Mianne Benchwork

Rubin,

I used Mianne benchwork to build my layout. It’s much smaller than yours but I believe the same tips apply. Before I mounted the plywood I drilled additional wire pass through holes in all the crossmembers. Then I mounted barrier strips on the same crossmembers. This helped facilitate the wiring of my layout. Once I mounted the plywood it did become more stable. Others here on the forum may be able offer suggestions on building grades. Since my layout doesn’t have grades.

I have a Mianne  8x12 table on wheels in my garage.  Best investment I made when I got back into the hobby.  My mind was made up when I seen their display at a York train show.  I eliminated the lumber yard mess of selecting wood to make a table.  The reason my table is on wheels is so I can move it around on "my half" of the garage.  If you do a search on the forum you will find numerous entries on Mianne benchwork.  Have fun building your layout.

See this thread beginning on page 4:

https://ogrforum.com/...ew-train-room?page=4

-Greg

@RubinG posted:

As I plan my new layout, I’ve thought about using Mianne benchwork to save time in construction. The gentleman at Mianne has been super helpful in explaining the system to and it seems to be a quality product made by a quality guy. My concern is that I’ve always used L-girder construction on my layout, which provides flexibility and is scenery friendly and wiring friendly. Mianne’s website and my conversation with them suggests that the product isn’t fully stable until you attach sheets of plywood to the benchwork. This means building grades, etc. above the table only and makes wiring more difficult. Does anyone have any experience with this product in a fairly large layout, at least for me ( 19 x 20 around the walls).

I did a 24 x 12 layout with it, and what Tim says is true, it's much more solid when the top is attached.  You can wire before you put the top on, but as it turned out, I didn't get that done and wired after the fact.  I quickly build this little chair to scoot around under the layout on the carpet to do the wiring, makes it much easier than trying to crouch there or lay on a creeper.

If you are planning a lot of scenery that would go below the main level, then the Mianne benchwork may not be the best choice for you as you say.  For the most part, it's not that practical to go below the table surface for any significant areas.

Here's where I am now, putting the final touches on wiring for the LCS and some signals.

Thank you everyone for your replies. You’re really making me give serious consideration to using Mianne. There’ll still be a need to cut risers , but that’s true either way. It’s just that L Girder is more forgiving because you can adjust the risers up and down more easily. Nevertheless, Mianne will save an awful lot of cutting.

GunrunnerJohn, I’m really intrigued by that repurposed chair. I can see the 2 x 4 frame, but what kind of casters did you use ? How tall were your Mianne legs?

Your yard looks great. Is it more than 3 feet wide? It looks very similar to what I’d like to build, but I’m also planning a turntable and roundhouse.

As I look at your train room, it looks to me like you used linoleum. Am I correct?

Thanks everyone again for your help. There’s nothing better than the OGR Forum

Rubin

@RubinG posted:

GunrunnerJohn, I’m really intrigued by that repurposed chair. I can see the 2 x 4 frame, but what kind of casters did you use ? How tall were your Mianne legs?

Your yard looks great. Is it more than 3 feet wide? It looks very similar to what I’d like to build, but I’m also planning a turntable and roundhouse.

As I look at your train room, it looks to me like you used linoleum. Am I correct?

I used the standard 40" legs from Mianne, so the height of the bottom of the I-beams to the floor is at least 36" at the floor high spot, and closer to 38" at the low spots.  All of the layout was leveled to about 1/8" or better after the top of the benchwork was on.

The chair has a couple of 2x3's and the round disks are carpet furniture glides as most of my layout is on carpeted floor.  It works great for working under the layout, much easier on the back when you're wiring than anything else I could think of.

The yard is three feet wide, and the yard tracks are all spaced 3.5" apart.  I didn't have room for anything wider there without encroaching on the door.  I put a small turntable on the main platform but no room for the roundhouse, though I sure would have liked to have one.

I used Mianne Benchwork.  It’s is very stable once assembled.  I used 3/4” plywood and 1/2” homosote.  I also sanded and painted the bench before I assembled it.  When painting it’s best not to paint the ends of the beams so that it can be easily disassembled if necessary in the future.

I plan on ordering a 5x10’ kit from them. I think I’ll call this week. I’ll probably need 37 1/2 inch height, so that when I add a 1/2” top, it will match my existing layout, which may be linked to it.

Tim will cut the legs to any length, so remember to consider the leg levelers and the top in the calculations.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

I did a 24 x 12 layout with it, and what Tim says is true, it's much more solid when the top is attached.  You can wire before you put the top on, but as it turned out, I didn't get that done and wired after the fact.  I quickly build this little chair to scoot around under the layout on the carpet to do the wiring, makes it much easier than trying to crouch there or lay on a creeper.

If you are planning a lot of scenery that would go below the main level, then the Mianne benchwork may not be the best choice for you as you say.  For the most part, it's not that practical to go below the table surface for any significant areas.

Here's where I am now, putting the final touches on wiring for the LCS and some signals.

Outstanding! That layout has so much going on. And the chair is repurposed magic. Thank you for sharing! 😎