The Sheep Chronicles. A Sheep dips his hooves in various bucolic backwaters.

[NHY 581]

Morning all,

Yes, drama has ensued.

Last weekend saw a chance to make some much needed progress.

The fine weather saw me able to move the layout into the garden to work on. The last of DAS was added and trackwork tidied up.



I then sprayed the track and surrounding area.



So far so good you may say.

 

[NHY 581]

Chuffed with my labours, I sat down with a cup of tea and enjoyed the view............

 

[NHY 581]

And noticed what looked as if the layout had a bit of bow.....and it did. Roughly 5mm out at one end and slightly less at the other.

 

[NHY 581]

Take one 1896 S&DJR cast chair plus whatever else came to hand..........

 

[timbowales]

Those handles on the gas cylinder look awfully oversized. I suppose they are a standard component for ease of production irrespective of the size of cylinder they’re fitted to.
Tim T

 

[NHY 581]

However successful that was, it was a tad impractical. I have to say that at this point, I was pretty disappointed.
Regulars on the RMweb thread contributed some theories and advice. Most of it helpful, some less so.
Simply put, as it stood, the layout was dead on the water unless this issue could be resolved. The IKEA composite contruction of their shelves/table tops had todate supported things pretty well. The main deviation from the norm was that this particular example was thinner and longer. Not by much but enough to cause me an unforeseen issue.

 

[NHY 581]

The problem remained thus.






I use MDF to enclose my layouts. Heavy but it does the job well enough. Initially however, weight was spplied in a more conventionsl fashion.

 

[NHY 581]

Sunday saw me purchase some MDF.

Last night saw me add the backscene. I normally do this last as it gets in the way of adding the scenics etc but I needed to see if this could correct the issue before carrying on. If not then the layout was in the skip and Wells was not happening this year.

And this was the result.



5mm down to 2mm without the end boards and eventual roof /lighting. The other end is zero.

Not ideal but almost tolerable.

 

[NHY 581]

Current state of play.

 

[NHY 581]

I'll keep monitoring it but tonight should see modelling resume.

Paint trackwork, finish and install platform and ballast.

Rob

 

[Phil O]

Hi Rob,

Sorry to hear your tale of woe, hopefully your solution remains successful and possibly further improved when you fit the backscene end boards.

Great to know that you haven't gone, ape!

Well not totally!!!

 

[NHY 581]

Hi Rob,

Sorry to hear your tale of woe, hopefully your solution remains successful and possibly further improved when you fit the backscene end boards.

Great to know that you haven't gone, ape!

Well not totally!!!

Came close..........

 

[Herb Garden]

Hi Rob,

Just to ask a question you may have answered before. But I can seem to find it on your thread.

You use DAS clay instead of plaster to make the landforms. What's the benefit of this and what is your method of application?

Cheers

G

 

[Pencarrow]

Sunday saw me purchase some MDF.

Last night saw me add the backscene. I normally do this last as it gets in the way of adding the scenics etc but I needed to see if this could correct the issue before carrying on. If not then the layout was in the skip and Wells was not happening this year.

And this was the result.

View attachment 215906

5mm down to 2mm without the end boards and eventual roof /lighting. The other end is zero.

Not ideal but almost tolerable.

Phah, 2mm is nothing, wouldn't worry about that. The addition of a back scene will show the naughty board who is boss. Carry on.

PS the top on my 5' long IKEA desk made of a kitchen worktop has a good 10mm sag in it, and that's with only 2'6" in the center being unsupported. So I wouldn't go looking at IKEA kitchen worktops as an alternative to your IKEA shelves either.

 

[Osgood]

That's as good as level isn't it?

 

[Jordan]

Phah, 2mm is nothing, wouldn't worry about that.

All well & good until you get some very free-rolling wagons....

 

[timbowales]

All well & good until you get some very free-rolling wagons....

Now there’s a challenge for you, working brakes!
Coat, hat, door………
Tim T

 

[Pencarrow]

All well & good until you get some very free-rolling wagons....

Can anyone say their layout, particularly in an exhibition hall with an uneven floor, is 100% level let, alone to a 2mm tolerance?

At one particular expo in a former docks, our 32' long layout had to be jacked up by nearly 8" at one end. That used all the packing we had and just about stopped wagons rolling on their own. Possibly the most unlevel floor ever.

 

[Heather Kay]

Possibly the most unlevel floor ever.

Sounds more like you were setting up in a stairwell!

 

[NHY 581]

Hi Rob,

Just to ask a question you may have answered before. But I can seem to find it on your thread.

You use DAS clay instead of plaster to make the landforms. What's the benefit of this and what is your method of application?

Cheers

G

Evening G.

I've used DAS on five out of six layouts for the ground cover. I slice chunks off then roll them out to roughly sleeper top height and cut to shape before laying the pieces onto a thin layer of PVA. This seems to control any shrinkage. I then leave for a few days to harden off before any sanding or carving.
We all have favourite materials/methods but this works for me. I find it quick, pretty mess free and easy to work with. Any cracks can be filled with a slurry but crucially, other than this slurry application, it doesn't take much moisture.

Here's the "DAS" concrete on Bleat.





Carved paving on Bleat Wharf Mk 1



Early days on Ewe with building imprint to avoid gappage.










Rob.