Steel Studs Bench Work question

I hate steel studs.  Maybe because I sell wood.  It would seem logically that they would be noisier.  Unless you get the heavier gauge stuff.  But there is that hollow cavity.  I would never do it, but I like sawdust.

What is 3/4" plywood framing?  For the legs and joists?  You rip plywood down for that?  Now you've really lost me. 

Yikes!  I wonder what it would do to a TMCC layout. ? I can't imagine making modifications to the layout if  you  screwed something up...    Layout wiring underneath the layout touching a  metal stud  wouldn't be a good thing for me. 

If you attached a wall  plug out- let  (120 V)would the studs automatically be  a earth ground??   

Our modular club layout uses steel studs and we run TMCC without any signalling issues at all. Our layout is 36 feet by 16 feet, as best that I recall. Since it gets hauled around to the various shows in the San Francisco Bay Area, it get some pretty rough handling. But the guys built it almost bullet proof. It has withstand the time, I think is't about 15 years old.

I only joined the group about 3 years ago, a great bunch of guys.

Here are some photos of the layout. 

The GN engine is mine, we use green material to hide the legs, not the control panel in the back attached to the metal stud frame.

Here's a shot of the inside of the layout with one of 3 control panels.

Here is a better photo of the guys removing some of the modules. Wood on the end, steel on the sides. 

I usually rip 3/4" birch plywood to 3" or 4" depending on the job. I usually screw it and glue it to build all the bench work.  Then I glue 1/2" birch to the top.

I did not even think about to signal for Legacy.  Does anyone know, if the steel studs will effect the Legacy signal?

We have run Legacy base with our modular layout. No signal issues at all, the same with TMCC. As for ground, the answer is NO, unless someone has a home layout and attached the framing to a grounding system. I would not recommend this, but then I am not an electrician.

RAY

Steel is lighter and fire proof.

Some fire codes required steel in buildings, instead of wood studs.

We used steel studs for custom workbenches to meet codes.

I got the leftovers for free.

You should pad the cutouts if wires are run thought them.

I used steel rods to elevate my levels. I ran 13 loops with 5 levels using TMCC, Legacy, and DCS. I ran a wire grounded to my water pipe between each platform section zigzagged between the plywood and homosote.  Using the steel instead of wood permitted a closer spacing of the trains above and below the layout.

There is a very large layout in Allentown modeltrainexhibit.com

that was constructed using steel studs and 3/4 plywood on the top. They used heavy gage steel like one would use to construct a building.  I used steel studs on my benchwork for support on one side with no issues.  I framed my basement walls with steel studs and built a boxbeam out of the stud material and fastened it to the outside walls and attahed the top of the bench to it.  The rest of the bench is made from 1 X 3 plywood strips that i bought precut.  They were 16' X 2-1/2" X 3/4"  Everything was covered with 3/4" plywood and a minimum of 1" extruded foam board.  I use Fastrack and have no noise issues.

There is a whole industry designed around metal studs.  This is a Stud Punch to install holes in metal framing. There are insert plastic bushings that insulate/isolated the metal holes for non-metallic Sheath wiring.

Also note the vice-grip locking plier assemblies used to hold metal framing together until screws are applied.

C-clamp pliers used for metal framing. Also used to position metal electrical boxes on metal framing.  Most attachment is done with a #6 or #8 button head/driller tip screw applied with a drill/driver.

Older Greenlee 710 Stud Punch tool pictured.

Bushings designed for metal stud uses.

An option I'm considering... extruded aluminum 80/20 framework.  I've used this a lot in the past for industrial projects, work stations, equipment mounting stands, ect..  I found a link today for a model railroad benchwork supplier that is using 80/20 for his modular benchwork product line.   Being aluminum, 80/20 is lightweight.  Being a profiled extrusion, it has a lot of rigidity.  The slots in the 80/20 allows for t-nuts and bolts for the connection hardware... which provides a lot of flexibility.  All you need is a cut-off or chop saw to cut the stock lengths into whatever length you need.  The 80/20 product line is very deep, with just about every bracket, cap, leveling foot, brace you could want or need.

http://www.engineeredlayoutsystems.com/ shows what I am referring to.

The aluminum is great stuff if you have access to scraps, but $40 for the equivalent of an 8 foot 2x4 is a little steep for me.