I have seen chipboard swell when ballasting. I will admit that it is not the flooring type (we call it yellow tongue down under), but it had been painted. I would opt for the ply everytime. As for polystyrene, you could also use this on top of the old baseboard, providing it is of heavy density.

The chap on this video link uses 25mm polystyrene (blue foam) as a base and glues his track directly to the foam using PVA. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7H_TiqfABo

Cheers, Gary.

Chipboard (known as particle board in some places) is suitable for indoor layouts provided you environment remains at a reasonably constant and moderate humidity.  It can be used outside as well - I'd better say that as my layout is built on it and is entirely outside the house!

It absorbs moisture, swells, distorts and does not go back to shape again.

It can be sanded back level when perfectly dry but the effect is never quite the same and it can be a major repair job.

Chipboard lacks the structural integrity of a single piece of timber simply because it is glued chips but is generally acceptable for model railway use.

I consider 12mm chip to be too thick and heavy.  I use 9mm. What ever is used it must be braced as left to its own devices it will distort and twist.

A 2x1 metre panel of braced 9mm chipboard is easy enough for many people to consider portable.

Sounds as if I should go for MDF then, 6 or 9mm?? I shall have to get a respirator now!

Cheers
Ron

Problem I find with MDF and Chipboard is getting pins to go in. Even if you use copydex or other adhesive for fixing track you still need to hold it in place while the glue dries usually that means using track pins or drawing pins; it can still creep when using weights to hold it in place. I now use insulation foam with strips cut from cork tile for track bed. Pins are easy to push into the cork tile, however the thinner sheet cork is too thin and soft to hold pins satisfactorily and the foam alone doesn't hold pins well.

Has anybody used foam board (foam sandwiched between card) for a baseboard (with suitable support)? I'm thinking of using it on my new layout when I've settled into the flat.

[user=1775]g0ibi[/user] wrote:

Sounds as if I should go for MDF then, 6 or 9mm?? I shall have to get a respirator now!

Cheers
Ron

I used 6mm MDF which I bought as two 8' x 4' sheets (1220mm x 2440mm), mainly as I couldn't justify the cost of the equivalent size in ply just for a model railway and chipboard would have been considerably heavier.

Cut the sheets in the garage wearing a DIY mask and goggles and I'm still here.

As for track pins not going in, I don't use 'em. I have read you can use them if you drill a hole first with using a very small drill bit or another track pin in a hand drill.

I just weight the track down to stop it moving and where necessary temporarily bang in a couple of map pins while the Copydex is drying (don't take long).



May not be right, or the best way of doing it, but it's worked for me.

(Don't know if I've helped or hindered Ron :???:)


Ed

Hi Ron,

I've worked with MDF and if you are only going to be ripping up a couple of sheets then I would not bother going to the expense of a respirator. I think you really need to be working with it quite regularly before it will do you any real harm. Still, better safe than sorry I suppose.

I would make sure that it is well braced though. It does also look quite a good finish even though it will eventually get covered with scenics and so on. Good luck and mind the photo's.

Cheers


Toto

Never had much of a problem with pins in chipboard myself though they can sometimes skip on the shiny surface of MDF and cause problems.

My technique is to hold the pin firmly in a small pair of pliers, check that it's perpendicular and as near the centre of the sleeper as possible then give it a smart tap on the head with a hammer.  

That should be enough to drive it clean through the plastic sleeper and pierce the wood beneath.  Tapping it home is then usually straightforward though a few pins will be awkward and a few more will bend.

The only problem I've had is with trying to drive track pins into the shiny side of hardboard (Masonite) which is coated and is very resistant to even a smart whack on a sharp pin.

I usually drill 0.5mm holes for the pins then tap them in carefully. Some bend but can be replaced. I also use 'n' gauge pins which really do need a hole first.

All of my boards are MDF (no cork - I like the noise).  

Simply use an Archimedes drill and a 0.5 mm drill bit.

Drill through the tie (sleeper), into the MDF so that you only have to tap the pin about 3 mm.

You can set the drill bit in the chuck of the Archimedes drill so the right amount is sticking out.

I've got a punch with a concave face to allow you to gently tap the pin to the right tension.

If you over drive the pins, they can pull the rails together, making them out of gauge.

Max. I was about to say you use MDF. :thumbs

I use ply - I'm not a great fan of MDF for this purpose simply because it's very hard and, inch for inch, heavy.  It is however, almost totally stable but I don't have to pre-drill for pins into ply and it's easier to cut than MDF.  Modern MDF incidentally, doesn't have the harmful resins the old stuff had but the dust is still very fine so do take care when cutting it - particularly if you use a power saw.

As has been said, for track bed, avoid expanded polystyrene (the white stuff with the beads that stick to everything).  Extruded polystyrene (the blue or pink board that looks a bit like a Crunchie bar if you break it, usually called "Styrofoam"), can, as Gary said,  be used to good effect although it's not good at holding pins.  Also, do NOT use styrene glues anywhere near it - it will dissolve !!!  "No Nails" or even PVA sticks it well.  It's light, easy to carve and less messy than the expanded foam although it would need a timber sub-frame to support it.

Kingspan is I think, a very similar product although I'm pretty sure it's "urethane" foam rather than "styrene" foam.

[user=6]Petermac[/user] wrote:

Max. I was about to say you use MDF. :thumbs



I use ply - I'm not a great fan of MDF for this purpose simply because it's very hard and, inch for inch, heavy.  It is however, almost totally stable but I don't have to pre-drill for pins into ply and it's easier to cut than MDF.  Modern MDF incidentally, doesn't have the harmful resins the old stuff had but the dust is still very fine so do take care when cutting it - particularly if you use a power saw.



As has been said, for track bed, avoid expanded polystyrene (the white stuff with the beads that stick to everything).  Extruded polystyrene (the blue or pink board that looks a bit like a Crunchie bar if you break it, usually called "Styrofoam"), can, as Gary said,  be used to good effect although it's not good at holding pins.  Also, do NOT use styrene glues anywhere near it - it will dissolve !!!  "No Nails" or even PVA sticks it well.  It's light, easy to carve and less messy than the expanded foam although it would need a timber sub-frame to support it.



Kingspan is I think, a very similar product although I'm pretty sure it's "urethane" foam rather than "styrene" foam.

Peter,
Sorry to correct you but, only use 'interior grade' 'No-Nails'.
The standard (exterior) is solvent based, and will dissolve the foam.
Jeff

Well there you go Jeff - I had no idea there were two versions of the stuff …………..:shock::shock::oops::oops::oops::oops:


Further to my earleir post Ron - make sure you only use INTERIOR grade "No Nails" - the exterior stuff is solvent based so will dissolve styrene products …………..thumbs:pedal:cheers:cheers

Original!! Works really well but is a pig to get off your fingers!!

I've got 6 mm MDF baseboards and I use double sided tape t stick the track down. When in position,press down firmly. Jod done.

The problem with that system is you can't easily reposition the track Henry. :roll:

OK, I admit I'm not a great pre-planner and tend to "design as I go" but I do wonder how many modellers know exactly where their track is to go before they lay it ……………..:hmm

Ron that's where your going wrong mate, put it on the BOARDS. Not on your fingers  :thumbs
Has anyone tried decorators caulk to put track down ? Its fairly easy to work with giving you reasonable work time , dries semi hard/ flexible to allow for movement in joints , is paintable and you can "lift" it using a paint scraper if you wanted to lift and move tracks . you would probably need to pin the tracks first, but would only need a thin bead and is cheap as chips….and why am I thinking we've had this conversation before on another thread ?…:hmm
Cheers
    Matt

Hi Ron, I,ve used mdf, sundeala board, chipboard and ply over the years I,ve been modelling and I personally prefer ply, you don,t need so much bracing as it is a much more stable medium. I would definately drill small holes through the sleepers into the base board then hold the pins with long nosed pliars before tapping them in, if you use 6 or 9mm boards beware the ends of the pins sticking through under the boards when working underneath, they definately will make you curse!!
Cheers, Pete.

[user=1708]mattc6911[/user] wrote:

Ron that's where your going wrong mate, put it on the BOARDS. Not on your fingers  :thumbs
Has anyone tried decorators caulk to put track down ? Its fairly easy to work with giving you reasonable work time , dries semi hard/ flexible to allow for movement in joints , is paintable and you can "lift" it using a paint scraper if you wanted to lift and move tracks . you would probably need to pin the tracks first, but would only need a thin bead and is cheap as chips….and why am I thinking we've had this conversation before on another thread ?…:hmm
Cheers
    Matt

I have used decorators caulk, acrylic sealer/filler for sticking down track, just make sure its the over paintable stuff and not the silicon stuff, i hold the track down with map pins while it dries.

And I think I have mentioned it in another thread, posiibly Toto's main layout thread.

Thanks Andy I was suddenly having Deja vu lol
Cheers 
   Matt