The LK&O Railroad

[John]

Looking good .. one piece of advice .. drill 1/2" holes in the stringers now for wiring .. at least 3 of them .. its easier now than later

[LKOrailroad]

drill 1/2" holes in the stringers now for wiring .. at least 3 of them .. its easier now than later

John, there is a reason why no holes yet. Want riser and switch machine locations marked before punching holes. Own a small 3/8" right angle drill so drilling later won't be an issue.

[John]

John, there is a reason why no holes yet. Want riser and switch machine locations marked before punching holes. Own a small 3/8" right angle drill so drilling later won't be an issue.

Great .. you are planning ahead .. I didn't do that as well .. spent lots of time under the benchwork fixing stuff

[Dave Schneider]

Great looking benchwork! Those brackets give a nice clean look. Can't wait to see how this develops. I have enjoyed reading more details in your blog as well. Thanks for all the great ideas and information.

Best wishes, Dave

[LKOrailroad]

More progress to report. Finished benchwork around the basement walls. Beginning the irregular shaped benchwork along the backdrop wall. First up, the trestle over the River Styx. For complete details and bunches of pics go to http://www.lkorailroad.com/benchwork-part-ii/

Happy New Year everyone!

[poppy2201]

Very impressed Allan.  I have also checked out your blog entries as I am about to start my benchwork.  Not as large as yours but reinforces my decision to go with birch plywood for the framing.  I'm just waiting for a friend who is a home builder to set some time to rip the plywood at his place.  My apartment is not conducive to such tasks.  My interest was piqued about the framing brackets.  I am planning to use Spax screws (http://www.spax.us/) besides possibly using construction adhesive to the joints also.  I am not too concerned about moving any cross members in the future since there will probably be no track changes.

Love the lighting work!

[LKOrailroad]

I have used Spax screws a lot in the past. They work great. I assume you will be doing some end grain screwing. Make sure to pilot drill first. Plywood splits like crazy if screwed into the end without a pilot.

[poppy2201]

I have used Spax screws a lot in the past. They work great. I assume you will be doing some end grain screwing. Make sure to pilot drill first. Plywood splits like crazy if screwed into the end without a pilot.

I have taken that into consideration.  The gentleman who introduced me to Spax told me the same thing.  He also told me he usually uses only Spax and has a box of every kind they make sitting on the shelf in his workshop so now I have at least a couple of recommendations and feel better about them now.

[poppy2201]

One other thing I was going to ask you if you have an answer or anyone else for that matter who might happen to read this.  I know precisely how much plywood I'm going to need and was wondering if ripping the plywood at the 48" length as opposed to the 96" length would endanger the integrity of the plywood?  The longest piece I am going to need is 48".  If I have it ripped at the 96" length it will take 3 sheets of plywood as opposed to 2 sheets if ripping across the 48".

I hope I made myself clear and any thoughts are appreciated.

[LKOrailroad]

The face grain (outer veneers) are oriented along the 8' side. Some chip out occurs when you cut across the face. Cutting all your boards across the grain will cause an awful lot of chip out on the finished pieces. Plus, man handling the sheet across the saw is best done the least number of times. Cross cutting will double the number of times you handle the sheet across the saw. It also reduces the fence contact length which could result in more angle error in the cut. Personally, I would rip into 8' boards and then cut to length as necessary. You may find areas, as I did, where an angled cross member works better than a 90 degree cross member. The 8' long boards allow you to cut any length and end angle you need. If you are having a yard cut your plywood they will charge per cut. Cross cutting will double the cut charge versus ripping.

Regardless of your choice, I think you will enjoy working with plywood instead of pine. This is my first time using plywood this way. I'll never go back to dimensional lumber for applications like benchwork. The ply boards are super straight with no bow, twist, or warp. A joy to work with. Just don't cheap out when you buy your plywood. Lots of plys, minimal voids, no overlapped veneers are qualities you seek in the sheets. Expect to pay $35 and up per sheet for good hardwood plywood. Still cheap by comparison to buying good quality dimensional lumber.

[nscalemike]

Very nice quality bencwork going up there and I still impressed with the layout lighting too! Great work!

Poppy,  I don't believe ripping the plywood in either direction changes it's integrity.  That is one of the benefits of plywood, it's typically very stable.  That being said, I don't see how ripping it one way will require 2 sheets but ripping it the other will require 3??  Assuming you are ripping it into 3" strips, 48" long, you get 32 strips,  or 3" strips, 96" long, you get 16 strips,  but if your longest length is on 48" you cut those 16 strips in half and still get your 32 strips 48"x3".  Now, I guess if its some odd strip width or something maybe it'll change, but, I don't think the cut direction will be any issue for you.  Now, if I am wrong, please correct me and remind me that it is too early in the morning after nye parties!!

Mike

[poppy2201]

Thanks guys for taking time in this thread to answer the questions I had.  @Mike, I will check my numbers in the spread sheet again and verify my math.  Maybe when I wrote that I was thinking if the yard ripped it because the last 12" in their cutter can't be ripped down so you end with a piece about 12" wide.

[LKOrailroad]

More benchwork completed. About 2/3 way round on the upper deck. If you have a lumber fetish there a lot more pics at http://www.lkorailroad.com/benchwork-part-iii/ 

[Dave Schneider]

This is what I want my railroad to look like when it grows up! You could probably charge admission by marketing it as a modern art sculpture. The benchwork is almost too nice to cover up. Good thing it is well documented.

Best wishes, Dave

[JSL]

That is some awesome benchwork. Sweet.