Thickness for layout with plywood and quietbrace ?

Scott

I have always used 1/2 inch plywood on my layouts and never had a problem.  A carpenter that I know told me the other day that plywood has gotten really expensive so thinner plywood would save you some money as well.

Al

Substance over style, character over beauty, endurance over speed.  The same with layout construction/plywood decking.

It is quality over thickness in my experience. 

I use 1/4", 3/8", 1/2",5/8" & 3/4" (23/32") depending on the application and purpose. 

However, thinner plywood assemblies are laid out and supported differently than conventional 3/4" platform decks.  That is the key.

 My favorite all around wood is 9 ply Russian Birch multiply in 60" X 60" panels.  It is available in 1/4", 1/2" & 3/4" thickness in this area.

You can always order this product through any real honest to goodness wood shop.

As far as mounting switch machines on a thick sandwich of plywood and sound board or anytime you need a thinner deck area to mount something here is an idea:

If working with a 3/4" deck and a 3/4" soundboard for mounting switch machines, depending on the size of the mechanism, simply cut out enough of the plywood to accommodate mounting and servicing the motor (4" square) than cut out a 6" square of sound board above that spot.  Then insert a 6" square of 3/4" plywood or a 6" square of 1/2" plywood with a 1/4" build up around the bottom edge of the plywood insert. 

If you are very careful, you can also free hand a trim router overhead to relieve thick plywood decking. 

The same principle can be used in other areas like increasing railhead / overhead clearance.  tt

www.curvedbenchwork.net

Scot

Not computer literate and these photos may be bad. But the first one shows the throw wire extending far above the 1-5/16" thickness of my current 1/2+1/2+5/16" [ply+foam+cork] layout thickness before being nipped off. You can get springwire plenty long enough for 1-1/2" thickness and it throws the bar just fine.

Thanks Dewey.Your photos did the job.It shows me  how it should be instaled onto the layout and that you need to cut the wire to size after you have it in place.I also like the photos of the 3 tortoises you have by themselves with the wire before you cut them.        Thanks again Dewey  for your time     Scot Pensgard

The thicker your roadbed is, the heavier your throw wire needs to be for the Tortoise. Don't use the stock wire that comes with the Tortoise, upgrade during installation and you wont have to worry about it later. It's cheap, easy, and highly recommended by just about everyone using the Tortoise machines.

Scot 

One of the key things is to get the switch points centered when positioning the motor beneath and inserting the throwwire up through throwbar hole.  I use a couple of Que Tips to block the switch points in the midpoint of the running rails before installing the motor. When all is done check to see that the switch points are completely closing against the running rails each direction: "through" [mainline] direction and "out"[siding/spur,etc] when under VDC power.