I wrote this post to break down exactly how I built the last section of benchwork for phase 1 of my model railroad. Many of the visitors to this blog are often searching for “how to” do various things so I purposely broke this down into extreme detail in hopes of helping answer whatever questions people may have. As usual, please comment or ask any questions.

The section of bench work that I am building is 30″ x 80″. It is the final section along the wall. An overall bench work diagram is located here.

The first step is to cut the 1 x 4 boards to the proper sizes. Many model railroaders have shifted to ripped plywood for bench work but I stayed with the tried and tried 1 x 4 board construction. I do not enjoy ripping large sheets of plywood and I trust the strength of screws and glue. I use a 12″ power miter saw but any power miter would suffice and if necessary, an old school miter box and back saw would work as well.

After the pieces are cut, I then mark the front and back boards in order to center the cross pieces 16″ on center. I use 16″ because I use 3/4″ plywood for subroadbed. If you are using 1/2″ then 12″ would be more appropriate. For 16″ I make marks at every 16x - 3/8″ or 15 5/8″, 31 5/8″, etc. I also mark an X where the center of the board should be at 16″, 32″, etc. Finally, I use a framing square to transfer the marks to the second long piece. Since my boards had a slight warp to them, I also marked the side I wanted to face up when I was complete.

Now that everything is marked, it is time to assemble. I use 1 5/8″ gold screws and yellow glue. Drywall screws can also be used but I like the additional strength that the gold screws provide. Because the ends will split by driving screws for the end pieces, I always drill 1/8″ pilot holes in the ends.

I attach all the cross pieces to the one side first then flip it over and attach the other long piece. Make sure you check for square by measuring the diagonals or using a framing square.

The grid section of the bench work is now complete. In Part 2 I’ll discuss how to make and attach legs.