hi this is the start of my layout build thread, i hope to update as i go but it will be a slow build due to two young children. sorry if you have already seen this as it is alson on another forum.

i have started a new project, my large loft layout has taken a back seat.

i have a old bit of wood left over from a previous base board which i decided i would build something a little different on.

the board is 96 inches long by 14.5 inches wide.

my vision is to produce a layout and fiddle yard in this area. but i wanted to produce something a little different from the normal. i have also set myself a goal........ to either get the layout in a magazine or to exhibit the layout, gives you some idea of the quality and detail that i am going for. if i achieve this it will amaze me!!!!.

my next decision was what should i do..... well while sitting watching the D-Day special on TV it hit me, a WWII harbour.

so i set about planning a layout via any rail. a few tweaks and some advice has led me to this as my layout design.

i will just add, that while trying to think of a good name for the layout, my wife came up with 'Operation Abyss' as she said it sounded sea related. i liked it so it stuck

i was then convinced on another forum to go down the route of a sector plate, having never attempted this i was anxious.

I decided that i really must pull my finger out, i am not the best at wood work, however i jumped in and completed the base board.

i have started to paint it with wood varnish as to protect it from damp etc, i still have a lot more painting to do.

i placed the boat in the lowered section for the harbour and placed some track on the board to give you an idea of size etc.

Ok so after working a set of night shifts where all i could think about was my layout and how to do the fiddle yard / sector plate / traverser....

after taking advice from the internet / magazines/ and the other forum i decided to go for a sector plate.

i spent most of the afternoon today after not a lot of sleep playing with cardboard cutouts. i have decided that with a sector plate i can shorten the fiddle yard increasing the scenic area.

i can just about fit in a end pivot sector plate so after spending hours with cardboard, string and pencils i decided what the hell, and this is what happened....... no going back now.........

ok so back to the sector plate

i have added some cross braces one in the center then one at one end to mount the pivot to and one at the front to keep the sector plate and the main board at the same height.

however ...... what do i use as a pivot?? i was thinking a large bolt with some washers but i'm worried that the thread on the bolt would chew up the MDF sector plate.

below is a picture of my progress with a little help from my son.

ok so back to the sector plate,

i had to make a decision on how to pivot it without the thread of a bolt chewing up the wood.

now i could use a bolt with only half thread but i didn't like that idea. i decided that i would use a metal sleeve.

so how to do this. i could go and buy some brass tube but that would be boring.

i have some brass knocking about and the bolt that i wanted to use. this means that i can break out the metal laithe.

so two sleeves where made one the exact thickness of the MDF and the other the exact thickness of the wood.

i next drilled the holes in the wood a little undersize and hammered the brass into the wood for a really snug fit.

the both fits the sleeve snugly so that there is no movement apart from the rotation.

i have also screwed a support to the bottom of the MDF to stop it warping in the future.

all in all i'm quite happy, next paint the wood then to start track laying.

ok so copper clad PCB board check......... arrived on saturday morning.

soldering iron check.....

solder check........

flux check.......

baseboard painted and sealed check.....

flexi track check.........

mini hand drill check........

track pins and pva check........

however wife and children at home and we got a christening to go to. (id better be there im the godfather.)

however monday and tuesday i am off work, wife is at work and children are at pre school.

watch this space.............