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Baseboard plywood surface questions


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Hello everyone,

 

Hope you all are doing well in the run up to to the festive season. In this post I am hoping to gather some opinions regarding the choice of a baseboard surface. On my previous layout I suspect that I may have used 9mm eucalyptus plywood as my baseboard surface (from Jewson) but I'm not 100% sure as it was nearly 10 years ago when I started construction. Since then I dismantled the garage layout in favour of a larger shed in the garden that in the new year will be the home of a new layout.   I'm aware that most on here recommend birch plywood but thought I would ask whether anyone has used eucalyptus ply on their layout and what their experience was with it?  I did find a single post of someone that did use it but that is probably too small a sample size! 

 

 

If the majority of recommendations still is to go with Birch has anyone had experience of using this business? https://sheetmaterialswholesale.co.uk/sheet-materials/hardwood-plywood/birch-plywood/  

 

Regards

Bryant

 

 

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I always try to use second hand ply which has had time to delaminate or the woodworm find its way out, likewise 2X1 etc soft wood which all too often twists after you make structures with it straight from the DIY store.  Ply is too resonant for me to use in large sheets, under Sundela or as track bases on L girders its fine.

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I prefer to use 12mm ply, rather than 9mm. Yes, its heavier and more expensive, but I screw various items to the underside of the boards and 9mm is getting a bit thin for decent screws. It's also more rigid and requires less underframe to support it.

 

As for the kind of ply, the Birch ply has a lovely smooth almost silky surface, which is great. I prefer this for all my new purchases, although I have used some older and much coarser tropical hardwood ply simply because I had some lying around in the garage. The Birch ply is much nicer to cut with my jigsaw.

 

The moisture resistance factor really depends on where you're planning to have the layout. A shed, garage or attic is likely to be damp and puts a premium on getting ply that will not warp or delaminate. For me, I am fortunate to have an insulated and heated loft conversion that was previously a bedroom when my children still lived at home, so damp is not an issue - and so all the new ply I buy is that Birch stuff.

 

Mike.

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Thanks for all the advice, after a some thought I decided I shouldn't skimp on such a vital part of the layout build.  After a fair amount of searching on google I found a relatively local business and enquired about some sheets of birch ply.  https://www.daviestimber.co.uk/products/BIRCH-BBBB-GRADE-PLYWOOD/P100049  Given the apparent shortages of building materials I was delighted to find that they had some in stock and I was really pleased with what I received for what will be a 19" x 10" size layout.   I'll look at starting a thread when I start laying track in the New year.  :D

 

Cheers

Bryant

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