Building benchwork from unconventional material

[nomisd]

I think this is the correct place to be posting this.

 

One thing that I have never been particularly good at is wood working. I have good intentions but my execution is somewhat less than my design. This is of course a problem if one wants to build a model railway. Last year we had some new walls built in our house and I was talking to our builders about this impediment to getting my layout started.

 

We have been using these builders for nearly a decade now and I have got to know them pretty well. When we started renovating our house nearly ten years ago, the way to build a new interior wall was the tried and tested wood frame work using 2 x 2 and 2 x 4 which the plaster board is then screwed to. A couple of years ago our builders stopped using this method and went to metal work to build the stud work. The metal work is three different sorts of U profile. It is cut using tin snips (or an angle grinder or is suppose a saw) and is fastened by either crimping it together of screwing it together.

 

Last summer, I watched them putting up a stud wall using it and it occurred to me that in essence a layout board is just a stud wall turned on its side. We then had a long discussion about the pros and cons of using this material as the basis for base boards (it should be noted that neither of the builders are modellers). We couldn’t see why it wouldn’t work as a baseboard building material.

 

Fast forward to last week when they came back to lower the ceiling in our loft from 5 metres to a more sensible 3 metres (and put some new insulation in at the same time). Part of the loft has been designated for my next layout. So, we decided to put this theory to the test. This morning the bench work for the for the layout was built.

[nomisd]

It measures 6 metres by 80cms along the back wall and about 4 metres by 80 along the short wall. It is 90cms high. They had the whole framework built in about 1.5 hours. The top is not screwed down yet and we ran out of ply for the top but that is not really an issue yet (the missing to is the fiddle yard).

 

From a cost point of view, the metal is 1.07 euro a linear metre against 1.27 euro for 2 x 2 (in reality 54mm x 54mm). They tell me that the metal is expensive at the moment and in a normal market is about 60 cents a metre. Strength wise I can’t see that it is any less strong than wood. The only thing is that we couldn’t work out a way of making legs so have gone with 2 x 2s for the legs. They are only at the front as the rail is screwed into back wall .

 

I have looked and I can’t see that anyone else has used this material to build their bench work (not to say I have looked everywhere). Any comments are welcome.

[Nearholmer]

Interesting.

 

Is it galvanised steel, or aluminium?

[nomisd]

It is galvanised. I should have added about the costs is that they are builders cost prices rather than retail prices.

Edited January 12, 2022 by nomisd

[DCB]

Looks like a brilliant base for L or T girder construction. How do you screw in to it?   Do the screws stay tight?  Is it available in the UK.

[nomisd]

4 hours ago, DCB said:

How do you screw in to it?   Do the screws stay tight?  Is it available in the UK.

It is screwed into the stud work of the wall. On the rear wall (the one that is still drying as it was plastered this week) they are every 60cms. The shorter wall was built 8 years ago and used wood stud work and it is every 40cms. They used 55mm plaster board screws. They use exactly the same techniques they use for putting stud work up so I can't see why the screws won't stay tight. I believe it can be purchased in Wickes in the UK, this would suggest that there are other places that will sell it too.

[Nearholmer]

It is used a lot in commercial work in the U.K., offices and shops, but I’ve never heard of it on domestic work (maybe it is, but I just don’t know about it) https://www.travisperkins.co.uk/product/building-materials/plaster-and-plasterboards/metal-stud-partitioning/c/1500225/

 

These Aussie guys explain it well 

It is very weak in torsion, so any baseboard design to use it would need to avoid torsional loads, and I’d be wary about using it cantilevered too, because I think it would fail quite easily in that mode. But, well-supported as in Nomisd’s case, I reckon it would be fine.

 

 

Have a look in skips where office refurb is going on - there’s always some of it that you can get a look at.

 

Sectional aluminium is even better for baseboards, but is much pricier …… mind you, timber seems to cost it’s weight in gold these days.

Edited January 13, 2022 by Nearholmer

[ITG]

Interesting!

Not quite the same thing, but comparable. For an upper board (6” above lower board) I wanted to use something for bracing which was low in profile, so as not to inhibit my arm and hand snaking in to recover derailments etc. Wood bracing is mostly recommended as at least 2” deep, so I opted for half as deep 25mm square section aluminium tube, not only for the bracing but also the short legs required for this upper board to stand on the lower. The supplier cut this tubing to my specified lengths, and supplied various T and X plastic joining brackets which push fitted tightly to join all the aluminium together. Adjustable feet also supplied which pushed into the tubing.  I screwed ply to it using self-tapping screws into pre-drilled holes.

Worked perfectly, and of course is easily reusable.

Only slight downside, it’s not quite so easy to drill large holes to pass wiring through, but at only 25mm deep it doesn’t really matter if wires are looped over it. And it is pricey.

Ian

Edited January 13, 2022 by ITG
Added comment

[LimboBrit]

If there are large variations in temperature is it possible that expansion/contraction could affect track and scenery? Then again, I have never seen problems of plasterboard cracking when using this technique for stud wall construction.

[RobinofLoxley]

Looks good and I think from a construction point of view its simpler than 100% timber.

 

As far as expansion goes, in the vertical plane theres nothing but in the horizontal it would have been better to have some rubber spacers at the L-corner where you have a long length fixed to the wall and another one 3 feet or so out that isnt constrained by being screwed to the wall. So theres a chance of differential expansion but I guess the opposite ends free (we cant see it) to move.

 

Obviously you have to plan carefully to avoid the metal supports, as unlike wood it wont be practical to gouge a bit out of it if you need a couple of mm extra to fit a point motor or something.

 

care with wiring needed that nothing touches the metal framework

 

Would have loved such an open space, heaven compared to my loft with frames every 60cm

[Fat Controller]

An interesting idea, especially for those of us with limited wood-working skills. Another possibility would be to use Dexion; I've used this to build workbenches, which regularly had 20kg lorry brake shoes stood on them for painting. You used to be able to get the supports without the shelves. Just don't skimp on the triangular corner braces.

[grasshopper]

I remembered seeing some US articles on this and google gave me an article in Model Railroader May 2005 and if my google Fu is working properly also described in the 2008 Model Railroad Planning.

 

One one post on the Model Railroader blogs someone gives this advice

 

experience with similar materials in a different application dictate the use of duct tape on any and all sharp edges.

 

[fulton]

I have used this metal stud for non load bearing walls in new houses for the last 40 years, more stable than timber studs, beware VERY sharp ends and exposed screw points, was always designed to be fully enclosed with plaster board (dry wall). I still have a scar on the palm of my hand, so be careful.

Edited January 15, 2022 by fulton
extra added