Brighton MPD: A 30 year dream becomes reality: Today's post 130605
Entry posted by NorthHighlander
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Today's post...
The first decision in constructing the baseboard using the laminate method described to me by Glevum Group's Chris, is to decide, as in the diagram, whether to put the top sheet on top of the side members ('B) or to let it sit on a recess formed by the two side members laminated together (A). 
Chris' method is A, and although this might be obvious, I don't think it's that clear cut (no pun!). The traditional (and awful) method of 2x1 framing is usually to screw the top to it and up to the edges. This means that, where more than one board is involved which are to be separate for storage and transport but joined together for running sessions, the top sheets are butted together. If recessing the top sheet inside the side members, this means that the side members must have very square top edges for effective alignment. Of course, one reason for recessing the top sheet is that the side members provide a cleaner edge, much less prone to damage. I suspect that Chris will tell me that this arrangement also makes the whole assembly very much stronger. Given that the sheet material is only 6mm, it's not a difficult decision, the top sheet is recessed inside the outside side members and the surfaces are to be sanded for flatness and continuity. My experience is to use sanding sealer (applied in the open air!) and rub down when dry. I shall probably apply it to the hidden inner faces too.
Ok, progress today.... but before I report, some lessons learnt from the first board. Firstly, you'll note from the first set of photos that the templates buckled a lot and whilst these are only positioning templates to get an idea of the board size for cutting, the templates distorted considerably. This is because I applied a 3 to 1 mix of water to pva glue to the board and positioned the templates over it. The paper (standard 80gsm copy paper) soaked it up like a sponge with unpredictable results. Probably a poor idea but cheap!
Today's activity is to draw out and cut the second board top before applying the side members to the first board. The reason for this is that I don't trust my background shapes outlining the board positions and in the event I was right, as I needed to move the boundary of the first board backa few inches to align with a track joint in the centre of a crossover rather than at the approach joint, making for a better shape of the third board (yet to be measured).
I compensated on the templates for the 6mm side member by drawing the absolute outside of the assembled board with a red line and a green line 6mm inboard. I cut out the board along the green line.
I laid out the templates for the second very irregularly shaped board to provide minimum wastage on the sheet and instead of soaking the templates, put down a spot of glue and dipped my finger in the water to thin it and, holding the template in place, spot glued it in place at the edge or centre only. The template dried exactly in place with no distortion.
Sorry if this sounds long winded, but with a long and complex track diagram, accurate alignment even at this early stage is essential. I am sure others will comment on how wrong I have been and suggest a much better method! Please comment if I write too much unnecessary detail or if this narrative is useful.
Best regards
Tony
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