kevblokey Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 Just a quickie! What is the best material for the top surface? I am thinking ply, would I be right to think this? If so, what is the best thickness? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold chris p bacon Posted March 6, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 6, 2011 I have used a mixture of 9mm Birch Ply, 9mm Far Eastern Ply and 9mm MDF (Fiddle Yard) all have been good and I have used cork as underlay and to create a ballast shoulder. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coombe Barton Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 The difference between 6mm and 9mm ply is the loading and the bracing necesary to support the loading. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenDiesel001 Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 Hello. I do not want to kidnap this subject but in the same vein, I am hoping to build a roundy layout in an octagonal shaped sun room in the garden. It is quite dry and I wondered what material for the baseboards would be best in an environment that could get quite cold in the winter and conversely hot in the summer? Also what size bracing e.g. 2" x 1" please? I would not expect to operate the layout during the winter. Thanks, Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Kris Posted March 6, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 6, 2011 Make the bracing out of ply as well, 3 to 4 inches deep. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold chris p bacon Posted March 6, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 6, 2011 Make the bracing out of ply as well, 3 to 4 inches deep. Ditto, you could use 100mm ply for the main frame and fill in with some 2x1 for some short stretchers to stiften the tops. Second time around I would be doing this, although the boards work well I got fed up cutting corner blocks and they also got in the way, you could easily substitute 2/3x1 for at least half of the cross bracing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Donw Posted March 7, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 7, 2011 I recommend buy exterior grade ply from a builders merchant far better than superstore stuff in my experience and I find 6mm fine. see my Layout thread for a photo showing braching for a portable layout. The X frame bracing prevents twist, thicker ply can need stronger bracing to hold it flat. Don Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bri.s Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 ive used 9mm ply with 2by1 bracing its very solid ive also sealed it with a watered down pva solution Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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