I was hoping to build more shelves over the holidays.
Besides doing the stand 4ft wide, I started measuring to see what width might be more suitable instead of 4ft.
For example, a set might need 5ft or more to display cars and engine on one shelf but this will waste a lot of wood since the pine I plan to use comes in 8ft lengths. Anyone found the magic dimension ...
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I was hoping to build more shelves over the holidays.
Besides doing the stand 4ft wide, I started measuring to see what width might be more suitable instead of 4ft.
For example, a set might need 5ft or more to display cars and engine on one shelf but this will waste a lot of wood since the pine I plan to use comes in 8ft lengths. Anyone found the magic dimension ...
I fit them to the room I have available so much of mine vary all over the map. When I build a set of shelves that stands on the floor it is usually as close to four feet as I can but when on the wall, particularly up high, I make them as long as I can.
...but this will waste a lot of wood since the pine I plan to use comes in 8ft lengths
My Dad always told me that's what the scrap wood box is for. Put all those 3 foot boards in a scrap wood box. Eventually you will need a small piece of wood... and it will be readily available.
Ron
I've found that 5 ft is a nice size for many postwar and a lot of prewar sets. I use an 8 footer for F3 four car passenger sets, and a 226E with 4 2623's. I have a seven footer that is tough to fill but I mix up various medium and short prewar sets on it so fill the space yet keep a nice bit of symmetry. If you end up with some 2 ft or 3 ft pieces, use those to make up a set of short shelves for engine's or individual cars, or use the scraps as backing boards that screw to each shelf and then are centered over the wall studs and then screw those directly into the studs. One other use for the excess wood is to use the old table saw and cut into 1/4" X 1/2" strips and then make some ties up. Paint flat black and use those to fill in the gaps in the tubular track ties.
If I use 12" wide pine, I could saw about 3 7/8" to get 3 pcs ...
I have always used 4 1/4" or 4".
Anyone try 3 1/2 to 7/8 range on the width?
Can't you get 10', 12', 14' boards to help with the scrap creation? They have them here at Home Depot. And maybe Lowes too?. We have one real lumber yard left that has a much better selection, they also carry hardwoods, but I don't go there often as it's a lot farther away.
I usually always make extra scrap, always due to faulty tape measures. 
I have only ever seem 8ft up here.
Cutting 5ft would leave 3ft left, this could be used to make another one or two smaller ones ...
Not sure how it would come out, but how about making them 3' high, you could use the short pieces for the ends?
Do you have a real lumber yard anywhere near by? If so I would think they would have boards in longer lengths, at least 10 footers?
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