Baseboard design help please!

[lokalbahn]

Hi,

 

  I am starting construction of my layout, and need a bit of guidance on the baseboard.

 

It needs to be light as I will occasionally be lifting it out of the way.

It only needs to be flat, due to the scenic theme of industry/dock.

It is for O guage (if that matters)

 

The board itself is a bit of an odd shape, due to the fact I have to allow clearance for a door, and wider at the far end to allow the run to the fiddleyard to clear a brick pier. The layout thread is here if you are interested :-)

 

After lots of reading, mainly here, I have opted for a ply sandwich construction, and the design I have looks something like this (excuse the scrappy folded paper):

 

 

My question is should I be using the long runs along the length of the board like this:

 

 

Or across:

 

 

Which will be the most resistant to warp, or will it not make too much difference?

 

I am planning on having the battons in the ply sandwich match up with where the cross pieces join...

 

I also need to decide whether to use 50mm insulation board on top, in the square holes, or go for 6mm ply.

 

Any help would be appreciated, as I don't know which way to go.

 

Thanks!

 

Pete

[Kris]

If you make the boards with enough bracing then either design would work. I however would go for the second version as you then only have 4ft of baseboard joint to hide, with the first option it's twice this.

 

In terms of the insulation board or 6mm ply, I'd go for the ply as I personally find it easier to work with.

[lokalbahn]

Just to clarify, the board is a single piece, apart from the section right on the far right. The gaps between the beams or whatever the correct term is, are 250 - 300 mm (i.e. about a foot in old money). I have started making a few of the beams,  and am surprised and impressed with their lightness and strength. Straightness might be another issue - there is already some warp in the ply :-( Still, as long as it supports the ply on top, I should be OK I think... At least I am actually making something, and it will certainly be a learning experience. Should have argued with my parents more about woodwork and metalwork being more useful that Latin and ancient Greek ;-) 

[Miss Prism]

Build your baseboard interfaces pieces first, complete with their dowels (or whatever you intend to use for alignment) and their fixings.