MDF for Baseboards

[Clement Matchett]

I have read Hornby’s recommendations for constructing a baseboard for TT:120. Half inch ply plus 2x1 battens.

I have used 18mm MDF as the baseboard for my 00 steam shed diorama without any problems. It rests on battens screwed to the wall and on an old organ bench.

So why is ply the favoured material? Full of voids unless you can find a marine grade (in which case it will cost as much as MDF), more resonant, especially in the treble, more homogeneous and not nearly as rigid.

Yes, I know MDF is heavy, but is that such a problem with the small baseboards needed for 120?

Hornby’s recommendation notwithstanding, I shall construct my 120 baseboard from 18mm MDF.

Looking forward to it!

Peter

[Brew Man]

I have my 10' x 6' 6"OO scale layout in 12mm hardwood ply. I've had no problems at all with it and it is considerably cheaper than 18mm MDF, which to me sounds rather over kill.

My first layout was in Sundela, To be avoided at all costs IMO.

[Dodge1965]

As Brew Man, i have just gone for 12mm ply, both saving on cost and weight.

But end of the day, i guess its a persoanl choice, as i'm sure both will do the job.

[ntpntpntp]

I've used 9mm ply since the 80s for all my N gauge exhibition layouts, taking an open-frame approach to reduce weight and to allow for scenery contours above and below the track bed. I'll be using the same materials and design for my TT layout.

I've found that ply takes pins and screws better than MDF, and also MDF is quite heavy (though not as bad as chipboard!)

I tried MDF once about a decade ago for a pair of fiddleyard modules, I won't use it again.

[Skelton Junction]

12mm ply 5x4 battened with 2x1 as per website’s recommendation for my inaugural TT Hornby centric layout.

[ntpntpntp]

The traditional flat board on 2x1 is usual for starting out, though I'd suggest 3x1 to give you that bit more room underneath to accommodate wiring, underfloor point motors, electronic modules etc. Using 3x1 also gives just that bit more rigidity.

As you gain experience you find the solid flat top becomes a hindrance to realistic scenery, with hills sprouting out of nowhere, difficulty in having roads and rivers running under the track and just generally everything being too flat on the same level. That's when modellers often move to an open-frame style of baseboard construction.

[Too Tall]

Mine is on 12mm construction ply on 44x44mm battons, glued and screwed. ( I have 2440x 940 board, or 8ft x 3ft 1 inch in old money).

Plenty enough room for wiring and point servos.

the only downside to MDF IMO is if you want to pin/tack anything it generally needs drilling unless its cheap stuff.

But there is no real right or wrong, go with what suits you, as long as its rigid.

[RDS]

My first layout was in Sundela, To be avoided at all costs IMO.

 

 

@Brewman. Each to his own of course but I don't agree with this comment at all.

Used on it's own Sundeala is completely unsuitable but my layout is 18mm ply lined with 9mm Sundeala and it is fantastic. Pins can be pushed in and removed reasonably easily and it has very good sound deadening properties.

[D9020 Nimbus]

It's worth pointing out that the dust generated when cutting MDF is carcinogenic. Good quality plywood should also be resistant to warping.

[Rallymatt]

I used 12mm ply although 9mm would have been quite enough and tbh preferred but Wickes virtually gave me a 2.4 x 1.2 m 12 mm birch ply board and I couldn’t refuse 🤣 Some bracing to simply keep the ply in check and make a frame for the feet which are breakfast bar legs. I didn’t go the full open frame idea, it’s more of a hybrid idea. Board cut into sections so all the track is on one level but then the central scenic area drops down and boards added as the scenery develops, the viaduct board is already in.

Personally, I don’t like MDF as a product, it weighs as much as a planet and the dust is really nasty stuff. It doesn’t like water much either, so ballasting and scenery can create quite a wet board, MDF does have a tendency to ‘blow’ when wet.

[Too Tall]

You can get moisture resistant MDF, or you can seal it, but as pointed out the dust is nasty.

I used it for my slot car track, for which it is ideal, but I used to work with it for a living so routing a slot car track was a drop in the ocean to what I breathed in when I worked with it !

[Clement Matchett]

It is easy, in these discussions, to want to win a point. So it is difficult to respond without appearing to do so.

I like the idea of a frameless baseboard, but I am not sure I could undertake it. That is disregarding the effort involved..I probably don’t have the skills.

Just as a heads-up, I looked at the B & Q site to see what people thought about their 12mm hardwood ply. There are a lot of reviews citing delamination and voids. And despite some comments here, it is no cheaper than 12mm Mdf.

At the other end of the scale…one which I would be relatively comfortable with from the quality point of view, Travis Perkins are currently offering 8 x 4 x12mm marine ply to BS 1088 at £88.31 per sheet!

And, many glues contain carcinogenic substances.

And some silly people put hydrogen peroxide on their teeth…and on their scalp near their brain🥸

Thanks, but no thanks, I’ll use Mdf!

Peter

[milepost48]

make always your boards as light as possible with poplar wood.

[Hobby11]

There's several points which need to be taken into account when choosing wood for the top of baseboards, these are my view...

First the type of wood:

MDF is, as far as I am concerned, nasty stuff, especially when cut or sanded and it holds no advantages over the others so I don't use it.

Sundeala, and other fibre boards, is light and easy to use, but it can hold moisture and warp and expand, it used to be the go-to board for baseboards back in the Freezer days of the Railway Modeller but has now been overtaken by others. If you choose to use it be very careful where (a damp loft, shed or garage will ensure that you have gradients like the Lickey in no time!).

Chipboard, another old favourite, can warp and hold moisture but better than the fibre boards. Very heavy.

Ply, which seems to be the new go-to for boards these days, though I've been using the stuff for the last 30+ years! Like the others there are different qualities of ply and you get what you pay for! My last two boards have been made form the 6mm ply the laser cut baseboard manufacturers use for their boards, it isn't the stuff you see at the DIY places, it's much better quality and you get it only at decent timber merchants, it's called Birch Ply. It's also used in caravans and boats because of it's lightness. There's also marine ply as mentioned by someone, better quality than ordinary ply but not as light as birch ply as far as I am aware.

As I said you get what you pay for, buy the cheap stuff and you'll never get decent flat boards...

Next the size of wood used...

This will depend on what you intend to do with the layout... If it's permanent, fixed to the walls, then weight doesn't matter so just use whatever you want!

But if it is made to be portable, and that even means a layout that you have to move around to store it, then make it light! CJFreezer in one of his track plans books made a good point, even the humble 6x4 board is the size of a double bed and is equally hard to move around, even more so with the damage that can be caused to the scenery!

Several people have mentioned 12mm thickness (1/2" to us oldies!), if that is for a 6x4 baseboard it'll be heavy, especially when you add the weight of the cross bracing. That is where ply comes into it's own, you can use thinner board (I use 6mm for all mine, sometimes with 9mm outer edges), and the bracing isn't heavy either if you use ply for that as well.

Finally construction...

I don't have any strong thoughts on this, it's purely down to the builder and what they are using it for. There's nothing wrong with 3x2 for a permanent board, though I wouldn't use the stuff for a portable layout! The main thing to remember is that you need to make it as rigid and flat as possible, otherwise you'll never get decent running!

One final tip, if you can, get along to an exhibition where one of the laser cut baseboard manufacturers are exhibiting and have a look at their work, I think you'll be amazed by the quality and lightness. Though as i said earlier, you get what you pay for!!

Hope that helps, take it or leave it!

Mod note - excess white space edited out.

[david_watts1]

I had a baseboard made of MDF once, never again, it's heavy and you have to drill every track pin, not nice stuff to use.

I've just ordered this:

6'x4' Model Railway Baseboard — Model Railway Solutions

with 9mm top. I already have 2x2 to use as legs, height adjusting feet and lengths of 6mm ply to use as backscene boards.

[96RAF]

Just as a heads-up, I looked at the B & Q site to see what people thought about their 12mm hardwood ply. There are a lot of reviews citing delamination and voids. And despite some comments here, it is no cheaper than 12mm Mdf.

At the other end of the scale…one which I would be relatively comfortable with from the quality point of view, Travis Perkins are currently offering 8 x 4 x12mm marine ply to BS 1088 at £88.31 per sheet!

 

 

DIY stores plywood is usually warped on the shelf - use a pucka wood merchant to huy decent plywood. You pay more but get good material.

[37lover]

I am late to this thread. People, myself included, have their preferences and that is quite understandable. I used 12mm mdf on a sturdy frame and then glued a 1/2" thick fibre board [bought from a local builders Merchant] over the top. I sealed the mdf before laying the fibre board and also painted the fibre board before fixing strips of cork underlay and then the track, all ballasted with water/glue mixtures. That was about 10/12 years ago and so far no swelling/blisters. It is located in a purpose built insulated room within my double garage, heating in the cold weather is via a 40 watt tube heater and the temperature has never dropped below 15 degrees Celsius, I do not intend moving the layout! If we ever move house the layout will be listed as a feature, along with the greenhouse and pond!

Simply take sensible & appropriate precautions with whatever materials you use, whether that is mdf, a soldering iron, or epoxy glues.