Suffolk Seaboard Station

07 May 22:

Former Nickel Plate, then Norfolks and Western, then an attraction at Mike's trains before finding a home next to the Suffolk Depot. We think this side would look good in Norfolk and Western blue and yellow.

FMI: Suffolk Seaboard Station. 

Super Bench Foamboard

 06 May 22:

We used 3 layers of Owens Corning Extruded Polystyrene (XPS) Foamboard on top of the benchtop, you can use more or less depending on if you want to have valleys and streams incorporated into your layout. Elmer's Carpenters Glue keeps the foamboard from moving around. I tried a brush at first, but what ended up working the best was a foam roller. 

And just like that you can run trains, figure out if your track plan works, make adjustments, etc...Check for any hills or valleys on the benchwork and take care of adjustments now. We had to shim a few legs to get the top of the foam flat. Another option is to unscrew a leg and adjust that, but we are going to give everything a week or two to settle and see how things look.

Super Bench.

Problems and Tips

 06 May 22:

Problems in Production and a few tips. If a screw strips out, use a pair of vise grips to unscrew it.

A small difference in frame height should be taken care of now, then frames screwed together with a few screws. 

It figures, the last module had a leg that was too long. This leg was cut an 1/8th of an inch too high, so we removed it and trimmed off a bit. It might be better to set the first module frame an 1/8th of an inch high on the leg, so problems like this can be adjusted for later vs having to recut.

Put screws in at an angle such that they can be removed from below the table, because once the bench top goes on it will be inaccessible. This one needed to be redone.

The blue tape covers the raw edge of the bench top, where lots of splinters live.

Wear PPE. SPlinters in fingers and eyeballs are not fun.

Leave a bit of space between the module and the will so it will be easy to install, there's space for wiring and relief for any facades that are added to the wall.

As mentioned before. attach modules from below.

Bench top screws placed every 6 inches or so.

We use star drive deck screws, they rarely strip out and are easy to remove.

Star drive bits may start to wear out though, so buy a few spares.

Clamps are your friends.

Plan access to vents and electrical outlets.

Make sure windows can be reached.

Plan a hiding space.

Remember when we rounded off sharp edges?

Use a carpenter square to find plumb on bench legs.

Keep outlets clear of legs.

Plan for the exact number of screws.

Video: https://youtu.be/H6EYg6gRnPA

Super Bench Continues

 04 May 22:

We continued work on the Super Bench, cut out the 3/4 inch plywood for the bench top.

Tip: You can cut ground level by placing a scrap of foamboard under the plywood. It's soft to kneel on as well.

A Gorilla Cart makes a handy mobile workshop.

We headed to the trees to find shade and cooler temps. Off in the woods Skipper is Skippervising.

A little 4x4 folding card table makes a nice portable workbench.

Clamps are used to hold apron pieces while screws are being driven.

We name our clamps after friends and family, so it feels like they are there helping. 

2nd module frame finished. 

Table top screwed down to the frame with deck screws.

3rd frame installed.

We checked each module for level.

Super Bench.