2x4 or 1x4

[NEMMRRC]

84 Lumber is basically a "timber merchant" in the USA. It is not found everywhere though.


Often there is a local lumber (what we call it in the USA) supplier in most cities. It may not be well known as they don't advertise heavily and may not have "retail friendly" prices and quantities.


Jaime

[Dennis Bourey]

Jaime, I found some but the closet is in Mass and New York Dennis

[Rail and Tie]

For you guys who do ripped-down plywood:  How do you do this?  Seems to me A LOT of work to rip plywood that way.  Is there some particular tool or set-up you do to make this feasible?


dave

Dave, if you have a table saw it is pretty easy. I also use my tracksaw which is a glorified skillsaw with a guide. If you are doing lots of 3/4" x 4" strips, a track saw or skill saw conversion is a good investment. I use my track saw for breaking down sheet goods and it certainly saves the back and divorce issues when I get my wife to help me on out feeding the tablesaw!!

[Mark Dalrymple]

Wow!  There are oodles of them In NZ!

Cheers, mark.

[Zephyrus52246]

To answer Dave's question about the plywood sheets.  I have the Lowe's (or the local lumber company) rip them in half lengthwise first.  I'm to old to lift a 4' x 8' sheet myself.  This size is relatively easy to feed into the table saw.  Lowe's plywood (I use the birch veneer) is much better quality than their stick lumber.  Their saw is often out of commission, however.   I then go the the local company.  The quality is a bit better but the price is much higher.  I think $10 a sheet the last time I was there a couple of years ago.

Jeff

[rpdylan]

I agree with the birch plywood, very cost effective in making 1 x 4s. I use a Kreg rip guide on my circular saw with a fine tooth blade. Its easier for me to rip the sheet this way.

[deemery]

Jaime, I found some but the closet is in Mass and New York Dennis

Goose Bay Lumber!  https://goosebaylumber.net  They're just east of Concord.  Don't know how their prices are, though.


dave

[S&S RR]

I have been following along on this discussion and thought I would add my 2 cents, again.  If you are going to use the plywood strip method (nothing at all wrong with it) but make sure you use exterior grade plywood.  We tend to get things wet when we add the scenery and interior grade (water soluble glue is used to bond the plywood) can be very problematic.

[S&S RR]

Wow!  There are oodles of them In NZ!

Cheers, mark.

Mark


When I was working on my addition to the layout this summer I noticed that the trim wood and moldings that I bought had "made in New Zealand" stickers on them. It amazes me that you can ship a piece of wood all the way from New Zealand and still be cost competitive.

[Dennis Bourey]

WOW!!!! Thanks guys. Dave I will check them out thanks...Dennis

[jbvb]

A 2x4 is more wood than you need for most model RR benchwork.  Installing building foundations, wiring, switch machines and landforms often require working under the layout, and I've found extra wood is more likely to get in my way.  If most of a section of layout will be on a plywood tabletop, the size of the framework may not matter as much.

[cuse]

I used 2 1x4's for the main L-girders and 2x2's for the legs (2 of which extend up to support the central backdrop), but otherwise I'm only 1x2's throughout. I am careful to buy the better grades of wood and to examine for warpage before I purchase. My layout is also in a climate controlled environment in a warm climate, so I may not be subject to some of the expansion problems some others face. I'm a big fan of homasote and, generally, don't even support it with plywood. I just space risers out every foot or so...my scenery is lightweight foam and/or cast foam rocks. The only plywood I use is very slim and used for riverbeds, etc. and is well supported by 1x2 crossbeams beneath...I understand these are "flimsy" choices but so far, so good.


John

[jerryrbeach]

To answer Dave's question about the plywood sheets.  I have the Lowe's (or the local lumber company) rip them in half lengthwise first.  I'm to old to lift a 4' x 8' sheet myself.  This size is relatively easy to feed into the table saw.  Lowe's plywood (I use the birch veneer) is much better quality than their stick lumber.  Their saw is often out of commission, however.   I then go the the local company.  The quality is a bit better but the price is much higher.  I think $10 a sheet the last time I was there a couple of years ago.

Jeff

Jeff,

Thanks for the tip regarding getting the sheets ripped in half.  I just picked up a sheet of 3/4" plywood from Lowe's and having it ripped lengthwise made it very easy to manage.  I feel like kicking myself for never having thought of this myself.