Benchwork Underway I've been out in the garage doing one of the other things I love to do. Woodworking. Here I've cut most of the pieces and drilled/routed holes for both wiring and weight reduction. The pocket jib is a fabulous tool if you don't have one. Getting ready to install. I almost scrapped the whole idea due to the amount of space it takes up in this small room. Then I thought I'd just give it a try. If it doesn't work out I can always take it down. We'll see. Next up is bracing. I don't want legs, so I think I'll create bracing for the left and right sides out to about 20" from wall. Should be enough to hold everything up, but not strong enough to climb on.
Looking good. I can't wait to get mine started. I don't have room at the apartment to cut plywood so a builder from church is going to rip the cabinet grade birch plywood to 1x4 size for me and then I can cut the pieces to length and drill pocket holes, etc. at the apartment. I am going to attach L-shaped legs and on the staging module I'm placing the typical H-shaped legs. Due to the holidays, all this won't happen until after the 1st of January.
I wrap my layouts with 1/8" masonite to give it a nice professional look. I also countersink my screws so the heads don't show. here is the Marias Pass with a coat of primer: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BdX_BiuD9.../s1600/n+scale+best+practices+benchwork+7.JPG HuskerN www.nscaleaddiction.blogspot.com
Is the angle adjustable for this tool? What type of screw are you using, to help prevent any chance of splitting?
No, it does not have an adjustable angle. I'm using specific screws designed to be used with the jig which have a larger washer like flange the exact diameter of the bit that sort of counter sinks.
That's it for today. The bracing is complete and is now a pretty solid unit. Tomorrow I'll work on the adjacent benchwork.
BoxcabE50 http://www.kregtool.com/ should have all the information you need. They are available at the home improvement box stores. I purchased the Kreg jig Jr. a few years back when redoing our kitchen over & was able to do some nice custom work. VERY handy for wood joinery.
Thanks everyone for your feed back. Unfortunately the plan that David helped design for me turned out to be too deep. After building all the benchwork and installing (including overhead frame for lighting) there was just no way to reach the back corner. So be wary of plans that don't have proper access! Anyway, I was able to sell the whole setup to a local guy who was overjoyed to get it. So back to the drawing board...
I'm glad you found my benchwork products inspiring. The curved benchwork is 4 layers of luan plywood glued and clamped together. If you try to make a piece make sure you have one bar clamp or c clamp for every 3-4 inches of curve you plan on constructing as well as a flat surface to build it on. Ondrew modelrailroadbenchwork.com
It's actually an easy process as boxcab has described. Cut the 1x4 in the radius you desire, then using the 1/8th inch masonite, simply attach the masonite along the edges of the crossmembers (1x4's). The pocket screws are perfect for adhering the 1x4's to the benchwork structure and panhead screws are excellent to attach the masonite. For inside curves, here is an example of how we used the flexibility of the masonite to solve that issue. Three screws is all that took in the final process. Hope this helps. Michael
RGW - What did you use to hang the layout from the walls? They look really interesting for what I want to do.
Bob, check out my RGW thread, post 14, page 2 of 19. http://www.trainboard.com/grapevine/showthread.php?p=926168 I had a customer machine the brackets from 3/16" thick steel. I designated the size and location of the holes, 2 for mounting to wall with 3" lag bolts, 2 for mounting the boxes to the bracket and one for the ability to run wires.
Thanks. I was afraid they were custom. Spent a bit of time reading/looking at you blog - very nice indeed.
