Easiest baseboard design (for a woodworking numpty)

[TomJ]

As the title says! It’s best to try a veil over my current layout baseboard design as thoughts turn to a new layout!

I’ve read about all sorts of designs - tradition PSE timber frames, plywood sandwiches or boxes. My current micro layout project used foam board which was so easy but not really an option for a larger layout 

Layout is 9ft x 2.5ft and will be a permanent feature. So weight not an issue. It can rest on some ikea storage units currently along the wall. It’ll need to be built as at least two boards just in case we ever move. I can just about cut a straight line - but I prefer getting my timber cut at the merchants. I have a tenon saw and a jigsaw but no circular saw and my wood working skills are not great at all! But I can just about glue and screw a joint

 

So what should I be looking for in design? Thanks 

[MyRule1]

@TomJ If what you require is a firm foundation for your layout would suggest that you employ someone to do the work for you. A good local carpenter should be able to construct a traditional framed boards, and the cost of the labour will probably be around the cost of a single loco these days. I took this route for a couple of my boards and had the edges of the boards I made tidied up. 

[brossard]

I'd be leery of having a carpenter make the boards for you.  A friend of mine did that and TBH, his boards were rubbish.  If you go down that road you need someone with experience in making model railway boards.

 

For me, it is important that the boards are made from ply.  I got my local lumber yard to cut a sheet of rubbish quality 1/2" ply into 4" wide strips for the sides.  The quality of the ply for the sides doesn't have to be high.  For the ends, similarly, I had a sheet of Russian 1/2" ply cut into 4" strips.  The quality of the ends needs to be high for stability.  For the top, good one side 3/8" ply, unless you plan an open concept.

 

I'm no carpenter, but I made my own boards and they have weathered two shows to date.

 

Here is a pic of my boards taken quite some time ago:

 

 

John

 

[JSModels]

If your baseboards are going to be simple rectangles (and from your description, it's likely to be) then you might want to try one of the many companies who will do this for you. Just Google "model railway baseboards" and there's loads to choose from - I've just had a very quick look, and you could get one 5'x2'6" and one 4'x2'6" for less than £200, which considering the cost of timber thesedays isn't bad at all.

 

They usually come as a kit & are very simple to make, or some companies will even assemble them for you, but you'll probably need to find one local to you for that as otherwise the delivery cost would be quite high.

[Pete the Elaner]

I would look at laser cut baseboards.

You can choose your size & material (ply or MDF). They are strong & fairly light. Self-built baseboards are usually 1 or the other.

They come in kit form & go together very well.

[Happy Hippo]

If all you are going for is a 9 foot board then stick with XPS foam board and just glue thin ply to the sides as the likes of Gordon Gravett does. The space you have is only marginally bigger than his 7mm scale Arun Quay which is all built on foam board.

 

It's light, stable and cuts very easily with a hot wire cutter

 

The only problem with foam boards that I've encountered is fitting underboard point motors.  Not an impossible task, but requires a bit of forethought. 

[The Johnster]

I'm also a woodworking numpty, and have cheated shamelessly with Cwmdimbath, which is a home layout that is permanently erected and in use.  The layout sits on four boards, Station, Country, and Fiddle Yard are Ikea shelves, Lacks like NHY581 Rob uses on his sheepy layouts, rescued from a neighbour who was getting rid, and the Collliery board is a skip raid.  Rigid, a convenient size, and the price was right. 

 

They are braced underneath with lengths 2x2, also skip raided, and alignment is 'achieved' by extending some of the 2x2 beyond the ends of the board it braces so that the adjoining board can rest on it, so there is a level join.  Boards are screwed to the 2x2 from underneath and pva glued.  The board ends are cut to fit each other closely enough (each one is angled to the next to exploit the room shape) for the join to be buried in the scenery.  There are no legs, as the leg sits on tables and bedroom furniture with the bracing supported by packing pieces of timber.  Most of the underside of the boards is accessible for wiring and other purposes. 

 

I live in a privately rented flat, for my sins, one of the reasons I was reluctant to fix the layout to the walls or floors, and some time ago the landlord wanted to refurbish it, and asked me to move into the empty flat across the hallway while the work was carried out for a short period.  The layout was hacksaw cut at the board joins, scenery, track, and all, and I had made sure not to lay turnouts across the joins.  The minor damage that was incurred was repaired when I re-erected the boards after the refurb. 

 

It's a bodge, overengineered, crude and insanely heavy, and I do not recommend it to anyone as a method of providing a surface for your layout.  But it ticks my boxes; cheap, within my skillset to erect, solid, level, not going anywhere, resistant to damp and expansion/contraction, and the trains run well on it.

[Oldddudders]

L-girder, using 2 x 1 for the horizontal and 4 or 6 x 1 for the vertical. Simple screwed construction, with 2 x 2 legs braced. Top it with particle board on 2 x 1 on edge, optionally faced w underlay sold for laminate flooring, to reduce noise. My baseboards were built in 2006, have stood square and true in an 1850 stone barn with no heating, and minus-several temperatures every Winter. 

[CEINEWYDD]

I would support the idea of getting a carpenter with model railway experience to do it for you. (I too have ten thumbs when it comes to woodwork - despite me having loads of tools it is the tool doing the operating that counts.)   

[Philou]

I'm going for 10mm ply tops and sides, the same as our club uses. The tops won't be wider than 900mm (length will vary, same as @The Johnster to avoid joins coinciding with pointwork). The sides and ends will be no deeper than 100mm and braced on the underside with the same (though with lots of holes to reduce weight AND to pass cabling). Shortish screws and quality woodworking glue will hold it all together. Here's a photo of what can be done, all the modules in the photo have been constructed in 10mm:

 

 

Likewise, I am not good at carpentry and there is a local builders' supplier that can cut plywood sheet as required - if he has a quiet day, gratis - if busy, a small charge for each cut after the first three or four free ones.

 

Cheers,

 

Philip

[LBRJ]

If it was me in your position I  doubt I would be looking  further than a basic PSE  ladder frame with a plywood top for the base on which to lay the track etc.

 

• 18x69 mm PSE is more than adequate for that frame. 9mm ply for the tops.
• Cutting the timber with a tenon saw used with a mitre box should make sure that the ends of each member are square and true.
• For the glue I would be using either Titebond III, Everbond 502 or Gorilla Glue.
• Screwing (or gluing) into the end grain of wood is never the best idea, but you could use little blocks (of 47x47 mm or similar) at each internal corner for  the screwing and gluing purposes, these will also help keep the frame in something like a square.
• Talking of squares, something like a Speed Square (Swanson are the original) and/or a T square would come in most handy for checking things as you build your frame.

 

 

 

Edited October 26, 2022 by LBRJ