Mianne benchwork question

My shipment is to be delivered on Wednesday. When I placed my order it was explained to mte that their bench work was measured center to center. I had to give him the exact measurmeent for the bench work. I had sent them a track plan with the demensions of the table top. That extre would have prevented the bench from fitting in the room. 

That's not an expected find! Call them tomorrow ask for a solution. it doesn't seem right that a 4 x 8 kit would not allow a common 4 x 8 sheet to cover to the outside edge of the framing.

I am also wondering, did you allow for the top of the legs protruding past the edge of the framing for fitment in your space?

 

John,

Any update?

Have you picked up the phone and called them at the outset of the observation for a better understanding? 

 

I know it is real easy to post a question but to some it could raise red flags for the product.

 

To a prospective buyer of Mianne benchwork, questions like this on a public forum could be a deterant. 

 

IME, it is always best to call the vendor first.

 

For the record, Mianne Benchwork has a lot of satisfied customers. tt

It certainly does…me among them.  

I emailed Tim Foley at Mianne the other day about my order and then specifically mentioned this post regarding the 4'x8' kits. Before I post his reply keep in mind that the whole idea behind this product is that it is reconfigurable and designed to be expandable as well. Here is Tim's reply and explanation as to your 4'x8' kit.

 

From Tim Foley:

 

"The reason that a 4x8 is larger than 4x8 is because it is also determined "center to center", this way any size layout or as a layout is expanded the measurements will remain consistent.  As an example, on a 4x8 layout there are 2 legs on the 4' side and 3 legs on the 8' side. If I were to make the 4' side exactly 4', the I-beam would have to be 44.5" (I-beam + 2 legs = 48").  If I then use the same 44.5" I-beams on the 8' side it will end up at only 94.25" (2 I-beams + 3 legs = 94.25") instead of 96".  That means if I want exactly 96" I need a new size I-beam, 45.375".  If I then want to make this a 12' table the size required would be 45.666".  As you can see the number of different sizes would quickly grow and the ability to reconfigure easily would disappear.  The way it is designed, no matter what the size, based on the 6" increments, the result is always the stated length/width +1.75" overall, regardless of how you assemble.  Much simpler.  I hope that wasn't too boring an explanation."

 

Tim is very easy to talk to on the phone. If you have any questions I can assure you, he is more than willing to help.

 

This is not a criticism, just an observation. I understand the geometry rationale. My only concern is I didn't find any mention of this in the catalog or on the website, and it seems like it could be important. If a 4x8 sheet of plywood won't completely cover the 4x8 kit, then one has to dress it up with a 7/8" frame or something. This is doubly important for me because one wall of the room for my layout is 12' and I plan to use 1/2" plywood. That means a 12' Mianne section won't fit and I'll have to settle for a 11.5' section with a nominal 6" overhang and hope the 1/2" will work. Now, I don't mind this, but had it not been for this thread, I might have blindly ordered the pieces for a 12'x13' kit that wouldn't fit. I'm sure Tim would have swapped out some pieces to make it work, but at what cost in time, money and frustration? Maybe Tim hasn't had any problems, otherwise I'd think this would be spelled out somewhere. Maybe it's just the programmer in me that looks for such specifics.

I do agree Dave and I only caught it because when Tim sent me the drawings to approve it was called out and that led to a discussion which was based around my maximum widths. He then cut 2 special rails that yielded my actual max width. I would suggest that anyone that is ordering from them to send them a copy of your plans and be specific in regards to any dimensions that might create a problem. Also be sure to leave yourself about an inch or so if going wall to wall. While it is great that all tightening of joints is done on the inside, one still has to be able to get that last leg set into position with the locating dowels and locking pin protruding out of the leg. I took some pictures tonight and will post tomorrow if time permits. For what it is worth I will be able to attach plywood top tomorrow. Total time is about 3 - 4 hours by myself. The bench work is based on the layout design by you Dave.

Good point, Ken, I hadn't thought about assembly and needing that little extra space to attach the last corner legs. Like I said, I wouldn't plan on going wall-to-wall anyway though. If this works like I think it does, ordering an 11.5' section to fit my 12' space would yield me a 3.25" overhang. I'd stabilize the layout by anchoring it to the wall between the 2 bedrooms, so all the overhang would be on the opposite side and I'd carry that overhang to the rest of the layout, including the center aisle.

 

The other advantage to Mianne is that it would make it really easy to order the kit now, assemble various parts in the garage, cut all but the last sub-roadbed pieces to size, etc., and have it all ready to reassemble when the bedroom space becomes available. In the meantime I could theoretically set it up in the garage or on the patio and use what RealTrax I have to run a train even.