Fixing Cork to Baseboard

[Philou]

Hello,

 

Just found this thread today. I use the green woodfibre laminate flooring underlay (not the green foam sort). It's a b***er to cut as it seems to blunt lookalike Stanley blades quickly. This is glued onto the board with PVA (the board being 10mm ply) and the track pinned to it. The sound-deadening qualities are good. However, it's the ballasting that undoes it all as the PVA glue just forms a solid mass with the ballast, and it's as if you're running your trains directly onto concrete. At least with the foam you could press down on the track and it would break the bond between the plastic sleepers and the ballast, as PVA will not stick to them.

 

It would seem to me that ballast+PVA = noise regardless of the underlay. As mentioned above perhaps soundproofing from below may be the way forward?

 

Cheers,

 

Philip

[Rowsley17D]

I use slightly diluted vinyl carpet glue from B&Q for ballasting. Doesn't set like concrete unlike PVA. I use the - glue, lay track, ballast and hoover off method. It also helps to use a non-stone ballast. Greenscene and DCC Concepts sell stuff which could be made from nut shells. Charles Cantrill Cork sells ground cork as ballast but that needs painting. Their cork products for track laying are very good. No connection etc.

Edited December 9, 2018 by Rowsley17D

[rob D2]

RE the cork.

I’ve  always used cork tiles.....I’m now starting a new layout and I’m keen to do things better.

 

to that end I’ve brought some rolls of 3mm cork from a supplier and I’m using them to provide channels for my point rods and to give a bit extra height where necessary .

 

questions -

should I paint the plywood top before putting down the cork or fill the gaps in the cork and paint the top of that ( makes more sense to keep the water out when ballasting )?

 

whatdo people do at board edges ? Do you take the cork to the edge or leave a rebate for such an item as a cooper clad sleeper to solder the rail to?

 

 

thanks 

rob 

 

 

[Junctionmad]

My own view having laid miles of 6mm cork ( O gauge ) is once ballasted with pva there is no flexibility at all and no sound reduction. 

 

on a friends OO layout we are  going to experiment with two layers of 3mm foam , one covering the whole baseboard and the second as a track bed. 

 

The idea being that the ballast will never make contact with the underlying ply 

 

pleas don’t use MDF , use good quality Birch ply typically sourced from Russia or scandanavia , and not the Far East junk ply 

 

Mdf used on horizontal surfaces will sag  over time no matter how much bracing you use , the lack of longitudinal fibres being a key issue 

 

all our O gauge baseboards , 22 in total use 6mm ply braced with 6mm ply tape and glued , no screws or nails 

 

light , solid and strong 

 

Dave 

Edited February 21, 2019 by Junctionmad

[9C85]

On 28/03/2015 at 13:40, bike2steam said:

Also if you have to use MDF/chipboard/sundeala for baseboards, you gotta make sure they're well sealed as they all have a bad habit of all too easy sucking up the damp from the atmosphere.  

I have just returned to the hobby after a break of 40+ years. I have built a 15 ft x 2 ft shelf baseboard in my garage which is timber framed and topped with 18mm MDF. I was wondering whether I should paint/seal the wood and MDF prior to tracklaying.? I will probably prime and gloss the framework but what do people recommend for the MDF? And yes I know 18mm is thick but it was what was available at the time, and I could get it cut down to fit in the car :-)

[bike2steam]

11 hours ago, 9C85 said:

I have just returned to the hobby after a break of 40+ years. I have built a 15 ft x 2 ft shelf baseboard in my garage which is timber framed and topped with 18mm MDF. I was wondering whether I should paint/seal the wood and MDF prior to tracklaying.? I will probably prime and gloss the framework but what do people recommend for the MDF? And yes I know 18mm is thick but it was what was available at the time, and I could get it cut down to fit in the car :-)

With MDF seal all cut edges well with pva, then paint as per your treatment of the framework.

[hayfield]

My friend made me some baseboards out of MDF which were stored at my old club rooms which were cold and damp, I gave them a coat all over of satin emulsion paint (not matt which will wash off) which dries waterproof. Stored in there for 3 years without any issues. I think any paint which dries waterproof is fine but all areas including edges must be painted.

[9C85]

Thanks bike2steam and hayfield. I will get sealing and painting.

 

Also, I am not going to bother with underlay. I am modelling a yard so don't need a ballast shoulder, and it's a slow speed shunting layout in a detached garage, so noise isn't an issue.

Edited April 25, 2019 by 9C85