Saturday, 8 August 2015





 G'Day All!

This is my latest works in the wood shop!  I was laying some more cork on the staging for tracks 7 and 8 and was finding that I was having to stretch a bit to reach the track centrelines towards the rear of the 3ft tables.  I decided that I needed some elevation to make the job easier to lay track and also to lay the Woodland Scenics Incline set plus the cork roadbed and track 9 for the 2% grade.

The timber used for the main platform and 'legs' are actually Pine stair treads.  Each tread measures 48 inches x 9 1/2 inches x 1 3/4 inches.  I did have to cut down the length to 44 inches due to split timber and out of square ends but the end result is a VERY stable platform for me to stand on.  The stud pine at the ends measure at 1 3/8" x 2 3/4".  The triangular gussets - possibly Oregon - are 1 1/4" x 6" cut at a 45 degree angle.  I used galvanized countersunk chipboard screws 10gx75mm and 10gx100mm.  A total of 56 screws hold the entire platform together.

As you can see I'm a bigger than average guy so the platform is perfect for me.  I would much rather over engineer something by 50% than under by 10%.

That's all for now.  Take care and be good to each other!

Cheers!
Stew.