teejay Wrote:The other route I might go is to look for used wood .....we have another expressway being built and hundreds of homes were expropriated so there should be a decent supply of wood somewhere . Atleast it will be dried out and won't bend .

I don't have a table saw for ripping 1x6's but I could have access to one . I think I'll head out and do a little "fact-finding" today .

T

If you can't find decent lumber, two other possibilities are either poplar which is about the least expensive hardwood that you can get. More expensive than construction grade pine, but cheaper than clear pine. The other possibility if you have access to a table saw is to get 3/4 inch plywood and cut dimensional lumber from it. A third possibility is to use steel studs for the bench work.

I think I used poplar for mine.
I like 1x3 because it gives room on the flange to get a drill in with a large chuck. I think there's a book (by Westcott) that gives stability of L-girders. How long an unsupported span do you expect? Mine is generally supported every 30" or less but I have an 8-footer that's clear for 7 1/2 feet.

I'm going to divide the layout into 2 sections for construction purposes , the first being about 3'x 8' or so , so probably it will supported every 4 ' . I think what I did wrongly on my previous layout was to go too big right away ( a true steel mill complex will require about 75 running feet of layout ) and maybe it was overwhelming ( though I won't admit it to anyone else ) so maybe I'll do this project more sensibly .Maybe

The metal beams idea is something I hadn't thought of ....think I'll look into that too just for comparison .

T

So , Sunday dawns bright and clear ....lots of ideas from the Forum ....get to the local lumber yard to check out 1x2's, 1x3's , 1x4's ,1x6's , plywood sheets , metal studs ....etc etc ....haven't been there in a while .

A Canadian Company named Rona bought out the local guy in the small town that I live in .....haven't had good luck with Rona in the past ...they brag about being " all Canadian " , shop Canadian and all that cr*p .....but I'm all raring to go , see ....starting a new layout and all ....get to THE LUMBER YARD !!!.....mmmmm,uh, well it's CLOSED on Sunday until April ! .....are you kiddin' me ?? What the ......

.....so I pointed the Olds homeward and watched Curling

T

"well it's CLOSED on Sunday until April "

What!!!! You don't know how to pick a lock??? Think of all the $$$$$$$ you coulda saved!

Yeah , Mike , but at my age ( any age? ) going to el-jailo is NOT a good thing ....besides they probably don't have a layout there either .

T

Well , finally got off my butt and down the the lumber yard/store and picked up 100' of 1X3 ....had a heck of a time getting that 100 foot piece into the car but , hey , selective compression

Got a week's holidays....... time to clean up the train room and GET GOING !

T

Question : What's the best way to determine the optimum benchwork height ? The layout will be 30" wide so I won't have much trouble reaching over . I'm 6' myself and it will be a switching type layout .

The second thing is , I plan to run the main DCC buss near the front of the benchwork so I don't have to climb under to solder feeders ( although I might use suitcase connectors that I have on hand rather than solder ) ,....the point being , I don't plan on spending much time under the layout .

T

teejay Wrote:Question : What's the best way to determine the optimum benchwork height ? The layout will be 30" wide so I won't have much trouble reaching over . I'm 6' myself and it will be a switching type layout .

T

Here is my advise.....don't listen to advise on height. Do what is comfortable for you. I know a guy that built one so high he was looking at eye level. It sounded good to him, but in reality it wasn't much fun to operate. Mine is 40 inches high at the lowest track level with one ravine going below that by a foot, the highest track point is 48 inches over the floor level. I find it very pleasing to operate, and Barney is able to fly over very nicely. (I'm 5' 4" tall)
Charlie

A wise man once told me to always build a layout the height of your elbow. That way you don't kill your back when standing there working on it and if you have to work under it it will be high enough you can sit up while working on the underside. I have been the route of layouts that were too tall to lay under and work but too short to sit up and work and they killed my back and neck. But elbow height did the trick for under and topside for me.

Before I asked my question , I sort of had 40-42" high in my mind . My On30 mini is 40" to the top of the wood frame but the foam built mesa soars to 60" . It is 36" wide but a walk around style so is easy to work on .
This new HO will be walk around but will have a 2-3 ' high masonite backdrop that will hinder doing anything from the back ( uncoupling etc) . I tried a 42" leg with a piece of scrap wood and it comes up to my navel ....didn't do the elbow trick .....but from 42" I can't reach across 30" without bending somewhat . Not a BIG deal .
Since I'm building the layout in 2 halves , I think I'll build the first 10' x 30" rectangle at 42" .....if worse comes to worse I could always cut the legs I suppose ....or lower my navel

T

From my experience: hold your arm straight out and see how high the lowest part is (probably where it joins your body). The top of your normal buildings and scenery should be no higher than that. So if that comes to 54" and your buildings/trees/telegraph poles are 6", your base should be under 48".
Mountains/backdrops that you don't have to reach over can be higher.
My baseboard comes up almost to my arm and it's a pain to reach over stuff. And one part is 30" wide. I can reach stuff at the back but I can't see the track to check spikes and things.

You can always buy a stool or chair to be lower.

My layout is 50 inches tall which seems just about perfect to me. The depth is only 24 inches and I'm 6" 2" so reaching the back is no problem at all. I guess if I were six inches shorter I might have made it at 44 inches! I certainly would never make it any taller though.

Well , it's a start !









This is the first of 2 sections that will comprise my point to point layout . It is 10' x 30" but the second section will be V-shaped rather than another rectangle for reasons that will be apparent down the road .

I think I'll keep this thread as my personal diary so as to " stay the course " and not get off on a tangent with another project ( like I usually do ) .

I did put a track plan to paper and hope to follow it pretty closely . This area will be somewhat of a city scene while the second section will be dockside .

I didn't have any 2x2's in 42" lengths , as planned , so spliced together 1x4's to go with the 1x3 rails . I made sure the splices were at the same level on the legs so as to create a "shoulder" that will make it easier to install shelving later on .

Terry

Good to see you getting started Terry!