Interactive Clinic Week #10: Benchwork

[ryourstone]

David, where do you buy the steel framing? I don't think I've ever seen it at Home Depot or Lowes. How does the weight compare to wood?

[DKS]

David, where do you buy the steel framing? I don't think I've ever seen it at Home Depot or Lowes. How does the weight compare to wood?

I bought it at Home Depot. I've been in several and they've all had it, but that's no guarantee, of course. It comes in 2x4 and 2x3 sizes, 8- and 10-foot lengths and, IIRC, possibly 12-foot also. The weight comparison to wood is like concrete and styrofoam--the steel is ultra-lightweight. One difference with wood, though, is that it has no tortional strength (no resistance to twisting), so this must be taken into account when designing the framing. But once 2-inch foam is bonded to the frame, everything firms up nicely. One of the distinct plusses is that a 16-inch heavy-duty bracket can easlily support a 24 inch deep shelf, and probably much deeper with planning, since the steel 2x4s bolted to the brackets will cantilever out quite far, given how lightweight everything is. My layout had no legs at all; it had one large peninsula that I supported with a cable anchored into the ceiling.

[ryourstone]

Thanks for the info David - I'm thinking this would be good for a modular layout because the tolerances between sections could be a lot tighter than wood. I'm hoping to have the track joints line up without needing Ntrak style joiner sections.

[DKS]

Thanks for the info David - I'm thinking this would be good for a modular layout because the tolerances between sections could be a lot tighter than wood. I'm hoping to have the track joints line up without needing Ntrak style joiner sections.

You'll definitely need to plan on some kind of reinforcements where the modules join. The steel is quite thin and cannot be relied upon for reliable alignment on its own. For critical stress points in my benchwork, I used steel furniture corner reinforcement plates and other steel brackets and braces from the hardware section. With a little exploration and experimentation, you can probably come up with a reliable solution that utilizes off-the-shelf materials such as these.

[asciibaron]

the track was laid using the same foam double-stick tape method I'd been using since 1988.

i recall an MR article on a tape dispenser that cut the 45 degree bevel down the middle of the tape and then just like cork had to be flipped.  did you write that?  i was considering that route for my big little layout idea...

-Steve

[asciibaron]

here are some pictures of steel framing being used as benchwork  it's probably strong than the guys house.

http://homepage.mac.com/sraque/Construction/Construction2.html

my concern is the sharp edges when rooting around under the layout or while running wiring.

-Steve

[asciibaron]

Ed, how big is the door?  I don't think you can have all those switches...

-Steve

[Ed Kapuscinski]

You forgot the figure 8 inside it.

[DKS]

the track was laid using the same foam double-stick tape method I'd been using since 1988.

i recall an MR article on a tape dispenser that cut the 45 degree bevel down the middle of the tape and then just like cork had to be flipped.  did you write that?  i was considering that route for my big little layout idea...

Yes, that was me. (MR, March 1992) I still have the dispenser and will put it to use if I ever get to build another layout.

here are some pictures of steel framing being used as benchwork  it's probably strong than the guys house.

http://homepage.mac.com/sraque/Construction/Construction2.html

my concern is the sharp edges when rooting around under the layout or while running wiring.

Actually, the only things you need to worry about are cut ends and corner joints. The long edges of the steel members themselves aren't sharp enough to be a hazard. The best way to deal with raw ends is to bend the corners over with a big pliers. The thing not to do is round the corners with a tin snips, which is what some folks are tempted to do--this leaves razor-sharp edges that are as bad as the pointed corners.

Outside corner joints have fairly sharp points that can't be bent over; in these cases, you need to get creative with sticky things like felt pads or something. I tried my best to plan ahead where such hazards might be and did whatever I could to minimize them. In some cases, instead of making a 90-degree corner joining two parts, I made two 45-degree corners about 6 inches apart using one part by notching and bending it; this minimized the sharpness of the corners.

That guy's benchwork looks similar to mine except mine had no legs and no long steel members on top.