I used 1 x 2’s to build support for the profile boards. I again used my brad nailer with 1 1/4″ nails and glue to attach.

The hardest part was to fit around the peninsula end where I plan on building a curved trestle.

I used 1/8″ hardboard. The curved pieces were made from the Home Depot brand that is only tempered on one side and the rest was made from the dual tempered pieces I picked up from Lowes. I cut each section to length, used a marker to mark where I wanted to cut, and cut as appropriate. Once cut I glued everything I could, clamped, and nailed using the brad nailer.

I will finish the seams with drywall compound and paint a nice greenish brown in the coming weeks.

I did try to blend white in the lower 1/4 of the backdrop. I am uncertain if I am happy with it or not. On one hand it is subtle enough to not get in the way but on the other I don’t think I did enough. I’ll let it simmer for a couple of days before deciding to make another go at it or not.

Here is a photograph:

I need to spend some more time on photography. Not sure where the spots come from.

I was pretty happy with resulting seams but I did find a few nail holes that I did not get covered. I’ll finish those with spackle before the painting begins. A few weeks ago an unsolicited DVD appeared in my mailbox from Model Railroader called ‘Dream-Plan-Build, Layouts, Modeling Tips & Prototype Railroads’. It has a nice chapter on backdrop painting. I am unsure if I will try any scenic painting of hills and trees but I will at least use the wet paint technique to blend deep blue into white near the horizon.

The first picture was actually accomplished a couple of days ago. I applied the base coat and seated the drywall tape into the base coat. A little bit of the compound should also end up on top of the tape. Here are some things to keep in mind at this stage:

• The base coat needs to be thick enough to allow the tape to be embedded in the compound.
• Do not squeeze all the compound out from underneath the tape
• Keep the first coat light and try to not get a large build up of material, it will just be more to remove later

I then let this set for at least 24 hours. For me it was 72 hours before I got back to it again. The objective with the second coat is cover 2″ further out on each side, build the thin coat over the tape, and provide the base to taper and feather the compound out to flat finish of the hardboard. It takes some practice. One tool I have found useful is to use a stainless steel trough. It really helps to get a nice even coat of compound on the blade.

I am optimistic that with the final coat, the primer, and the flat coat for the sky that the result will be better than just leaving the hardboard joints as is.

One of the most important design elements was that the track flowed. In the past I have made the mistake of too often aligning the track parallel to to the benchwork and using very precise radii. I very much wanted to have natural flowing track in this design. I used the drawing to determine the starting and ending width along the 8′ section of benchwork. I also was able to determine the desired amount of arc within that 8′ section. The image below demonstrates how I used a 10′ section of PVC pipe, 3 C-clamps, and some scrap wood to draw a nice sweeping arc along the section. Once I completed the outside arc I used a cheap compass to draw a 2″ wide sub-roadbed along the main line. I then repositioned the clamps to draw the arc along the edge of Camp Two. From this edge I set the compass to 5 and 1/2″ inches to trace the outline for the roadbed within the two track lumber camp loading area.

The picture on the left displays the resulting 8′ section of sub-roadbed. Once the sub-roadbed was cut out, I then traced the outline onto the Homasote. Be sure to consider that the seams of the Homasote and the plywood should not overlap. Make sure that the Homasote and plywood seams are offset by a couple of inches. See the last picture on the lower left for an example.

Once the plywood is cut out then the next step is to cut the vertical supports to support the lumber camp sub roadbed. I ended up with a +6 1/2″ inch elevation for Camp Two so I cut the supports 10″ long. The picture below on the right demonstrates how I connected the next section of sub-roadbed using a plywood splice plate. Be sure to overlap by 3 – 4″ on each side of the joint in order to ensure a gradual grade transition.

One of the major obstacles to complete the sub-roadbed was to connect the corner. I did not have a complete enough SketchUp drawing to work from so I had to go old-fashioned. I used a cardboard template to draw the endpoints. I then went the work bench with a radius template and fitted the curve. The first pass resulted in too drastic of a transition between curve and straight. I smoothed this using a narrow strip of hardboard to create a nice flowing curve of a variable radius.

After the plywood sub-roadbed was completed, I then attached the 1/2″ Homasote roadbed using yellow glue and 1 1/4″ nails from my air nailer again. The picture to the left demonstrates the necessary overlapping joints between the plywood and the Homasote. The final picture to the right demonstrates the nice flowing, curved roadbed I set out to achieve.

That completes this series about building benchwork. Further posts will cover track laying and scenery in this area.

My backdrop extends approximately 44″ inches above the layout to extend almost to the ceiling. The first step installing the backdrop is to attach vertical supports to the grid benchwork. These can be spaced apart 18-24″. I make mine by attaching two 1 X 2’s together into an L shape. This gives the supports quite a bit more rigidity. I use yellow glue and a brad nailer with 1 1/4″ nails to do this. I find myself using glue and nails versus screws and glue much more often these days. The glue provides the real strength and the nail or screw really just holds things together until the glue dries.

I did use screws and glue to attach the uprights to the benchwork. There is quite a bit of stress to support the corners since the springiness of the hardboard is trying to return the board back to its natural and flat state. One thing I had to deal with was some low hanging duct work. I used a scrap narrow piece of hardboard to determine where the backdrop needed to be lowered.

These measurements were transferred to the full size piece and cut appropriately. The hardboard is attached using my brad nailer and lots of yellow glue as well as clamps. Glue is most important.

I will later finish the seams and any nail holes with drywall compound. Here is a nice shot of the entire section:

The next post will cover cutting and fitting the plywood subroadbed as well as the Homasote roadbed.

I will draw a grid and print the drawing from above to assist with cutting the plywood. Dealing with elevation change is very difficult and I have not yet mastered that yet. Currently the drawing illustrates a constant +6 (54″) elevation along this section. Google has added the landscape tools into the free version so I am looking forward to trying that functionality out as well.

I have also began experimenting with structure mock ups and design using the tool. You can even create a walk through to visualize the layout design from multiple angles. The tool is free as in beer, the documentation is great including video tutorials, and makes is a great addition to my modeling tool box.

In order to provide leveling adjustment to account for the typical differences in concrete floors, a T-Nut and Carriage Bolt combination is used. I use 2 1/2″ long X 5/16″ carriage bolts with 5/16″ T-Nuts. Drawing diagonals from corner to corner in the bottom of the legs makes it is easy to find center. Drill a 3/8″ hole at least 3 inches deep and seat the T-Nut with a hammer. Thread the carriage bolt into the T-Nut until there is about an inch protruding.

At this point you should have a couple of nice 2 X 4’s with carriage bolts protruding from one end. Lay these down 24″ apart (outside) and using a framing square to ensure squareness, attach the horizontal and diagonal bracing as depicted above.

Attach the completed leg section to one end of the layout section. In my case I am adding to existing bench work so I only attach one leg section and attach the other end to the existing benchwork.

Level the layout section by screwing the carriage bolts in or out until the section is level left to right and front to back. The section now looks like this:

Everyone’s situation will vary according to their actual design but in general remember to use the carriage bolts for leveling and ensure to leave room in the front for a toe kick area. For the peninsula section of my layout I also added additional diagonal bracing along the long axis.

Part 3 will cover how I add the plywood sub roadbed according to the track plan and dealing with the elevation.

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.

Jigsaws have never been a priority and I have suffered along with a homeowner quality Craftsmen for the last ten years. It did the job as expected and cutting corners was simply a matter of withstanding the vibration and noise long enough to wear the 3/4″ plywood down into submission. Cutting a 30″ radius 180 degree turn for model railroading seemed to take weeks.

This jigsaw on the left, the Bosch, has made all the difference in the world. As I began working on the current model railroad, the Craftsman finally gave up the ghost. With the pungent odor of burnt electrical in the air, I knew it was time to upgrade.

After some quick googling, I knew it had to be a Bosch. The reviews were outstanding. I had it down to two models: The 6.4 Amp 1590 or the 5 amp 1587. As much as I wanted the bigger, more powerful 1590, I knew that the 1587 would more than suffice. It probably didn’t hurt that the local Lowe’s was out of the 1590 and I was itching to get back to work as soon as possible.

I was simply amazed at how quick it cut through the 3/4″ plywood. Using the full orbital setting it chews very rapidly. When cutting Homasote, I have found that if I set the orbital setting back to off or one, that I am able to get a very clean edge. I am unsure why people often use a knife edge blade to cut the Homasote. Dust is often a complaint but since I do all of my cutting in the garage, it is not an issue for me. To cut masonite hardboard for the profile boards and backdrops, I drop back to the smaller profile 10 TPI blade with low orbital setting to get a nice smooth edge and rapid cut.

I have often found myself using the Bosch Jigsaw where previously I would have used a circular saw. I simply clamp a straight edge offset 1.25″ and cut.

Spending $125 or more for a jigsaw is quite an investment but if you are planning anything more than a 4 x 8 then it might be worth taking a look at a Bosch as it will save significant amounts of time and aggravation.