Hi, I plan to use the cookie cutter method with 1/4" plywood on the benchwork. Do i need foam on top of the cutted plywood or can I glue cork on top of the plywood without the foam? What about noise? Paul
I've never had any troubles with noise. Have always used cork on either 3/8" or 1/2" plywood. My next empire will incorporate some foam board. But primarily for scenic purposes. Boxcab E50
Paul, I would agree with Boxcab and use 3/8" plywood just because it's a more widely used size. I've even seen it on sale from time to time. Unless you've already got a supply of 1/4", but if you are just begining to purchase you'll find 3/8" or 1/2" better priced. 1/4" is usually considered 'cabinet grade' by most lumber yards and is priced as such. Cookie cutter benchwork produces lots of scrap pieces so using a common sized plywood will help the pocket book!! 2slim
I'm confused-i thought "cookie cutter" meant you drew out the trackplan on a sheet of benchwork supported plywood, then cut the trackplan out with a saber saw so you could ad inclines and declines very easily. I don't understand what the waste would be in this case? The rest of the board stays in place and acts as a base for scenery. I use this method a lot as i like the ease of having the curves already there when i lay track and roadbed-one piece sub-roadbed, so to speak. My apologies if i'm wrong about the defination. Also concerning plywood thickness [again, if i'm talking about the same thing], the thickness should depend on the distance between risers-the thicker the plywood, the less worry about sag of plywood between risers. If i'm wrong about the name, what is my method called? It's a good alternative to open grid benchwork. curt
Your definition is correct. For my part, I was just stating what thickness of plywood worked best for me. And that with cork roadbed glued on that plywood of either 3/8", or 1/2", noise had not been a problem I'd ever encountered. 1/4" plywood is far too thin. There can be waste plywood in cookie cutter, depending on how you have decided to construct scenery. Some people have been using foam board in a cookie cutter type fashion. For reasons of noise prevention. Or ease in building up scenery. Boxcab E50
I understand Boxcab. I am a big fan of foamboard, and have been working with it for about five years now. I make a glue sandwich of 2 layers of 1/2" blueboard for my flat areas that is MUCH stronger than a single one inch piece [some physics principle about layers]. I hope i didn't sound like i was in attack mode in my post, just didn't want someone to be confused over different applications of a term. One of my favorite things about this hobby is the amazing variety of different ways we have all figured out to accomplish the same end, ie benchwork, tracklaying, scenery, etc. curt
First, thank you all for the answers. The 1/4" plywood I would like to use is scrap from my job. It was used in a container to separate different loads. I have four 3' by 6' pieces and I used one to build a flat test layout in N-scale. I made the benchwork, screwed the plywood on it and glued 1" thick extruded styrofoam on top of the plywood. Than I glued the track on top of the styrofaom. It was very sturdy and that is why I was thinking of using the cookie cutter idea with the other plywood. I think in N-scale with support every 10" from the benchwork below it must be possible, at least I'll give it a try. With a small layout size of 3' 8" by 7' and enough support I think I can use the thin plywood and glue the cork on top of the plywood. Paul
Nope. Just thought I'd restate my posting in a different way. To make certain I'd not somehow caused confusion. Boxcab E50 [ 14. August 2003, 21:33: Message edited by: BoxcabE50 ]
When making temporary inside store displays, we would glue Kraft paper to both sides of foam to add stiffness. Sometimes the foam would be bent to a particular shape, (twisted or just curved), then another sheet of the Kraft paper was glued to the other side of the foam. (The foam was held in shape while the paper dried on both sides. Occasionally on the edges too). There were several times we had to add another layer of foam on top, then glued another sheet of Kraft on that one too. It became very stiff almost like wood. The heavy Kraft paper was applied damp, or wet-ted, so it would conform, since dry paper wont always follow a twisted or bulged surface. For a few small jobs, we even used ordinary brown wrapping paper, or brown paper bags from the grocery store. Very few people know how strong paper is. Our boss won a bet one day to prove it. He glued a strip of adding machine paper from the bumper of one of our cars, to the bumper of his Chrysler Crown Imperial Le Barron, and let it dry during lunch time. Then He put his car in neutral, and gently pulled his car with the other one! The secret is that the paper was not laying across any sharp edge, and all strain was applied across the paper evenly and gently until it was rolling the car. It required an automatic tranny to do it, but he won! (The adding machine paper we used was 50 pound Spring Hill Tag, about the same as any good grade of paper made for the adding machines). [ 15. August 2003, 08:18: Message edited by: watash ]
