Baseboard Construction

[doilum]

1 hour ago, ikcdab said:

£1170 is an awful lot of money.  You would get a lot of ply for that.  An 8 x 4 sheet of 9mm is around £25. If you cut it into 100mm strips for girders you get 28 metres of girder. So I am struggling to get anywhere near £1100. Can you post your plans on here?

Agree with the basic point, but it depends on the quality of the plywood. A sheet of decent birch ply (smooth cut & no nasty splinters ) will be at least double that. Plywood prices seem to fluctuate like petrol and it is worth looking again in a few months time if they seem a bit rich at present. The quality of material stocked by the big DIY stores is also variable and it pays to be brave enough to walk away if you are not happy with their current stock.

[ikcdab]

45 minutes ago, doilum said:

Agree with the basic point, but it depends on the quality of the plywood. A sheet of decent birch ply (smooth cut & no nasty splinters ) will be at least double that. Plywood prices seem to fluctuate like petrol and it is worth looking again in a few months time if they seem a bit rich at present. The quality of material stocked by the big DIY stores is also variable and it pays to be brave enough to walk away if you are not happy with their current stock.

I don't disagree. I have found decent "hardwood" ply in my local timber merchants for that price. Maybe not as hifi as birch ply, but still good and very suitable for baseboards.

[Philou]

I'm stumped as to where over a grand comes from. As I'm over 'here' (same as Andy Hayter), I've just looked at an equivalent site (Leroy Merlin) and their 9mm marine ply is €92 (£90 say) for a 2500 x 1220mm sheet (approx 8' x 4'). Even if OP were to create one huuuuuge layout measuring 24' x 8', he'd only need 6 sheets to cover the whole room which = £540 (plus framing). But you wouldn't do that anyway!

 

Depending on the layout, possibly three sheets would be enough, plus a sheet (or so) for framing. Softwood legs (2" x 2") plus screws and glue - £500 or so? Any takers?

 

Cheers,

 

Philip

[Philou]

Just done a quick calc. for my proposed layout of 8m x 6m, I only need 11 sheets max. with an 'island' traverser plus softwood legs and ironmongery. My local merchant can get me the materials with discount so I should get double the surface area for about the same as OP's original costings.

 

I'd be interested in knowing what ply the OP priced.

 

Whatever it was, do NOT use MDF as an alternative.

 

Cheers,

 

Philip

[Joseph_Pestell]

On 21/08/2020 at 11:29, Hibelroad said:

Seconds and Co have a minimum order of £300 plus £40 delivery (plus Vat?), so not that useful. I have built a small 00 test track using insulation board, very lightweight but it will not take pins or screws. I think users glue in plywood blocks where fixings are required for point motors etc. 

 

Have just checked with them. The £300 minimum only applies to deliveries.

 

If you can collect from Presteigne, no minimum applies.

[AyJay]

Hi Houndog,

Is your costing right? For my layout, I went to Travis Perkins and purchased ten sheets of 5mm ply, 2.4 x 1.2m.  Current cost £25.62 each.  With that, I was able to construct all the baseboards I wanted, all crossbraced, and I still had 2 sheets left over.

[Crewlisle]

 

I have been intrigued about all the suggested methods & materials to build baseboards to make them light, portable & durable, but £92 for a sheet of marine ply (Philou on Sunday) is going over the top!  You only use marine ply for boat repairs or if it is liable to get wet.

 

My 00 gauge layout 'Crewlisle' is on 5 separate baseboards built 47 years ago.  Over the last 37 years it has been assembled/disassembled for many exhibitions & the baseboards are still as strong, flat & level as the day they were built.  And what miraculous material did I use - Sundaela!  Perhaps the main reason for their longevity is that the layout is in a spare bedroom.

 

The frames are 50 x 25 softwood; external corners are dovetailed, glued with 'Evostik Resin W' woodworking glue & pinned; inside stiffener joints are cross halving joints, glued & pinned; the external frames are NOT cross-halved but retain their full 50mm depth along their length to retain their maximum strength.  The Sundaela is 15mm thick & is glued & pinned directly to the framework without any plywood underneath or on top.  It has made cutting holes for motors, etc. & for inserting track pins easy.

 

If I was starting again I would probably use 6 or 8mm ply.  With Sundaela you require stiffening at about 300mm between centres, with ply about 500mm.  To build baseboards using 'Sundaela' boards you require to be a skilful woodworker to cut joints & accurate assembly of the framework.  These skills are in short supply these days!

 

Peter

[doilum]

1 hour ago, Crewlisle said:

 

I have been intrigued about all the suggested methods & materials to build baseboards to make them light, portable & durable, but £92 for a sheet of marine ply (Philou on Sunday) is going over the top!  You only use marine ply for boat repairs or if it is liable to get wet.

 

My 00 gauge layout 'Crewlisle' is on 5 separate baseboards built 47 years ago.  Over the last 37 years it has been assembled/disassembled for many exhibitions & the baseboards are still as strong, flat & level as the day they were built.  And what miraculous material did I use - Sundaela!  Perhaps the main reason for their longevity is that the layout is in a spare bedroom.

 

The frames are 50 x 25 softwood; external corners are dovetailed, glued with 'Evostik Resin W' woodworking glue & pinned; inside stiffener joints are cross halving joints, glued & pinned; the external frames are NOT cross-halved but retain their full 50mm depth along their length to retain their maximum strength.  The Sundaela is 15mm thick & is glued & pinned directly to the framework without any plywood underneath or on top.  It has made cutting holes for motors, etc. & for inserting track pins easy.

 

If I was starting again I would probably use 6 or 8mm ply.  With Sundaela you require stiffening at about 300mm between centres, with ply about 500mm.  To build baseboards using 'Sundaela' boards you require to be a skilful woodworker to cut joints & accurate assembly of the framework.  These skills are in short supply these days!

 

Peter

Building with 2x1 and Sundeala was how, aged 10, I learned the carpentry skills from my father that have served me for 55 years.