Wood for new table

I used 1 x 4s for my layout table, both the framing and the legs (2 boards screwed together to form 90 degree corner) of the 8 x 20 foot table.  No problems with it and I get up and crawl around the table occasionally.

@Sunrise Special posted:

Good morning!

I'm getting ready to build a 6x16 train table in the new man cave.  Is it necessary to use 2x4s for the framing or would you recommend a different lumber size? Any photos that shows how your table was constructed would be very much appreciated! 

 

Thanks!

Sunrsie

I would recommend using lighter lumber, such as 1"X4" pine boards, with a 1"X2" fir strip glued to the top edge, i.e. "L Girder" construction, which will not warp as 2X4s will do. Also use the 1"X4" boards glued together at 90 degrees for the legs. I used Titebond Professional Wood Glue.

The Mianne benchwork uses pretty lightweight stuff with the exception of the hardwood legs, I'm up on the layout a bunch with no issues.  Unless you have 2x4 lumber laying around, I'd say save a bunch of loot and use the smaller stuff.  Lumber prices have gone through the roof lately!

Some folks rip 3/4” plywood sheets into 1x4 strips. You can get as many as 12 strips out of a sheet.

If you're careful, you actually get 13 1x4 sized strips out of the sheet.  A 1x4 is only 3 1/2" wide.  If you allow for a 1/8" saw kerf...

48" / 3.625" = 13.24 strips.

Those 1/4's would also be stronger than plain pine.

Do your homework.  Bottom dollar 2"X 4" framing lumber is usually Hem/Fir.   Better grade, (more expensive), longer length White fir, less likely to warp or twist.  IMO.  

Some go down to 3” to get even more thinking a true 1x3 plywood strip is as sturdy as a nominal 1x4 piece of pine. And in most cases the 1x3 strips will work just as well, if Barrett’s series on 1x3 and 2x2 framing is any indication. We do tend to overbuild and a lot depends on the cost of wood. I hear 2x4s have gotten a little expensive. My conservative 12 was based on more than 3.5 and just under 4.

What size lumber can depend on how many legs you plan for and how they are arranged in the design. 

Also the "are you planning on walking/crawling on top of it" aspect.  (and that of course is different depending on a person's weight!)

I've used 2x3 for legs for years, but I also don't crawl on top of the tables in general (I'm sure I've done some leaning on my tables while standing on a stool, but not the table strictly holding all of my weight).

For a standard 4x8 board, I've used 6 legs, 4 in the corners and 2 mid-way on the long edge, right near the middle.   I've used 1x4 or 1.25x4 as edge pieces (as well as a cross piece to span from one long edge to the other at the mid-way point) to screw the plywood down to and the legs to.

I've also done smaller "modules" to make a larger area made up of individual tables of maybe 2 foot by 6 foot surface area.  For those, I only put legs in the corners.

-Dave

Would painting the bench work help to prevent warping?

Not much, sometimes it makes it worse!   In any case, bad lumber won't be made good by painting.

Bad lumber is bad lumber. I always buy my lumber from one of the local independent lumber yards where the quality home builders and contractors buy their supplies. I avoid the big box chains if i want quality lumber.

I got my Baltic Birch 1/2" plywood from a specialty house, it was the right move.  The stuff was great, and talk about rigid and straight, a pleasure to work with.  Baltic Birch is cabinet grade wood with both sides perfectly smooth!  The 5x5 sheets were only $23 & change (forget the exact amount), I thought that was a bargain compared to what the local HD and Lowes were asking for crappy construction grade plywood, it was no contest!  When you contrast 5 ply plywood with 11 ply plywood, it's easy to pick the winner.  The outside plies on the Baltic Birch are also thicker than big box store plywood and there are no internal voids like you find on normal plywood, every ply is solid.

Like John, I also used birch. Mine wasn't Baltic, but it was 1/2" B/C grade. I went back to the same lumber yard and asked for their best 1/4" ply to make sub-roadbed. It was pine and warped severely. Fortunately because it was so thin 0.210", I was able to use it. Don't use pine.

The difference in price for the cheap plywood and the Baltic Birch for my 24 x 12 layout was around $100, I considered it money well spent.

Another product is MDO board, used for exterior signs.  Has a smooth paint-able surface (1) or both sides. IMO, Expensive but worked well.  Also   A/C grade plywood.  The A side is a very good work surface.  

MDO.

A/C plywood

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

The 5x5 sheets were only $23 & change (forget the exact amount), I thought that was a bargain....

That sure is a bargain. I checked one source here, Woodworkers Source, and they want $59.99 per sheet. I expected their price to be more, it always is, but not that much more, so I need to try to find it elsewhere.

I used Linn Westcott’s book as my guide on my 16X20 U shaped layout. Only 2X4s were the legs, because I had them already. 2X2s would have been sufficient. Does not move and I have been on top many times. 

I used 2x3's for legs and frame. 5/8 plywood for the top.

Very strong. 

I used 2x4’s and 2x3‘s with 1/2 OSB and 1/2 Homosote but I was 320 when I built my bench work a lot was lumber I brought from my old bench work so I little expense .  But like others here have said good quality lumber is important. A lot of what I brought with me I purchased 20 years ago when I built the last bench work. 

@DoubleDAZ posted:

That sure is a bargain. I checked one source here, Woodworkers Source, and they want $59.99 per sheet. I expected their price to be more, it always is, but not that much more, so I need to try to find it elsewhere.

Wood has skyrocketed in price since the COVID mess.  2x4 by 8 feet at Lowes are $6-7, last fall they were less than half of that!  I bought good looking 2x4 by 8 at Lowes last fall for $2!  Now they've tripled in price!

John, good points. I didn’t take into account when you bought your sheets.

I don't even want to think what it would cost me today to buy a dozen sheets of Baltic Birch or six 6x8 sheets of the sanded plywood.  I'm guessing the Homasote that I bought probably shot up in price as well.  I think I just squeaked in for cheaper prices on my build.

I built my benchwork 10 years ago with 1X4s for framing and 2X4s for legs. It's held up fine and is plenty strong. Just make sure to buy the best quality/straightest lumber you can. 

I started my second 4' x 6' table same as the first: 2" x 4" framing and legs. Why? Because I already had them on hand. The top is 1\2" plywood, also on hand.

At some point there will be three 4' x 6' tables bolted side by side for a final 12' x 6' size. if I didn't already have them I would have used 1" x4" lumber or gone the Mianne route.

IME, I refrain from using dimensional lumber. You can even use plywood to fashion "L" shaped legs.

Dimensional lumber is not stable, it can warp. 

Not that critical with three rail pizza cutter flanges and lobster claw couplers but very important with 2 rail & Kadees.

Watch how slow, if ever, lumber prices will return to pre China virus levels.

For my main layout build in the mid 80’s, I used 2X4s mostly salvaged from pallets or cast-offs from Rickel or Channel as I recall.  Not the best material in the world, but they work.  If I was to make a layout frame using 2X4s today, I would use Burrill lumber which you can usually find at Home Depot.

A few years ago, I when I made my staging area, I glued up C channels using Radiata 1X4s (also usually available at Home Depot) because I was spanning 10 feet.

With all your time, labor and eventual investment in a layout, I recommend the best materials you can afford, even if you have to build the table-work in stages. I used Mianne framework topped by 1/2-inch birch plywood. My 12'-by-8' layout is twenty years old and as good as new. Layout durability is important.

MELGAR