at the same time!!!

I barely have mine running and am already thinking about adding an island or 2, it never ends!!!

Good luck Mark!!!  This benchwork has made building fun again.

Here"s some plastic corner brackets made in Germany, on the Bay, item#

Just a comment on securing plywood atop a Mianne framework:

I am completing a 10' by 5' layout on a 9' by 4' Mianne frame. I placed two 5' by 5' pieces of 1/2-inch 9-ply birch plywood atop the Mianne frame, aligned them with the framework, then got under the table and glued four 3" by 3" by 1/2-inch thick blocks to the underside of the plywood (not to the framework) at each inside-corner of the Mianne framework. I left a small clearance (perhaps .01" or .02") between the edges of the blocks and the framework to allow for differential expansion - which has never been evident. I applied layers of extruded pink foam atop the plywood to create the terrain. There are three cross-members in the frame so each 5' by 5' piece of plywood is supported at the center of the table, 6 inches from the other three edges, and in its middle. I did it this way because I wanted to be able just to lift the plywood off the framework and take the layout elsewhere if I move. The weight of the plywood has been sufficient to keep it, and the track surface, perfectly flat. I did not find it necessary to fasten the plywood to the framework. It simply lays on top and is kept in position by the small blocks at the undersides of the corners. Just my two-cents...

MELGAR

MELGAR posted:

Just a comment on securing plywood atop a Mianne framework:

I am completing a 10' by 5' layout on a 9' by 4' Mianne frame. I placed two 5' by 5' pieces of 1/2-inch 9-ply birch plywood atop the Mianne frame, aligned them with the framework, then got under the table and glued four 3" by 3" by 1/2-inch thick blocks to the underside of the plywood (not to the framework) at each inside-corner of the Mianne framework. I left a small clearance (perhaps .01" or .02") between the edges of the blocks and the framework to allow for differential expansion - which has never been evident. I applied layers of extruded pink foam atop the plywood to create the terrain. There are three cross-members in the frame so each 5' by 5' piece of plywood is supported at the center of the table, 6 inches from the other three edges, and in its middle. I did it this way because I wanted to be able just to lift the plywood off the framework and take the layout elsewhere if I move. The weight of the plywood has been sufficient to keep it, and the track surface, perfectly flat. I did not find it necessary to fasten the plywood to the framework. It simply lays on top and is kept in position by the small blocks at the undersides of the corners. Just my two-cents...

MELGAR

Maybe you have some pics?

The top photo shows the corner of my Mianne benchwork looking upward at the bottom of the plywood. You can see the square block, which is glued only to the plywood, that fits into the inside corner of the Mianne framework. I used one block under each corner. This accurately positions the plywood atop the frame, prevents it from moving, and allows the plywood and anything attached to it to be quickly lifted off the layout.

MELGAR

Melgar, I like it a lot!!!  I too want to be able to take the top off in case we move.  We are in a split entry house that my wife's grandparents had built when they were at least 10 years younger than we are now.  My wife has had one knee replaced, and both of us need a knee replaced, but now insurance wants us to wait until we are on Medicare.  That's 3 years for me, but 6 for my wife.  I don't know how she will do it.  Anyway, we have had to move at times where I had previously said we weren't going to move.  Eventually I can picture us in a house with one floor living space.

That said, I have had good success with my Christmas layout just sitting on top of a heavy duty folding table.  Once I take buildings off, it can be lifted off and stowed away.  Same with your layout.  Take off buildings, etc and take the top off.  Thank you!!! 

Great job! For my plywood top I just used the fasteners that came with the Mianne kit but I like your approach.

johnstrains posted:

Great job! For my plywood top I just used the fasteners that came with the Mianne kit but I like your approach.

I also have another larger layout, built 19 years ago, on which I secured the plywood to the frame using the Mianne fasteners from underneath. With those fasteners, it would be a much more difficult job to disassemble the layout for moving or scrapping. That's why I did the current layout as described.

MELGAR

Melgar, I like that too. The one thing I did wrong on my Mianne was not extending the plywood top out over the Mianne framework. Maybe if I ever get to my planned expansion I can fix that! I like your side rails or fascias too, good idea. 

My plan is to extend the top out over the frame some too.  I don’t want to be kicking the legs.

I am just starting my dream layout at age 62, I decided to use Mianne Benchwork due to its ease of assembly.  I plan to ask you guys that have used Mainne a lot of questions, always go to the wise I say.

Well, you're right, it's not cheap, but it does go together very easy.  It's great when you get mostly assembled and then change your mind, just shuffle the pieces.

Robert, I was 62 when I started building my layout with Mianne Benchwork.  It certainly is easy to put up, and as John said, you can change it around easily too.  I started building mine sitting on a chair since I have damaged sciatic nerves and I had total knee replacement on the horizon for the other leg.  I ended up with just a basic around the room layout in an 11x11 room.  I made it fit okay, by also putting in metal brackets on two walls to hold a simple tabletop.  

Hove you placed your order yet?

Order placed, waiting like a kid at Christmas.  Should be here in a few weeks. 

Hey Robert. Just curious. How did you place your order? I called numerous times with no luck and about the same amount of emails so I ended up printing the order form and mailing USPS. I sure hope it gets there. To add to the other comments. Mianne bench work is outstanding. Very easy to work with and change as needed. Very precise and extremely well made.

Mark

@rkricko posted:

I am just starting my dream layout at age 62, I decided to use Mianne Benchwork due to its ease of assembly.  I plan to ask you guys that have used Mainne a lot of questions, always go to the wise I say.

Good choice.  Mianne is dream benchwork.  My wife enjoyed helping put it all together.

You'll love it.  

@Mark Zeigler posted:

Hey Robert. Just curious. How did you place your order? I called numerous times with no luck and about the same amount of emails so I ended up printing the order form and mailing USPS. I sure hope it gets there. To add to the other comments. Mianne bench work is outstanding. Very easy to work with and change as needed. Very precise and extremely well made.

Mark

Mark ... Have you met Tim at York?  I talked to Tim a few times at York before I ordered (at York) and so I had a face-to-face relationship.  If you've met him, it might help to let him know that.  Not sure ... but worth a try.

He was always responsive to me ... even though it took four months to get my benchwork built.   

Tim was always responsive to my calls, but he does run a significant backlog, so it will take some time to get your benchwork once you have the configuration in his hands.

Mark, I was going to try placing my order of odds and ends today, but never got to it.  Maybe tomorrow.

You made a great choice with Mianne Benchwork. I’ve had mine for over a year and love it. So many options. Mine is a 8x9 with a 5 ft. Extension for a yard/ engine servicing area. Check out my FB page Pocono Model Trains I made a series of videos on the Benchwork assembly process. Tim was great to work with.

Hey Robert,

I have never had the pleasure of meeting Tim in person. Actually. I've never been to York. I was born and raised in York Pa until I joined the Navy in 1975 right out of high school. I used to live off of West Market street about a 5 minute drive from the fairgrounds. I moved away and now have about a 6 hour drive to get there! Hopefully I will get to York in the near future. Anyway. I did mail my order request yesterday. I only need I-Beams 30" and 48". I have enough of everything else. I am expanding and got a bit carried away with the right of way!!

Mark

Don't exaggerate Mark, it only takes 5 hours to York from Virginia Beach.