My recent experience with self type benchwork has been educational. My upper deck is being built as a shelf that will go around the room to a helix, then down to the main deck.
I first build the upper deck by installing large (9" x 11") shelf brackets into each wall stud using 3 1/2" sheetrock screws. I then screwed a 2' 2x2 to the top of each bracket, except in the corners
where i used longer lumber that would go out to my 30" radius. I finally placed a 2' wide 3/4" plywood shelf covered with 1/2" homosote. This appeared fairly strong at first, but began to sag outward
due to too much weight.
I ripped the shelves in half to make 1' wide shelves. They are doing fine after 6 months, and appear to be plenty stable. In the area of the helix, I did this:
I came around the corner with a 30" radius and drifted down to a 2' wide shelf for a couple of feet. I then began to expand back to 30"+ for the helix. The helix is supported by 2x4 legs. I ran 2x2
supports out in both directions from the corner to the end of the curve radius. I ran a 2x2 from the helix frame back under the 30" curve there all the way back to the wall. If this is too confusing,
I can e-mail you some room pictures off list.
I am using threaded rods to support the helix at present. Once everything is fixed, I will likely add some other supports. The lower deck will be entirely 2x4 framework with 3/4 plywood decking. I
like to have main benchwork strong enough to dance on, or at least climb up on to add/fix/replace things in the future.
Clay
I bought the metal shelving from Home Despot to make my layout. They're the closet organizers that have the clips that screw to the wall and the shelves "snap" into them. They have the support
brackets that run from the front of the shelves to the wall at about 45°. The shelves come in 12", 16". and, I think, 20" depths. I added a layer of 1/2" Homasote to the tops of the shelves, and
it was off to the races!
Of course, this means that everything has to be above the shelf level, but for my layout, that's just fine.
This might not work with your plans, but for me it was quick and easy.
<><><> TOM <><><>
I thought I would report about my experiences concerning the use of hollowcore doors as benchwork for a shelf style model railroad.
I obtained heavy duty shelf adjustable brackets from Lowes and spaced them at 32 inch intervals around my railroad room. The shelf braces come in 18.5, 14.5 and 12 inch lengths are are rated as
supporting > 100 lbs each. I then bought 18 and 24 inch hollowcore doors with cosmetic damage and then painted them with primer. I then arraigned them domino style around the room. Each door was
fixed to the next with 4 inch straight metal braces except where and rivers and creeks are planned, those are are 3 inches lower than the others and attached them with 4 inch corner braces.
There were two areas where I needed less than the standard 6'8" length. I cut these easily with my circular saw. The inside of these things is interesting with areas of particle board and other areas
supported by cardboard. I placed pieces of expanded foam 1 1/8" wide into the open areas with glue and when the glue dried, trimmed it with a hot wire. A little putty, a quick sanding and then paint
made it look just like the other doors. I have laminated 1" and 2" foam onto these doors. So far this system has been very solid and seems to be much easier and faster to construct than conventional
methods. There are no legs so that the area under the layout will be used for storage, a workbench and book shelves. I plan on attaching the backdrop made of foamcore to the brackets using two sided
tape.
Overall, all this benchwork took me about 3 days to complete compared to about 2-3 weeks for my previous layout built with grid framing. I plan on using Woodland Scenics Foam roadbed in an attempt to
decrease noise. Once I lay track, I will report on how that works out.
Nevin
I used to work for a company that installs doors after break-ins etc.
Just a suggestion, but after you shorten a hollow core door, take the cut-off piece, peal away the skin, retrieve the board that was normally at the bottom/top of the door before it was cut, place a
little titebond around the edges where the old skin was attatched, and then take a mallet and pound the board in the end of the cut door. It helps to clamp two boards on the outside while the glue
sets, usually first set in fifteen minutes or so. This restores the integrity and strength of the door, and very easy....
The cardboard inside will give way fairly easy to receive the new piece, but if it doesn't, just use a chisel to loosen it before inserting the recovered piece.
What exactly is meant by the popular L-girder construction method?
The support frame for the roadbed, etc. risers is made of two pieces of wood (usually) with the shape of an L when looking at the crossection of the frame.
a length of 1x3 edge wood-glued to the face of a 1x2, or a similar combo. Fast, easy and stable.
I prefer making I beams with a 1/8" plywood center section as these provide either side support of the risers and so forth.
The L-Girders are the pieces running length-wise that hold up the beams. I made mine with 1x2s screwed into 1x4s. When I saw the plans for the table, I was kind of wondering, "why not use 2x4s"? Now that it's done, I am amazed at how light this table is for it's size!
I'm not sure exactly what the purpose of laying the joists on top of the frame instead of putting them "inside" of it (like you would in a house), but I'm sure there's a reason.
It's just much easier to assemble and then to modify. If you box in a joist then every piece connected to it must be moved. But of course that only applies if you don't get everything perfect the first try. 8)
By laying the joists on top of the L-girders, they can be any length you like, so the length is non-critical, and they can support more weight, since the girders support the weight rather than a couple of screws driven into the end-grain. If you wish to put them "inside" (as I have done in one or two special locations) then they have to be cut to an exact length.
Plus, having them on top makes access for risers, etc, a little