Ok been looking around to find sources of foam core for making my first layout . have been unable to find any foam core boards to start my bench work . I have a plywood sheet but due to the lack of power tools , an easier solution is needed . I decided to look for foam core board yet I havent been able to find any that dosnt entail me to drive an hour to get it I have been to the local hardware and construction stores IE Lowes , now lowes had styrafoam boards 6 foot by 8 foot 1/2 inch thick, for insulation there is blue foam ( dosnt seem to be very flat but wondering if i set bracing like I would for normal foam core it would flatten out ?) and white styrafoam the white styra foam had a silver lining on one side and a white plastic lining on the other side . there are smaller styrafoam boards with no lineing but they are way too small in dimetions 16" by 30" 1/2 inch thick in a packadge of 4 sheets all are relativly lowcost about $5.00 to $10.00 per sheet / packadge Has anyone tryed these as a substitute for foam core board as a table top , if so what problems / sucesses did you have ? If I should try these are there things that I should consider as hazzards or problems that may occur ?
The blue foam you found would work, BUT you ned to have some sort of support under it, like plywood. If you're lacking in power tools, that could present a problem. Try to stay away from the white, beady foam, it'll make your work area look like a bean bag chair exploded in it! You didn't mention what size of layout you're starting on, but something you might want to think about is using one or more hollow-core doors for your surface, with or without the foam on top. They are pretty light, and come in a (limited) variety of sizes. The Atlas layout plan called "Unhinged and Horizontal" was designed to be built on one. If you talk to the right guys at the lumber yard, they may come up with one that has some damage that makes it unsellable as a door, but is still good for what you need.
Curently the space size I would like to use is 4 feet by 6 feet which still leaves me plenty of room to get around my computer room/ home office/ train room / ham radio shack .. on the blue foam would i still need the plywood if i use the technics shown in the book " N Scale model Railroad That Grows " publish by Kalmbach books and the model railroader magazine writen by Kent wood and Ric LaBan it shows that you get 2 sheets of foam core board and take one and measure and cute 2 inch wide by x inches and make a frame work to attach to the bottum of the foam board you are going to use for thr table top ? i prolly should have added this information in the first post but i hadnt had my first cup of coffee for the day ( head clouded when that happens ) the layout calls for 40 by 60 inches but Im planning on expanding on the layout that they show it resembles what I have been planning in my head for the last few weeks and it leaves room for me to modify the bridge work to include a wooden tressle bridge ( wood tressle bridges , hmm I just got to have one) Im planning on useing the extra inches to build my rendition of a rail yard with round house that used to stand in the local terminal yard . which im still researching the history of .
The foam does not have a lot of strength. You need something under it so it doesn't break in half the first time you accidentally put too much weight on it (like your elbow). To me, reinforcing it with more foam just doesn't make a lot of sense. Most lumber yards will cut plywood for you. In your case, making a 4X6 from a 4X8 sheet only needs one cut. By the way, are you planning to have one or more sides of your layout against a wall? If so, you need to think about how you will reach those sides, both while you're building the layout and later to clean track, rescue derailded cars, etc. Typically 30in or so is as deep as you want to go from a "reachability" standpoint.
