My son wants a train around his room and I have the brackets in place and the wood cut for the shelf. My question is what is a good way to attach the shelves together to make a smooth transition from board to board?
Kevin you could use dowels and white glue. They sell pretty cheap doweling tools at Harbor freight. I have use just blocks of wood underneath the seam right at the meeting. just a little glue and screw down into the wood and it makes great splice. steve
My station "Naumburg" was placed on book shelf brackets. The segements are screwed together. But "Naumburg" is only 40 cm wide, not 50 cm like most modules. This way all FREMO modules are build. Wolfgang
If the 'wood' is just thin (1/2" or so) board then I'd do as tank suggests and use blocks under the joint. Lining dowels accurately is a pain (for me ). I'd actually just use offcuts of the same wood as the boards, about 3" wide and over about 80% of the joint. I wouldn't glue them, and I'd also put the screws up from below. That way you should be able to dismantle it if needed without too much destruction of the scenery, etc. - cut the track, remove the screws and bingo. (Just try and avoid putting turnouts over the joints where possible.)
Some years ago I purchased a dowling jig at a local hardware store. Using it, you simply mark where you want to place the dowel(s) on one side that is to be mated with another, and drill the appropriate size hole(s) to receive the dowel(s). The jig has a set of different size 'marking tools' that fit into the drilled holes. Once the marking tools are inserted, place the other section in it's proper alignment and pull the two sections together with a vice, or C-clamp(s). The marking tool(s) leave an indentation in the undrilled section exactly at the center of the location(s) to drill the adjoining section. Drilling the holes straight is critical and the set has a clamp with guides to meet this requirement. But if the setup is not going to be a permanent installation, I'd go with the bolt / wing-nut system ala Wolfgang's suggestion.
Shelf Layout The home layout here is a shelf layout. The layout is 16 inches deep. The layout sections were built with 1X4 framing and 3/8th plyboard. The layout was attached into the studs of the walls with lag screws. There are also angle braces where the studs are too. No legs and four feet off the floor. The sections are bolted together with 1/4 X 3 carriage bolts through the framing. There are photos in past posts by me but I'll add a couple here.
Been there. It's OK for joining two bits at a L angle, as with kitchen cabinets, but for butt joins the accuracy needed to get a nice flush surface is difficult to achieve (for me anyway). Even a 1/2 mm offset is very noticeable. The original post suggests that he is using literally a shelf - brackets with a plank on top - and not a boxed system. Hopefully he'll come back sometime and clarify it for us
I would not suggest a simple board. It will warp over the time. You need some type of L. And so you can make a box. :angel: Wolfgang
Yes I am usuing wall mounted brackets with plywood. The width is about 4 inches or more so as to hold a single track. This is mounted around the ceiling so that he can run his train. He has been running trains since he was 2, he is now 8. I used the plank under the board and it worked great. I glued the piece under to help strengthen the shelf and then used screws to help hold it together. It worked nicely. I would like to thank all those that replied. I have never mounted a train like this before. I plan on doing it again in my train room when it is completed. I will be putting an O gueage train around this time so I will need stronger materials.
This project has helped me learn a lot for future use. The next time I build one of theses will be for my train room I am going to put an O guage train around the ceiling. My wife suggested put it around the whole basement. So I have it set up for double track in the train room. My next question is how far apart should the tracks be and how far out from the wall should I make it so that the inside track doesn't touch the wall?
Mike - The jig I'm talking about is specifically made for dowling butt joints ... perfectly. Any offset would be due to minute differences in the plank widths. I have countered this by drawing the tops of each plank against a flat surface on the tops. Works like a charm.
I see. I've not fallen over one of those before, so thanks for the heads up. I have one for doing L joints and a set of pointed insert things for all purposes, but the latter are hard to use with accuracy as you still have to drill the holes freehand. I'll have to have a look around the DIY store next time I'm down that way.
Another way to attach those sections to each other would be with some mending plates. they are typically steel and have recessed places for screw heads. Spanning the joints with these would give you a strong joint that can easily be separated at a later time if need be. Also to keep things from warping some aluminum angle can be used to stiffen the wood and prevent warping. Aluminum is easy to drill and can be attached with screws. All of these items are available at home diy centers.
Enjoyed your layout on the web, looking at the westport terminal is what lead me to this site, very nice layout. My layout is in the planning stages at this time and I too was planning on using the third street industrial district track plan with some modification in my layout. Again excellent work.
Have you thought about using a biscuit joiner but leaving the biscuits loose for removal later if necessary?
