Episode 1: Building Good Model Railroad Benchwork For Under $15 

I had to check the date of this video… 12 years old and still very relevant and useful. I’m not a carpenter and your video Nick, has me thinking…maybe even I could benefit from subscribing. Calming narratives with awesome background music. Thanks Nick, time to make a table…

I have 2 suggestions that will save you some time and work. First,instead of ripping a 2x4 for the legs buy 2 2x2s. I am not a big fan of thin legs so I would use 2x3s for the legs any way.Use 1 5/8 deck screws,they are self drilling and the heads are self setting. Put a wooden spacer were the cross braces intersect and fasten both braces to it. You will be amazed at how much more rigid this will make the bench.

Nicely put together video. It was almost like watching an episode of "How It's Made." Good job!

Simple and effective...like it. Some of them WAY over-complicate this. Since mine is 6x7, I'm using two modules of 3x7 on an el-girder base much like you have here, so it can be easily disassembled and transported when necessary. With locking casters on the legs, it will be super easy to move around or lock in place.

Great tutorial. I have just finished making this. I used 10mm bolts to secure the legs, so that it could be unassembled easily. I assembled the legs at the back one inch in, which means that they are not screwed to the outer frame, the same with the front ones. Very pleased with the outcome. Many thanks again for a great tutorial 10/10. PS: The wood cost me £48 in the UK.

Excellent Mate Thank you, and the good music in back we tough is Joe Satriani with his Wah Guitar....good!

Very nice and easyto build train table. Also would worK nicely for a small slot car track table !

Shouldn't the legs be fastened to the table frame with carriage bolts, washers and wing nuts to allow the legs to be detached for moving?

Excellent tutorial. Thank-you...

Thankyou for making this video you gave me alot of ideas for making my new layout!

Im gonna add an extra 1 and a half foot to my width but thanks for this guide, I had no idea on how to start my table!

Great video. The music was OK with me, but others have spoken. "The Grudge" by Tool is 8 minutes and 37 seconds. Just let that last glorious half a minute play free.

@sigzor85 Thanks for the comment, but the reason we did not do this is because we placed the pink foam board directly onto the wood. There was no need for a wood top. The size of the benchwork is 8'X2.5" on the table top. I hoped this helped.

Fantastic - 11 years later!

Thank you your video is very informative and I’m gonna use it to build my Layout thank you for sharing

@HarryComa Im glad to hear it helped. Hope to see some progress videos soon!

Great bench work, you do wonderful work, please don't take this as a rub, but having been a cabinet builder for 26 plus years, please take a little advise about screwing into end grain, end grain has very low holding ability, a very simple alternative would be to get a pocket hole drill and drill from the cross piece into the the main board or visa-versa you will add many times more strength, and it's just as easy. Thank's for sharing your work, and please continue to do so, as far as the music, if someone doesn't like they have a simple alternative of pressing their mute button. Duane Hampton

Very good tutorial. Great channel too.

I'm brand new to Model Railroading. I don't have a layout yet, ha it's on my dining room table now (I'm single in a 1 bedroom). But now that i've seen this i'll be asking for Home Depot gift cards for Xmas :) Should be fun building these. My living room is going to be invaded by several of these for my new hobby :)

I made a table and used 2 1x3s at each corner screwed together first to make an L-shape and then attached to the table...then a cross piece from side to side. wasn't too concerned about bracing lengthwise but might try it next time. the way you have it with doubled up boards on each side of the legs makes it difficult to drill holes for wiring I would think

I like this method for my new shelf layout, cheap is good for me. What size furring strips did you use (I assume you meant furring and not firing?). Also, how about t-nuts on the bottom of the legs to level the layout. Keep up the good work!!

I found 1x3's at Lowes that were perfect and yes they were furring strips

@LocalRailfan No problem. I think you made the right choice by choosing DCC for your layout. Good luck building it. What era are you modeling

@LocalRailfan I think that DCC on a layout is a preference; however, it depends how much are you willing to spend, how many trains you want to run at a time, and do you have locomotives that already support DCC because if not, you will either have to buy new ones or purchase decoders for the locomotives you already have. I have an HO scale railroad but I think that DCC would be the same for every scale.

sheet screws saves you money on screws and they can be used outdoor too.

Just an FYI to anyone watching this, the price of wood has gone up in 3 years! Just the wood and screws cost me over $55 today (8/21/13). Of course I also bought 'Select' Pine, so you probably could save a little there.

That's pretty good, I might use that method for my layout.:)

Using a kreg jig for pocket hole screws would prolly be faster. Notching the legs to go under the table would make it stronger as well. The shearing strength of screws is a variable. Then again hopefully its not a lot of weight on top of the table.

@LocalRailfan If you are not willing to spend a lot of money DCC might not be for you, but keep in mind with DCC you are able to control more than one locomotive at a time and control sound features as well. Hope that helped. If you have anymore questions just let me know and I will do my best to answer them.

Thanks for replying. DCC is probably a lot more flexible. To give you some info on my models, I have all KATO locomotives and tracks (engines are DCC equipped) and I have a Zephyr DCC power pack. I am projecting to start my lauout next Winter.

nice job

@sigzor85 Yes you do. Sorry for the confusion. Happy New Yaer.

do you cover the top surface of the table in another video? If not, what wood type and thickness do you use for the top?

@metronorthrr4life correct, by 2 and a half feet wide. Thanks for the comment!

Nice, but id have to use different wood. Allergic to pine

@rrlcommish I use a program called Sony Vegas and it comes with a plugin called cine-scores. That program generates the royalty free music I use in my videos. Hope this helps.

I don't really have a good layout right now and I will b doing a segment in a week or until I get materials.

You might want to correct your Bill of Materials. They are "furring strips" not firing strips.

Thank you for the comment, hope to see the progress on your layout.

I noticed that you didn't use a tape measure on the bench top, for all four corners checking for square

Screwed together is easier to modify.

They make countersink drill. Use one and eliminate one complete step. Better yet use pocket hole screws on the basic frame and forget about all of the work.

It's not adviseable to screw into end grain either. A hole should be drilled through the side grain and a dowel glued in. Then screw into the end grain so the screw binds into the dowel.

Should you use glue and screws or it doesn’t matter

1st. GreemanBelg-Mute the music if it does not appeal to you :-) Nick. Good vid. It looks like good, basic benchwork. I wanted to email/pvt msg you, but didn't have an option. In the vid, you give a list of materials, but you mis-spelled FURRING Strips. :-)

👍

Rub soap on screws they'll go in better ans less chance of splitting cross pieces.

for the inner supports properly

I am looking at using some sheets of 3/4 inch plywood I already have, but I guess for the side pieces and the cross pieces I am going to cut from one sheet I would still drill pilot holes, correct?

Great videos, just subsscribed. Out of curiosity, what is that music playing in the background?

And its furring, not firing

Did you add a plywood top or just add the foam alone?

the wood is soft enough to sink flush with the wood by them selfes

This was very helpful. Would you recommend DCC for an N scale layout? Ryan

9 years later I was just at Home Depot the wood was double that price,

You say you use 50 1" 5/8" wood screws but they come in different diameters so what number screw do I use?

so if my layout is 4ft wide what measurements do i need of what size to cut em

It's 8ft long right?

@bellbottomtear just foam. hope this answers your question.

This seems to be an real easy bench to me but I was wondering if I could use the same design to make an O gauge model.

why pilot holes ?

I KNOW that's a crock. No way you found straight 1 x 3's at Home Depot

EveryBody constructs their table I am not playing music when constructing my tables.

@mistabigshow Thanks

This is a great, helpful video, but the music is a bit invasive. Lower in the mix would have been better.

What size was that table

I could not sit through this video due to the music. Absolutely terrible! Out of 7 minutes..I was able to skim through in a minute and a half

Thanks but kill the music.

Got as far as 2:00; Couldn't stand the music. Far, far better without it

Not a good choice for music. Incredibly annoying

Should metal "screws" not always be called bolts?

I don't see the point in using counter sink. It's all rough lumber and most likely will be covered with cloth later. Your not making a finished wood table that needs to be neat. Secondly why not just mount the legs at each corner and brace it on the inside corners to make a secondary lower table or shelf for all the supplies and boxes. Using cross members for braces just wastes the space, unless you got lots of it elsewhere. Personally not my choice of table to use on a layout. Can be built cheap, yes, but a little more thought into the design would of been better also.

Poor choice in music, detracts from program.

The music!? You take much medication?

Nice video, crappy music

Kill the music.

Annoying guitar soundtrack.

interesting points ,if anyone else needs to find out about building a model railroad layout try Panlarko Amazing Railroad Planner ( search on google ) ? Ive heard some great things about it and my mate got amazing success with it.

honestly if i were to do this, the only thing i would do differently would be using a hammer and nails instead of a drill and screws.

He is making this over-complicated. You don't have to mark both sides of the cross members, just mark the centers and match up the marks. Takes less time to do. Even carpenters will not mark both sides of joists or cross members, they will either mark the centers or one side and place an x or another mark to show where the joists or cross member is placed.

You can`t bough a 2x4 for $15 .