Homasote vs Plywood.

[TLOC]

Even on foam I use cans of soda but the diet kind to weight the cork down.

Tom

[Mark5]

FWIW, I used homasote glued to plywood on several layouts over several decades and never had any issues.

I did not use sheets of it though - my benchwork was open "grid" and only the track areas had plywood/homasote under them.

Mark

[peteski]

Even on foam I use cans of soda but the diet kind to weight the cork down.

Tom

Really?  Real sugar is much heavier than artificial sweeteners.

[robert3985]

For anyone who just uses plywood, I'm curious how you hold down cork when gluing.

I use books in addition to cans, putting down hardback books first, then cans on top of them.  This gives me a smoother surface on my cork than cans alone, which I sand after the yellow carpenter's glue is dry.

Cheerio!
Bob Gilmore

[TLOC]

Peteski

I am sure real weighs more, it’s just what I drink and yes looking over my answer that was kind of silly

Tom

[rray]

I know opinions are like... well not all of them stink bad.

I like to use Great Stuff gaps and cracks minimal expanding foam, spread paper thin with a spatula to glue foam to plywood, and to other layers of foam. You can also just use it to glue sheets of extruded foam into a wood module frame if you don't want plywood. A single 2 inch thick sheet great stuffed into a pine 1"x4" box frame module or layout section will support your module without sagging up to a 2' x 4' area, provided you have some small wood blocks inside the framework to act both as a stop and support for the foam sheet.

After curing and carving, I sometimes take all the scraps, including packing peanuts, and beadboard chunks, break into small chunkc, put in a plastic bag in a 5 gallon bucket,  and spray more Gret Stuff on it. Use a stick or old broom handle to stir up the mix, and glop it on the module to pile up a mountian.

Wear nitrile gloves, cause you have to use Acetone to clean it off if it gets on your skin or clothes. Acetone is not as harmful in limited sking exposures as people think, with many women soaking their fingers in it each and every week! Fumes are another thing, exhaust them, or cleanup outside.

Great stuff gaps and cracks is basically unexpanded polystyrene foam, messy, economical, and strong. When carved it has fine texture that plaster cloth sticks to very well. I like to drape plaster cloth over the carved terrain, and spray with dyed water, then finger rub it in with nitrile gloves, and it forms a nice scenery base, that you can easily plant trees in with a drawpoker or awl.

What's nice about this method is it's easy to carve with a serrated steak knife. Skip those hot wire tools, they are too slow such that you invariably bend the wire, and they produce toxic fumes.

Homosote... I tried it decades ago. It's heavy, dusty, and ugh, a mess. There was rumors of guys developing lung cancer back in the '80s, as well as rumors of asbestos contamination in some brands. Probably all rumors, but the dust and powder it makes when cutting...

[peteski]

Great stuff gaps and cracks is basically unexpanded polystyrene foam, messy, economical, and strong.

It is polyurethane (aka. urethane), not polystyrene. A different type of plastic.

[rray]

Yes, I just looked at the label, you are correct, it's polyureathane base not polystyrene. But it does stick to foam, becoming almost one with it at the contact point between the two substances.

Work with me here... I'm just trying to fill my 25 posts of fluff, so I can share pictures of my weekend projects.  Once I get there, I'll keep my A$$#at mouth shut and just share photos of my projects. After all, without photos it doesen't exist. 

[MK]

You can not be an  and keep your mouth shut!    

[davefoxx]

Work with me here... I'm just trying to fill my 25 posts of fluff, so I can share pictures of my weekend projects.

You're

[davefoxx]

doing

[davefoxx]

it

[davefoxx]

wrong. 

[C855B]

[...sigh...]

Our resident attorney is encouraging bad behavior to circumvent the rules. Bad lawyer! Bad! No biscuit!

     

[peteski]

Yes, I just looked at the label, you are correct, it's polyureathane base not polystyrene. But it does stick to foam, becoming almost one with it at the contact point between the two substances.

Work with me here... I'm just trying to fill my 25 posts of fluff, so I can share pictures of my weekend projects.  Once I get there, I'll keep my A$$#at mouth shut and just share photos of my projects. After all, without photos it doesen't exist. 

You're fine Robert - it is me being an a$$ a stickler for stuff like that.  If I see a mistake, I can't help myself. 

BTW, you can edit your own posts if you spot a problem after you hit the "Post" button.  You click on the icon in the upper or lower right corner of your own post.  But maybe that is not allowed until you hit the 25 (I don't know, I'm way past that point). 

For other newbie limits see https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=43673.0