Brimsdown-The last grand project.

[Tony Wilkins]

In the meantime I have begun construction of the North end boards, (well the simplest one of them at least with straight sides) whilst I still had some spare clamps available, as I won't have once the top starts going down.
Tony.

First half. See what I mean?

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Since the Sundeala boards are 600 x 1200 mm, I have to cut down two sheets to approximately 750mm to suit each baseboard frame. Hardly an economical use of board, but needs must.

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Checking for flatness. There is a very slight gap under the left hand end.

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The second half. Note the thin piece of packing under the middle of the near coulée to hold the centre of the board firmly level with the adjacent board surface.

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Note the heavy weight to hold the centre of the board down.

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A close up of the join between the Sundeala board and the plywood edge piece showing the lengths one has to go to sometimes the ensure the desired result.

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The result.

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The acid test. Whether the dip in the centre will be enough cause problems remains to be seen.

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Meanwhile, the other north end baseboard, visible in the background of some of the above pictures, has reached this stage.

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Tony.

[Tony Wilkins]

A brief update. Number two scenic baseboard is now done. Not many detail pictures, but steady progress being maintained.

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Here are the first two in place. The low sun coming through the windows really doesn't help the lighting for the camera.

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Two more to go.
Tony.

[Tony Wilkins]

Thought I would cover baseboard 3 in a bit more detail.
The first step is to glue the four cross ribs in place. The 1" strips fitted to build up the end boards need to be vertical and flush with the end face. They depend on having square edges and checking the face is flat as the clamps are tightened, they do have a tendency to go out of true depending on the grip of the clamp jaws. Several attempts at repositioning the clamp jaws are often necessary to achieve the desired result.

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When set, the top edges are checked for straightness and corrected if necessary.
Further 1" wide strips are then cut to bridge the spaces between the cross pieces. These follow the edge of the trackbed and outer edges of the top board.

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These are then glued in in stages adding support blocks as required.

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Each stage was allowed to fully set before removing the clamps and starting the next stage.

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Extra support blocks were added in strategic places, those to the right will be under the platform and headshunt behind it.

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When all had thoroughly set all levels were checked and any corrections made (plane, sanding blocks and occasionally packing pieces) before adding the first half of the top surface.
Although the longitudinal strips may appear to run parallel to the subframe, in fact they drift toward the outer edge by about 10mm per baseboard as this is what the track and consequently trackbed does by intent. This lack of squareness noticeably affects the alignment of the board edge on the centre supports, indeed I had to cut another piece of top board a couple of mm longer due to this angle leaving the first piece just short.

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Second half in position.

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What is now becoming a familiar sight.

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Much sanding was then needed to remove the excess Sundeala board where it overlapped the edge of the baseboard to produce a good fit against the previous baseboard. I used the coarsest sandpaper I could find, 60 grit. I was pleased with the result. Shame they aren't all as good.

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Tony.

[Terry Bendall]

They depend on having square edges and checking the face is flat as the clamps are tightened, they do have a tendency to go out of true depending on the grip of the clamp jaws

This can also happen if traditional screw operated sash cramps or G clamps are used and is a problem with this sort of application. The way to avoid the problem is to ensure that the centre of the clamp faces are over the timber or for screw operated cramps, the centre line of the screw is over the centre of the timber.

Terry Bendall

[Tony Wilkins]

They depend on having square edges and checking the face is flat as the clamps are tightened, they do have a tendency to go out of true depending on the grip of the clamp jaws

This can also happen if traditional screw operated sash cramps or G clamps are used and is a problem with this sort of application. The way to avoid the problem is to ensure that the centre of the clamp faces are over the timber or for screw operated cramps, the centre line of the screw is over the centre of the timber.

Terry Bendall

Hi Terry.
Yep, met that one too!
It doesn't help that the soft yellow plastic jaws of my clamps are non-parallel by design, making contact first at the outer edges. I think the theory is that they tend toward parallel under pressure, but it depends how much one is applying.
Tony.

[Tony Wilkins]

Meanwhile, visible in the background of some of the above shots, progress has also continued with the baseboards for the north end curves. I have been cutting strips of 4" (100mm) wide 9mm ply to length and cutting the angled corner blocks while waiting for glue to set with the scenic boards. Some of these were then glued together and left to set.

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The slots are where the crosspieces meet.
The angle blocks are cut with the bandsaw, the table being pre-set for the required angle, in this case 11 degrees.

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The complication is that the required corner angle is 79 degrees for this example. Since the blade normally cuts at 90 degrees, the table adjustment is 90 - 79 = 11 degrees. Always mark the angle on the block so you know which is which later on. Believe me, there is nothing more confusing if you don't and even when you do sometimes!

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Putting the various bits together.

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Pieces of bendy ply for the sides were then cut to the required length and a dry assembly run attempted. It was at this point that I discovered a problem as the side pieces did not fit. The inner one was too short and the outer too long. A quick check of the diagonal dimensions confirmed there was an error somewhere. I resorted to printing out two Templot pages covering the inside curve plus the two ends of the baseboard as a double check. This confirmed that I did indeed have a problem. Unfortunately in my haste to get things done, I had already glued some joints that I now needed to separate. There was nothing for it but to saw through them as there was no chance of separating them otherwise without doing a substantial amount of damage. After considering my rather limited options and starting from scratch was not one of them, I decided that a couple of strategically placed packing pieces was the least worst option.
The centre cross point was therefore cut through and the side strips fitted temporarily, adding a strip of ply to one of the crosspieces to obtain a better curve.

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A block was then cut and planed to fit the space in the centre cross where I had just sawn through.

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Finally a small adjustment was needed at one of the inner curved ends. This was not terribly pretty but needed to achieve the correct overall angle.

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At least the final result was dimensionally acceptable and will function as intended.

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I now needed the the next curved board to be able to check that I had achieved a true 90 degree curve.
This fortunately went together without too many problems and here is the moment of truth set out against the edges of the floor boards as guides.

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If anybody finds the above picture confusing when trying to work out where this lot goes in the grand scheme of things, it is because the baseboards are upside down. The far end board actually fits onto the end of the boards where I am sitting. This will just leave two baseboards to go, one of which is the dreaded lifting flap. However, there is still quite a bit if work to do to these first.
Tony.

[Tony Wilkins]

The next stage was to dismantle both the curved baseboards by removing the screws and gluing all permanently into place. Once set a multitude of diagonals were cut and planed to fit before fixing in place. This four section baseboard is upside down and had a slight twist, hence the clamp and weight to hold things flat during the diagonal fitting and gluing. The G cramps are there to stop the ends of the diagonals from dropping while the glue sets. Once set the weight was removed and all stayed flat.

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The three section baseboard was similarly treated and then additional 1" strips of bendy ply added to the top and bottom edges of the curved side pieces to stiffen them.

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The bottom edges of the sides were subsequently given a coating of PVA wood glue in an effort to make them more resilient and less prone to splintering.
The four section board is now being so treated.
Tony.

[Colin Parks]

Hello Tony,

Some epic woodwork once more: evidently, one can never have too many clamps!

All the best,

Colin

[Serjt-Dave]

Excellent work there Tony but i can't help but notice you've not been round to do my baseboards. LOL.

I've been off the last couple of weeks on leave. My first week was spent converting my cellar in to my daughters new bedroom. This week was I meant to crack on with doing my baseboards. It was either too hot or got tied up in finishing some wagons. So today I was going to make and extra effort but now rain is forecast. Damm!

Dave

[Tony Wilkins]

I do not find the recent spell of hot weather conducive to doing much outside. Due to the thick insulation of my garage, it is often the coolest place at the moment. I did consider air conditioning for a while, but difficult to justify for a garage. However, by opening the windows overnight and closing them during the day some temperature control is manageable. First thing in the morning, the internal temperature is 18 to 20 degrees and it only slowly warms up during the day. By late afternoon it can be a mere 25 degrees inside when it is 30 or so outside. Most of the internal heat comes from the fluorescent lights. The storage radiator concrete walls now radiate the heat back outside instead of cooking up the interior.
Tony.

[Tony Wilkins]

Now for the fourth and final straight scenic baseboard. Although this was the first scenic board I looked at, (primarily because it would ultimately have the lifting flap attached) I ended up starting them from the other end, for two reasons. Firstly, this was the more complex end and thus key to everything that followed. Secondly, this end joined onto the already build baseboards, which act as a reference point. Returning to the fourth board. Apart from the outer ends, nothing had been physically glued in place, so the lessons learned from the previous three baseboards would stand me in good stead, or so I thought.
There are fewer longitudinal support strips than previously and this caused problems later. The kink to the right in the distance is to cope with the track as it begins to curve away from here. The large gap at the centre near end is required for the gated Level crossing mechanism, which I intend to make operational.

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The far end has two large chunks of 18mm plywood at the hinge end for the baseboard and the lifting flap. The biggest snag was that the plywood had developed a slight curve. The off-cut glued to the inside serves two purposes. The bow it had counteracts the bow in the end fascia and the top edge supports the Sundeala top surface.

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This is the hinge counterpart for the lifting flap. The horizontal piece of ply is purely there to counteract the bow in the vertical piece, which was far worse than the longer piece it buts up against. The hinges will join the two baseboards together, but first I needed to work out what areas were clear of track where they could be fitted. The clear areas were marked on the top edge of both end boards.

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A second strip of 18mm Ply was subsequently added to the right hand side.

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The first section of the top surface was added next. The rectangular hole cut to the left of the centre is in part to allow access to the joining bolts at the far side of the baseboards and also the Level crossing mechanism, the design of which is only at an early stage.

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The second half was also fixed down and allowed to set before checking the results.
The perils of Sundeala board!

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and again in gruesome detail.

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The solution,

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more bracing,

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lots more bracing.

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The centre where the two sheets join also required some serious sanding down.
This has not achieved perfection, but has reduced the sag to within acceptable limits.
Next, the dreaded lifting flap, the ultimate challenge.

[Colin Parks]

Hello Tony,

Would I be right in saying that Sundela board is what used to be known (in the 70s) as soft board or fibre board? It looks like it. Back in the day, I had some base boards made with that material and even with coarse scale 00 gauge track there were problems - never again!

I admire your technical prowess with the baseboard framework construction, but using Sundela on top looks problematic, as shown in the last few photos. Is your choice of Sundela for tops for sound deadening reasons?

All the best,

Colin

[Tony Wilkins]

Hello Tony,

Would I be right in saying that Sundeala board is what used to be known (in the 70s) as soft board or fibre board? It looks like it. Back in the day, I had some base boards made with that material and even with coarse scale 00 gauge track there were problems - never again!

Hi Colin.
Yes, they are basically all the same, recycled compressed newsprint. Sundeala is just a proprietary brand name. I can understand your and other people reticence to use it again once such problems have been experienced. I had similar problems with Green Street where there was a large triangular area between the diagonal braces at each end of the scenic baseboards. This was only part of the reason for lifting the mainline tracks for relaying, but the opportunity was taken to fill the dips with another layer of cork and the area sanded flat again. I still have a half full tin of Cork dust from that episode. (Do I ever throw anything away? Ask my wife!) Since when, no further sagging problems have been experienced, so it does seem to be stable once it has settled. Hence my comments about building baseboards some months before using them.

I admire your technical prowess with the baseboard framework construction, but using Sundeala on top looks problematic, as shown in the last few photos. Is your choice of Sundeala for tops for sound deadening reasons?
All the best,
Colin

Primarily yes. In view of the problems encountered above, the baseboard top for Green Street's fiddle yard was made of 9mm plywood. The difference in noise levels between the two when trains cross the boundary is appreciable in spite the layer of cork.
The reason for the problem with this particular area of this baseboard was I suspect down to a combination of narrower width top board and lesser support below. Most of my batch of Sundeala came pre-curved in varying degrees, this piece more than most. Whereas with the wider boards, the sides being pulled down tends to push the centre up against the curvature, this effect was lost here. Mind you, what are the chances of getting good flat plywood that stays that way these days?
As already mentioned, there is going to be a gated level crossing here and I wanted to keep the area underneath as clear as possible for the operating mechanism, yet to be designed. So this will be another step into the unknown.
The other factor is to do with the long term planning. I intend to begin laying the track from the centre of the storage sidings and work outwards. Much of the scenic side will be temporarily laid with Exactoscale flexitrack loosely pinned in order to get something running. I don’t much fancy putting track pins in plywood.
Tony.

[Philip Hall]

I always thought that Sundeala was a harder version of the wood fibre insulation board that Peco always recommended for their baseboards with good old 2x1 bracing at 1” intervals. I think we had a Sundeala works at Sunbury, and when I passed it the smell was quite overpowering!

I used insulation board as a sub base on the old Taw Vale, laid on top of proper Weyroc which was dead flat but bent any kind of pins. I was able to lay the track with pins before gluing and it worked quite well, but the insulation board always seems to have no real strength to it. I did have thoughts of the same sandwich style for the new layout, but decided to use Contiboard alone, mostly because I wanted the solidity of the stuff and have no need of lugging the layout around to shows. It’s stayed dead flat in the year it’s been down, important for me as I plan to use a fair number of RTR conversions, but the one drawback of a permanent board, firmly fixed to its home, is the clambering needed from time to time to reach things! But at least I only have to get up onto the boards, not work underneath them!

Philip

[Tony Wilkins]

Hi Philip.
You may well be correct as I have never really been sure what insulation board is. All I know is that fibre board is a general term and Sundeala is one brand. It is sold for use as pin up notice boards as well as baseboard surface material.
Certainly Conti board is consistently flat and stays that way with enough support. It is just heavy. I have used it as a work surface and when PVA glue gets on it and sets, it is well stuck and takes some shifting, so I think you will be all right on that score.
Regards
Tony.

[shipbadger]

Steady on Philip,

A trip down memory lane, the Sundeala works (recycled newsprint) and Weyroc. I lived not far from the Weyroc factory, usually referred to as the 'Airscrew' on account of their production of propellers, especially during wartime. The company was actually called Airscrew-Weyroc Ltd. Be interesting to know how their products and raw materials arrived/departed. Should have asked fifty years ago when it was probably general knowledge in the area. As a further move OT (sorry) the factory producing Bleriot monoplanes was almost within walking distance of the Airscrew.

Tony Comber

[Tony Wilkins]

Hi Tony.
One of the things I love about these threads is the gems that come to light along the way. I would be very surprised if the transport was not by rail. Almost any factory worthy of the name seemed to have a rail connection back then or access to a nearby railhead.
Talking of smells. The rail journey into Liverpool Street Station passed a sweet making factory, I think it was Bassett’s, where they made pear drops. You could always tell what flavour sweet they were making that day from the smell.
Regards
Tony.

[Martin Wynne]

One of the things I love about these threads is the gems that come to light along the way......sweet making factory, I think it was Bassett’s, where they made pear drops. You could always tell what flavour sweet they were making that day from the smell.

[Tony Wilkins]

Why do I call the lifting flap the ultimate challenge? Well there are so many elements to it. The board forms part of a curve for a start. The inside edge is straight, but he outside edge is a compound curve being part straight part curved. In order for the hinge axis to prevent the rail ends clashing when first raised, the axis must be at least at rail top height. The opening edge needs to be cut at an angle to provide clearance to the lift (arc tan of the depth divided by the length minimum, 8 degrees in my case). I opted for 15 degrees. The boards meet at an angle as well so the meeting surfaces have both vertical and horizontal angles. Fortunately the Band-saw has this facility, Mitre and Bevel.
I decided to tackle the outer curved edge first. I printed out a Templot sheet big enough for the entire length to use as a template.
9 x 2" panel pins were hammered through the printout every 100mm into a gash piece of plywood underneath.
The second pin visible from the right is on the point where the straight changes to a curve. This is marked on the Templot printout as a goal post.
The three strips of bendy ply to be glued together can be seen behind.

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The dry run with the three layers held in place by clamps. The straight length has additional support to ensure it stays straight.
The right most clamp holds the plywood securely to the top of the Workmate.

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The three layers were then glued and placed together with additional clamps to ensure close contact and left to set.

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The view from the other side. The tin supports the weight of the clamp and helps prevent twisting. Incidentally the hammer in shot was acquired from my local tip among a pile of tools being thrown away. I have found it to be a very useful weight and it gets used more than most.

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The result was this. It is remarkably solid considering what the individual layers are like. The edges required some sanding but little else.
I was pleasantly surprised how effective this method was proving that simple methods can be very effective.

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[Armchair Modeller]

Using the panel pins as a guide is very clever, Tony

I have built several baseboards with curved plywood edges and can confirm that they exhibit considerable strength and lightness. Much simpler and easier to make rigid curved baseboards than rectangular ones.

[Tony Wilkins]

One of the things I love about these threads is the gems that come to light along the way......sweet making factory, I think it was Bassett’s, where they made pear drops. You could always tell what flavour sweet they were making that day from the smell.

Thanks Martin.
Its amazing that such places still exist.
Tony.

[Tony Wilkins]

Using the panel pins as a guide is very clever, Tony

It is not something I have tried before, but it worked better than I could have hoped for.
Tony.

[Tony Wilkins]

Next came the tricky part. I decided to cut the straight side first. Several 70mm wide strips of 18mm plywood were cut from a sheet.
The Mitre block was then set to 15 degrees and the table set to 25 degrees. The way each angle goes needs to be thought through to make sure the angles end up the right orientation after cutting. I did and still managed to get it wrong the first time! One end of one of the above strips was so cut. The overall length being cut at the other end later as this was square to the wood.
The table was then altered to cut the 8.25 degree angle of the curved strip so carefully made earlier. Because the hand was opposite, the mitre block needed to be altered effectively to -15 degrees to obtain the correct angle.
Cross pieces were cut and a dry assembly run attempted. Upside down as usual. Although it may not look it, the pencil line where the screws are is vertical.

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This picture shows the angles rather better. The horizontal piece of ply in the jaws is not fixed, just checking for size and fit. The front edge of this is also cut at 15 degrees to the vertical.

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Two pieces of ply were fitted to support the edge of the top board. The gap was left because there will be a Turnout operating unit somewhere in the vicinity. There are four Turnouts on this board.
EDIT Subsequently reduced to three. END EDIT.

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This gives a better view of the board.

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The baseboard was then dismantled and the straight side and hinge end board were screwed and glued checking that they were at 90 degrees and left overnight to set. The following day the remainder of the pieces were carefully reassembled and glued / screwed into place, including the diagonals paying particular attention to the top levels while things set.

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The observant among you may have noticed the two rows of holes drilled in the top of the hinge board. These were made whilst the hinge board was clamped to the adjacent board and are needed for the hinges seen in this picture. They needed to go where there was no track (obviously).

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There were two options. Either mount the hinges vertical and recess them into the end faces or mount the hinges horizontal on packing pieces on the top surface. I elected for the later. Less work. Two 9mm thick blocks just bigger than the outline of the hinges were cut out and then cut down the centre where the hinge axis will be. The Faux brass hinges themselves had been modified to have the pins removable.
Before they could be fitted, the top board had to be fitted in place.
Inevitably with such an odd shaped board, it was not possible to get one piece big enough to cover the whole thing. I therefore used one of the larger offcuts I had to best advantage.

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To finish this session; the link to the next baseboard was then tackled.
A piece of wood was cut to fit under the extreme end of the lifting flap. The underside of the lifting flap had a dowel fitted in the centre, this was the easy bit. The blemish to the left was caused by a large section of ply breaking away during sanding. B****y cheap far eastern ply. This had to be glued down and clamped while it set. The blemish is excess glue.

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Fitting the other half proved to be more difficult, more anon.
The piece of ply that will become the end face of the next board was cut and screwed to the strip of wood carrying the other half of the dowel.

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The rear face looks like this. The pencil numbers on the ends are the angles. The V marks the good edge. (Some things from my woodwork classes must have stuck).

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The hole for the dowel wandered something chronic and had to be severely modified to line up with the pin half.
So here it is with the top board finished off and the half hinges fitted.

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It was then fitted in place and this is the view down the layout, the skew of the track bed is noticeable down the length

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and here with the drawbridge up.

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[Tony Wilkins]

A retrospectacle.
With the lifting flap now in place, a better perception of the opening space is possible. Whilst the width is fine for everyday access, carrying larger objects through may be challenging. I have therefore been looking at the option of hinging part of the mating half as well. More complication. Fortunately little of this area (the last baseboard) currently exists outside of ideas and Templot plans. As this project has progressed, the value of Templot to this project has grown appreciably to the point where I seriously question whether I would have attempted such an ambitious project without it. Certainly Templot has allowed me to take my woodworking capability to new heights. This may seem like an odd statement for what is primarily a track designing programme. However, it is so much more than this. The use of the background shapes and track centre lines as construction aids extends its use into other areas such as baseboard design. Quite complex shapes can be created, the dimensions of which can be know to high precision. The limiting factor is therefore ones abilities to harness this and replicate it for real. My confidence in my abilities has grown with this project and the degree of interest show by others is encouraging. Although few ask questions, the number of views shows there is keen interest in what I am up to. I must admit that the possibility of public failure also still exists.
There is still much to do before track laying commences, but I do need to concentrate on a few other things for the moment. Further updates will follow in due course.
Regards
Tony.

[Armchair Modeller]

You make a very good point about being able to design complex baseboards with Templot. I too have found this incredibly useful.

I sincerely hope you sort out the lifting flap problem without too much difficulty. Given the problems you have overcome so far, that shouldn't be a project killer, by a long, long way! Thanks for some very interesting posts so far.

Looking forward to further installments in due course.