Blue foam or foam blues?

We are all familiar with the 2" blue foam we curently use in layout construction. It is very dense and very sturdy and makes for pretty
solid and lightweight benchwork. My question is what wrong with using the 2" white "beadboard" foam?

Aside from the obvious (less density and somewhat harder to shape), given proper support, more specifically under trackwork, would not white foam work just as well as blue or pink foam?

 

The White beads get everywhere. because it is beady, it doesn't shape well at all.

It is absolutly useless to work with.

 

I's also not dense enough to hold track nails. Bad Juju.

 

Well, for one, I will not be using track nails. Track will be glued to the roadbed.

Secondly, you guys may have missed my point. In my post I wrote:

"Aside from the obvious (less density and somewhat harder to shape), GIVEN PROPER SUPPORT, more specifically under trackwork, would not white foam work just as well as blue or pink foam?"

I can deal with the "beads". My concern is with the structural integrity of the white foam.

Thanks again for your response.

 

White board is very unstable. It is also a pain in the neck to clean all those beads

 

Just returned from Home Depot here in Oregon with my 2 inch 'pink' Owens Corning foam. I had my run in with the white stuff - it's bad. My question - What is the best way to cut this stuff? I am indoors, and do not have a hot wire cutter. I need to cut 2' by 8' sheets into 1' by 8' pieces for a round the room shelf layout. Idea's?

 

Barry, you're suprisingly nearby.

I've used a standard Wood saw. I think that would be the safest. anything powered might be to fast. It will generate some mess, but nothing that a Vacuum can't handle.

 

Try a big serrated kitchen knife. That works for me sometimes when I do not feel like walking across the garage.

 

I prefer to score it with a sheetrock knife on both sides and break it. Leaves a cleaner cut without needing a vaccuum (I hate vaccuum cleaners ).

 

back to original question, I built my son the 4 x 8 Woodland scenics HO set, and I based in on 1" white bead board with 1 x 2 inch support under it about every 2 feet widthwise. It works fine for support.
(as a side note, I might add that this was a great project as far as opening my eyes to all the materials that are available, etc. I have just gotten back into the hobby, and am in N scale.)

 

I use 1/2 inch white foam for roadbed and it is glued to the masonite splines.
I cut it using a band saw then cut the roadbed slopes with a sharp hobby knife like the ones where you break off sections of the blade.
It works for me and is a lot cheaper than the blue or pink.

 

Robin -

I never would have thought about using the expanded polystyrene for roadbed material. But that leads me to a question for you... What do you use to attach your track to the roadbed?

I've been kicking around some ideas for what to do with the dioramas that I am working on, in regards to roadbed...

And, while on the subject of foam, here is something interesting. If any of you do not have any source for the extruded polystyrene (the blue board or pink board), here is a little trick... Get a can of the expanding foam sealer. You should be able to find it with weatherstriping and such...

I am building a series of 2' x 4' sections for my modular layout, so I make a simple frame out of 1x4 birch and secure a sheet of thin luan plywood in the middle. This provides room underneath for wiring, mounting switch machines, etc... The same amount of space is provided on the top - just less than two inches of space in a wooden box with an open top.

You can spray the expanding foam in there to the rough shape that you want (working slowly, so that you can judge what expansion is bringing to the table). Once cured, it is of very reasonable durability - plus it is really lightweight, too!

Final shaping can be done with a hot wire cutter - or whatever tools you like. I think I am going to cover mine with plaster cloth when it is done.

So far, I've only experimented with this technique in a test container, but with very good results...

Sorry for the digression from the topic, but I am feeling a bit "chatty" this afternoon...

--Joseph

 

to do some of my shaping on my blue foam (before adding plaster on top to do my texturing), i'm planning on using a dremel tool with a spiral bit. i'll let ya'll know how it works.

 

This addresses the problem of all the pink/blue dust that's created when you saw/file the foam.

Now a vacuum will take the stuff up off the floor well, but on your clothes, brushing it off just doesn't work. I've found that if you use a hair dryer on cool it blows the stuff right onto the floor so the vacuum works better.

 

Use whatever works best for you.

I use the extruded pink or blue foamboard for scenery as well as roadbed. I glue the track directly to the foamboard with Latex Liquid Nails for Projects. (make sure it is the latex stuff, the regular Liquid Nails will melt the foam). I cut and form the foamboard with a variety of tools. Jig saw with 4" blade, filet knife, sheetrock hole saw, wire brush, Stanley Surform rasp, Xacto knives, and various shaped files. My shop vac also is used during cutting, especially while using the jig saw. I always clean up as I work. I don't use the beaded board, because it is not solid foam, and I feel it does not hold up under stress, paint, and cutting the way I would like. Just my opinions. Thanks.

 

Back to the original question (kind of). If you use the white beady stuff just for the layout surface, not for mountains, etc., what's the problem? (I'm just playing devil's advocate here, I use the pink stuff myself. But that seems to be hard to find in California.)

There wouldn't be a whole of lot of mess since there wouldn't be any carving, etc., just the initial cutting to size, which could be done outside.

Sure, you would have to support it, but any foam surface should probably be glued to 1/4" plywood or something just to make sure you don't put an elbow through the whole thing.

Additional comment re: cutting - has anyone tried using a knife edge mounted in a saber saw or jig saw?

[ 26. September 2002, 15:52: Message edited by: Bill Kamery ]

 

well, finally got around to trying the dremel tool. cut really nicely, but made a heck of a dust!!! one of those jobs it would be best to do out in the driveway on a breezy day!!