Baseboard to baseboard - how do you join yours?

When I have built baseboards before I have used pattern maker dowels for alignment with 6mm bolts and wing nuts for holding board to board... and that approach needed getting down and under a baseboard for fixing and tightening the bolts / nuts. At my age this is no longer an option.

Peter and I are about to start what is likely to be be my final layout... my dream for the past forty years. With this next build we want to be able to secure a baseboard joint without needing to get / reach under the baseboards. At this point we have these options:-

1/ flat back hinges with a removable hinge pin across a join.
2/ case / toggle latches fitted across a join.
...
3/ not a lot else.

Gentlemen, your suggestions please.

thank you, Graham

I now use case catches across the join. One board rests on a lip before closing the case catches.

On a previous layout I designed in a self aligning joint reliant on gravity. No locking pins or case catches..... rough sketch below.

Southco fasteners or case catches as they are sometimes known. You can buy an adjustable tension variety to. We used to use them to stack flight cases for outside broadcast systems see the link below.
91 - Under-Center Series Latches - Southco

Graham,

I am now using case latches, or draw bolts as they seem to be called, in combination with home made dowels and they work very well allowing quite quick assembly of a layout. I also put a ledge on the underside of one side of a join so that the mating baseboard has something to rest on while lining up the dowels. The only problem I find is that the joint side screw holes of draw bolts come quite close to the edge of the join and might give problems with wood splitting. I now use ply for baseboard construction so there isn't the tendency to split, but there might be with softwood construction.

Jim.

Yorkshire Dave said:

On a previous layout I designed in a self aligning joint reliant on gravity. No locking pins or case catches.....

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Neat, may yet make the cut of ideas.

Yorkshire Dave said:

I now use case catches across the join. One board rests on a lip before closing the case catches.

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Good, just what I have been thinking.

markjj said:

Southco fasteners or case catches as they are sometimes known ... see the link ... 91 - Under-Center Series Latches - Southco

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Nice products, naff web-site or maybe that was me, I gave up trying to work out how to find something suitable.

JimG said:

I am now using case latches (or draw bolts) ... in combination with home made dowels and they work very well allowing quite quick assembly of a layout. I also put a ledge on the underside of one side of a join so that the mating baseboard has something to rest on while lining up the dowels.

Click to expand...

Just like Dave (above), my current preference.

JimG said:

The only problem I find is that the joint side screw holes of draw bolts come quite close to the edge of the join and might give problems with wood splitting. I now use ply for baseboard construction so there isn't the tendency to split, but there might be with softwood construction.

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Yes, a shared concern.

As well as planning for the finale layout Peter and I are doing some remedial work on our S7 version of Norchard during Severn & Wye days... replacing the supporting substructure by Wickes's trestles and the 6mm nuts / bolts (through the ends of each board) by something more compatible with old age. So we have the same concern about fastening boards for Scrufts as we do with the GW&GC Jt model. Given that the GW&GC boards have yet to be built then we can accommodate the real-estate needs of case latches without worry about splitting the timber. However Scrufts is not so ameanable.

When I built the baseboards for Scrufts's Junction I used 6mm MDF for all of the sides / ends / diagonals and tops. all surfaces duly painted in gloss top coat to seal the material and thereby resist the effects of moisture. Most - all? - of the case latches that I have seen to date have the two vertical rows of mounting screws at circa 12mm centres and hence likely to cause trouble with the current board design. Whilst I can overcome the issue by shortening the outer end of the diagonals and inserting some wood strip (say 25mm square section) into the corners this is not going to be easy. If I could find some sort of catch where the screw fixings are further apart, say 25mm apart, then I can add triangle moulding into the corners, without shortening the diagonals, and the catch screws will go into the new moulding.

Suggestions?

thank you, Graham

Dog Star said:

When I built the baseboards for Scrufts's Junction I used 6mm MDF for all of the sides / ends / diagonals and tops. all surfaces duly painted in gloss top coat to seal the material and thereby resist the effects of moisture. Most - all? - of the case latches that I have seen to date have the two vertical rows of mounting screws at circa 12mm centres and hence likely to cause trouble with the current board design. Whilst I can overcome the issue by shortening the outer end of the diagonals and inserting some wood strip (say 25mm square section) into the corners this is not going to be easy. If I could find some sort of catch where the screw fixings are further apart, say 25mm apart, then I can add triangle moulding into the corners, without shortening the diagonals, and the catch screws will go into the new moulding.

Suggestions?

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Graham,

The thoughts I had with case latches (draw bolts) was to mount them on a larger metal plate (say, from alloy strip) using countersunk bolts from the underside of the plate through the mounting holes on the latches, then provide mounting holes in the plate which better suited the structure of the baseboards. You can make the plates as wide and as long as you want to suit your circumstances and making them wouldn't take too long if you used a bar like this...

1 1/4" X 1/8" Aluminium Flat Bar | Metals4u™

Jim.

The last layout I was involved in used a cheap plastic ratcheting clamp, the kind of thing stocked by wilko or proper job - no use for wood work but perfect for holding two boards together under a little tension.

Personally I have used bolts with a wheel head and a captive nut - simple for one person to connect.

Patternmakers dowels for location and bolts to hold the boards together works very well. Not very trendy perhaps, but very reliable in my experience.

Thank you for all who have contributed so far - all comments make sense in respect of joining baseboards in a general sense. Dave and Jim have offered suggestions which reflect the key aspect of my original post, that is:-

"How to secure joins between baseboards without need to go or reach under the baseboards (when in position)."

Unless I have failed to spot something then I am expecting the joining facility to be on either the side or the top of a baseboard. On the top could be an option for new build... especially if I can find a source of flat-back hinges, with removable hinge pin, that are cheaper than my local hardware shop (circa £4 per pair). Flat-back hinges are a viable option for mounting on the side of a baseboard... same issue of cost.

Case latches look to be the most likely way forward together with a timber "shelf", on one board, for a second board to rest upon.

The suggestion box is still open.

thank you, Graham

Hi Graham,
While I am still moderately mobile, I use steel pattern makers dowels for alignment purposes and a single bolt with wing nut and large washer for tightness. I certainly do have quite bad back problems though and your thread has made me think!
If my mobility gets any worse, I will stick with pattern makers dowels for alignment as I really believe there is nothing better and use the aforementioned case catches for tightness. This should still provide a secure joint between boards and hold all the track joints in alignment.
How securely the track is attached to the board itself is another matter!
Cheers,
John.

I use "G" clamps on my portable layout along with locating dowels. Using one clamp placed approx where two tracks cross between two boards. Then two clamps where more tracks cross, i.e. Station.
These can be attached reasonably well from side of layout without getting on your hands and knees!
Regards
Nigel

Dog Star said:

On the top could be an option for new build... especially if I can find a source of flat-back hinges, with removable hinge pin, that are cheaper than my local hardware shop (circa £4 per pair). Flat-back hinges are a viable option for mounting on the side of a baseboard... same issue of cost.

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Graham,

I've also used hinges for joints with removable pins. I bought suitable hinges and got rid of the existing pins by filing the heads off one end of them and knocking them out with a pin punch. The hinges I had used 3mm diameter rod for the pins so I sourced some 3mm steel rod (B&Q) and cut new pins to length such that about an inch could be bent over to give a simple handle. To make insertion easier, I machined a bevel on the other ends in the lathe but this was probably a bit over the top and a few strokes of a file would probably have sufficed.

Jim.