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Confused by some baseboard advice


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I can't imagine why anybody would use 12mm ply for a normal indoor model railway.  If nothing else, decent quality 12mm ply is hellish dear, and heavy too.  6mm birch ply on a 70mm x 20mm works well for me and has done for the last three years in a room which gets more than its share of temperature and humidity changes. 

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There are a number of companies that do base boards as kits. I've used Grainge and Hodder's base board kits for my last 2 layouts. They are 6mm ply, come in a range of sizes and are not overly experience.

Hope this helps

Marc

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You need 12mm ply if you want to walk on the baseboard.  Personally I prefer open frame or L girder construction rather than a solid baseboard.   That said  I used solid wood 3/4" baseboard outside but they still went rotten, as did the 12 mm ply  on the present outside branch.

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All my boards are 12mm ply, but they still need some form of bracing and support. Of course, mine is not an exhibition layout so weight is not an issue. Personally, I want solid flat surfaces as running quality is one of my main concerns. A sheet of 12mm ply from my local wood yard is around £30, so not cheap, but the quality is so much better than the DIY stores. Stay clear of them.

 

One thing to bear in mind is that your baseboard is the foundation of your railway. Get that wrong and it won't matter how many bells and whistles you add, you will always be dealing with poor running and possible derailments. Get it right at the front end and it will repay you for years to come.

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16 hours ago, GridNorth said:

When people are recommending using 12mm ply are they basing it on not having a frame?  12mm ply with a 400mm x 400mm  2" x 1" framework seems to be over engineered and OTT.

 

Al

 

It depends on whether your baseboard is for a permanent or mobile layout. If it's the former, I would argue that there is nothing wrong with over-engineered, and certainly preferable to "Just enough", in my view. My permanent, garage based woodwork, is all 9mm thick ply, 100mm deep open frame, with 9mm ply for the track bed on risers as well. And that's for N gauge. You could argue that's over-engineered, but for me 6mm track bed was too flimsy on 300mm spaced risers. The open frame baseboard is mounted on a CLS frame screwed to the wall and floor. I guarantee it will not move.

 

Now, if you want to move a layout for exhibitions, or putting up/taking down in the home, then that's different and compromises would have to be made.

 

Horses for courses, really.

 

Best

 

Scott

Edited by scottystitch
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20 minutes ago, Titanius Anglesmith said:

Those who are using thinnish 6mm tops, how do you screw components (eg point motors) to the bottom of the board? Do you glue on thickening blocks where required?


Double sided tape. (Industrial strength)

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56 minutes ago, Titanius Anglesmith said:

Those who are using thinnish 6mm tops, how do you screw components (eg point motors) to the bottom of the board? Do you glue on thickening blocks where required?

 No need for any greater thickness AFAIC.  I've always found No 6 pan pozi self-tappers of the appropriate length (e.g. 0.25 inch for Gaugemaster SEEP point motors) to be perfectly satisfactory - and unless you use the stainless ones, they have the big advantage of sticking to the bit of your magnetic screwdriver.

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On 05/11/2019 at 21:32, HLT 0109 said:

Al

I agree with Spikey but make sure it is birch ply rather than anything cheaper.  The 70mm deep frame gives room for under-board electrical items whereas 2" might will not be enough for some items.

  

Harold.

 

If using Tortoise point motors you'll want to aim for about 4-5" (100 - 125mm) frame depth to cater for the rather deep motors (3.25"  + depth of any connectors and wiring to them).

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18 hours ago, Titanius Anglesmith said:

Those who are using thinnish 6mm tops, how do you screw components (eg point motors) to the bottom of the board? Do you glue on thickening blocks where required?

Yes. A "beer mat" of 6 or 9 mm ply will do.

It sometimes helps to pre mount the  component to 9mm ply accurately and then arrange slotted holes to allow for final adjustment in situ.

If using 6mm ply don't forget to trim off any track pins with the dremel.

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Just to add to the options, when I built Fourgig East I used 18mm packing crate ply obtained free from work. no need for corner bracing as the sides were thick enough to take screws directly.

 

Rough old stuff but has not warped or deformed 

 

DSC01427.thumb.jpg.af0afc77b62b973778b69429ff4de274.jpg

Edited by RedgateModels
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