Man Cave Photos!!!

[Reckers]

Okay...it's still full of boxes and looks like hell, but I've had requests for pics. The bench is covered in boxes, but you can see it....the 8 x 10 table is assembled (also under boxes) and most important, the refrigerator is to the right of the bench! Other pics just show the length of the room. Enjoy!

[big ed]

GGGEE> WHAT A MESS!:D

Looks like my basement and garage.:laugh:

The table doesn't look big enough? Maybe for N scale.

Edit.....,
Never mind I forgot about your plans.

[Reckers]

No prob. That's my stained-glass assembly table, reassembled to be a sub-assembly board. You're right, it's waaaaay too small! I need to move all those boxes out to get some real space going!

[tjcruiser]

Nice ...

That butcher block table looks incredibly sturdy, and the plywood table looks big.

Looks like the Grand Continental S Railroad has found a home!

Thanks for the pics ... keep us posted!

TJ

[Reckers]

It's not coming together yet, but I'm gradually creating space for it to do so. A few more weeks of sorting/discarding will free up some more space. I'm going to have to start parting with some of my tools to make room, though---living in the city now, there's not much chance I'll need log-splitting wedges, log chains, a grease gun or cant hook. Things going out mean space, inside!

[Stillakid]

Reckers, you had me thinking that you were getting a, "Raw", unfinished area. Compared to my "assumption", it's a "Palace!":D

You, are going to have, "so, much, fun!":D:D

I can just see those engines flying and the sounds of a, "Real Railroad", with "Chugging Engines", all, "Choo-Chooing & Smoking" away!!!:laugh::laugh:

Can't wait to see the progress:thumbsup:

[Reckers]

Thanks, Jim. It's going to take a while to empty it all out, but I'm working on it. I keep finding out I 'need' to take the lil lady shopping. Just as well, as I'd probably kill myself working down there if she didn't drag me away. Got about 6 boxes completely emptied yesterday afternoon, another few relocated---the pile is slowly working down.

[tjcruiser]

" ... or cant hook."


I KNEW it! So THAT's what you used to do in your spare time, you gigolo, you!

:laugh::laugh::laugh:

[Reckers]

*BOL*....you caught me. I'm a man of low degree!

[MacDaddy55]

Reck........thats not a Man Cave.......its the Taj Mahal! Is that carpet I see through the Debris Field. There has got to be a thread for "What's in Your Man Cave"!:D That Frig is gonna be your savior at some point and thank goodness your GF marked those boxes or you'd never find anything!:laugh:

[Boston&Maine]

It needs moar trains and less boxes!

[Reckers]

Mac, that is not only carpet---it was freshly steam-cleaned before I moved in and is thick and comfy. As for the boxes being marked, that's a story in itself. Being anal about moving and the loss of everything, I discussed that with her, beforehand. "Mark every box with what's in it and where is it to go in the house. Mark it that way on the top, one short end and one long end. That way, no matter how it's stacked, we should be able to see what's in it." I'm now going through boxes carefully marked "Basement" on top, one long side and one short side. Nothing else---just "Basement". *L* Some of the message did not get across!

[Reckers]

B&M, I agree! However, I worked another 8 or so boxes out today, plus moving another six out of harms way (framed pictures she dumped in my basement!). I now have all the stained glass safely on the shelf beneath the table and the top of the 8x10 cleared. All train stuff is either on the workbench or on shelves in the built-in entertainment center, for safety. Transformers are all unpacked, as are the train tools. I spent this morning hanging pictures all over the first floor, so the ground level and upstairs are pretty much together. The only thing that stands between me and getting more train time is the yard-work. Who'd have thought a girl raised in urban Scranton, PA, would turn into a gardening/landscaping fiend? We spent half the afternoon shopping for lawn decor!!! Friday, she went out and bought 5 bags of mulch---that was to go with the 16 bags of stones and the 5 of sand previously dumped. The place is looking pretty good, though!

[choo choo]

That's a really nice train space, and you deserve it, Reck. :)

My "man cave" is literally a cave... and I'm still digging. :rolleyes:

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b90/compost_bin/Train/IMG_3658.jpg

[tjcruiser]

Jeez, Greg ... did ya' hit China yet ???

Seriously, what gives? Drop floor / slab-height to gain needed headroom?

TJ

[choo choo]

The land we built our house on is sloped, so at one end the concrete footings extend 5 feet above grade, and at the other side, they're up about a foot and a half...

...so I'm basically excavating and levelling the "floor" down to about 6 feet. The potential space for this section of footing is about 16' X 24', so I'm earning the right to have a mining train.

It's like the Great Escape. My wife creates a diversion while I jackhammer, and then we both walk around the yard scattering dirt down our pantlegs so the guards don't notice. ;)

[Boston&Maine]

That's a really nice train space, and you deserve it, Reck. :)

My "man cave" is literally a cave... and I'm still digging. :rolleyes:

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b90/compost_bin/Train/IMG_3658.jpg

The topic of man caves and this picture screams motivational poster to me :D

[tjcruiser]

It's like the Great Escape. My wife creates a diversion while I jackhammer, and then we both walk around the yard scattering dirt down our pantlegs so the guards don't notice.


OMG ... that's TOO funny! You DO have your work cut our for you ... one shovel at a time.

That'll be a nice space ... but did you ever think of slippin' the foundation / footing guys a couple of C-notes to have them dig the hole for you in the first place?

Good luck ... inch by inch!

TJ

[choo choo]

...did you ever think of slippin' the foundation / footing guys a couple of C-notes to have them dig the hole for you in the first place?

That would have raised the property taxes... ;)

[MacDaddy55]

Hey Choo Choo......did you ever see the old Cary Grant Movie "Arsenic and Old Lace"?:laugh: You should watch it ......Yellow Fever Victims at the Panama Canal!!!:laugh:

[Reckers]

That's a really nice train space, and you deserve it, Reck. :)

My "man cave" is literally a cave... and I'm still digging. :rolleyes:

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b90/compost_bin/Train/IMG_3658.jpg

Thank you, Choo Choo! Yours is down there, somewhere...keep digging and you'll find it!
Seriously, though---I am really fortunate. Both in the Man Cave, and in the friends I've made here.:thumbsup:

[tjcruiser]

He's just hoping to strike it rich ... gold, oil, diamonds ... whatever ... anything that will help pay the bills to BUY MORE TRAINS!

(Greg, just remember your lowly friends here on the forum when DeBeers cuts you that big fat check!)

TJ

[TulsaFlyer]

That's a really nice train space, and you deserve it, Reck. :)

My "man cave" is literally a cave... and I'm still digging. :rolleyes:

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b90/compost_bin/Train/IMG_3658.jpg

Alright fess up!!
You're putting a pool under your house aren't you??:eek:


Jody

[bradimous1]

Alright fess up!!
You're putting a pool under your house aren't you??:eek:


Jody

NOW THAT WAS FUNNY!!!!! :laugh:

[big ed]

He's just hoping to strike it rich ... gold, oil, diamonds ... whatever ... anything that will help pay the bills to BUY MORE TRAINS!

(Greg, just remember your lowly friends here on the forum when DeBeers cuts you that big fat check!)

TJ

Better watch it......little Chinese people might start showing up.:laugh:

[Reckers]

Just to show it's not a lost cause...I just spent $100 on 2x4's and framing brackets to build the first table! My GF is taking a week in PA in June to visit the family, so I get 2 weekends and 5 evenings of building. Bring on the lumber!!!

[tjcruiser]

Reck,

I'm hearing some progress on your end ... that's good news!

My wife and kids are heading out of town to visit with her family in late July for 10 days. I (happily!) get to hold down the fort ... I have my very own list of "me projects" ... I can't wait!

TJ

[glgraphix]

So I take it we will see laying of track by July???? Good luck buddy, looks like your off to a great start

Kevin

[Reckers]

Thanks, Kevin and TJ. My girlfriend has swapped hours with others at work to facilitate the vacation/visit home, so she's working every weekend, now, till she flies out on the 11th or so. I need good weather to get it started. It's a lot easier to take a miter saw out on the deck and carry the lumber back up to it than to saw in the basement and track sawdust all over the place, then clean up. So, if next weekend is dry, the saw comes out and the wood starts getting chopped. I have enough wood to build the frame; will have to return to the store for plywood and pink foam. Does anyone have a suggestion on plywood thickness? The last table I built used 3/4", but that seems to be overkill, to me. Thanks again for all the encouragement!

[tjcruiser]

Reck,

Ply thickness depends on your intended frame support spacing. Do you have a frame "grid" pattern in mind yet? Larger frame-to-frame distance will dictate thicker ply, from a strength and stiffness standpoint. But 3/4" is pretty beefy ... I'd venture you could use that on 30" frame centers and be happy with the results. (Depends on how much weight you'll be putting on the ply, obviously.)

In considering the above, I'll throw out a little "panel design" engineering guideline ...

If you have a 1:1 panel (i.e., a square), the stress, strength, and stiffness is transfered in BOTH directions to all of the surrounding frames.

However, as a panel stretches in size to a 2:1 ratio, you reach a point where ALL of the stress, strength, and stiffness is transfered ONLY to the closer frames. I.e., there's no structure difference between a 24"x48" panel (a 2:1 ratio) and a 24"x96" panel (a 4:1 ratio).

The easiest example to envision is a floor joist system in a house ... typically joists on 16" centers, but long spans on each joist.

So, in thinking about your framing grid layout, points to remember:

1. 1:1 ratio panels are fine.

2. Moving in the direction of 2:1 panels is fine.

3. But if you've crossed beyond a 2:1 ratio, there's no need to add lengthwise subdivision (i.e., if you have a 4:1 panel, splitting it in half to 2:1 does nothing structurally).

I hope that makes just a little sense.

TJ

[Reckers]

TJ,

That makes perfect sense, and thank you. In brief, what I planned was a large rectangle of 2x4s, 12' x 5'. The top surface will be three panels of chipboard, each 4' wide by 5' long. Beneath, I was going to go with a 2x4 "floor joist" at each seam between the panels. In effect, each panel will rest on 1.75" at either end, and will share the narrow edge of a 2/4 joist with it's neighbor. By your description, I'll have a maximum distance of 23 1/8" from any given point to a supporting member. If I understand you correctly, that will be adequate.

Next question: plywood vs chipboard vs. what I call "splinterboard", since that's what it's composed of: is there a tendency of one of the three to warp more than the rest? I was going to go with 1/2" thickness, and the three seemed comparable, given the lack of weight they'll carry. I'm looking for any reason to avoid going with the cheapest of the three, so I'd appreciate anyone's input. Thanks!

[tjcruiser]

For comparable thickness, panel stiffness is affected by the fiber orientation and uniformity.

As you know, plywood has layers of wood veneer with the grain in alternating orientations ... typically 0-90-0-90-0 or similar. Depending on how the panel is supported, you'll have some fibers contributing to stiffness, and other going along for the ride. In a 1:1 frame, the 0's and 90's are both sharing load and contributing to stiffness. In a 4:1 frame, only the fiber orientation directed towards the more closely spaced supports is really taking the burden of load. All logical.

Chipboard is made by pressing RANDOM oriented wood chips together with resin. As such, there's no clear dominate fiber orientation or axis. Stiffness here would be best if you layed the chipboard on a 1:1 aspect ratio panel. I.e., because of the random fiber orientation, you hope that the panel stress will be directed to all perimeter frame supports.

I'm not sure exactly what you mean by "splinterboard".

However, you might also consider OSB -- ORIENTED Strand Board ... similar to chipboard, except here, ALL of the wood chips are oriented uniformly. It's kind of like a sheet of plywood with all 0-deg orientation plys. OSB can be a great cost-effective option, but if and only if you install it with the chip orientation pointed towards your shorter framing span. I.e., if you had a 24" x 48" panel, orient the OSB fibers directed in the 24" direction.

Without looking closely at costs, I'd speculate that OSB could be a good option if you consider fiber / framing, per above. I'd shy away from non-oriented chipboard. Plywood is more expensive, but can be quite stiff ... if you go this route, make sure you get core-filled ply, with no internal voids.

Another option is MDF ... Medium Density Fiberboard ... basically super-fine sawdust pressed and impregnated with a resin. It's very dimensionally stable, super-flat on its face, and about as stiff as OSB. Rather cheap, too. Downsides: it doesn't do well getting wet, and it doesn't have much "grab" if you try to drive a fastener (screw) into it.

Hope all this helps a bit!

TJ

[T-Man]

I prefer the MDF. The sound will just bounce off the other two.I have a piece of 3/4.

[Reckers]

Thank you both for taking the time to educate me! My "splinterboard" is probably OSB; I call it splinterboard because it looks like it was made the same way as chipboard, only with long splinters instead of chips. I'll look into the MDF. Thanks, again, for taking the time to help me!

[big ed]

Man you guys put a lot of thought into a table.:D

I just used plywood, 2x4's, screws and glue.:rolleyes:

Just build it all ready!:D:rolleyes:

[tjcruiser]

Ha ha ...

Ya' know ... ol' Big Ed's probably spot-on right ... for once!

TJ

[big ed]

Ha ha ...

Ya' know ... ol' Big Ed's probably spot-on right ... for once!

TJ


Take your chain saw go out in the back forty and cut down that big oak tree.:laugh:

4x6 oak planks ought to do it. use the remainder to make some real 2x4's for your legs and bracing.:D


It dosent have to be that strong........it's only going to hold S trains.:D:rolleyes:

[tjcruiser]

It dosent have to be that strong........it's only going to hold S trains.:D:rolleyes:


:laugh::laugh::laugh: :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

[T-Man]

Man you guys put a lot of thought into a table.:D

I just used plywood, 2x4's, screws and glue.:rolleyes:

Just build it all ready!:D:rolleyes:

Plywood is great if you want to amplify the sound. Some of the CTT guys just use 2 inch foam on a frame and run it around the room. I changed out my plywood out with some cull MDF. Just don't get caught breaking a corner off!

[Rocky Mountian]

Take .5 or even .25 plywood and with some 1 by 2's dado the thickness of eather half or quarter 45 all corners glue and finish nail. The 1 by 2's would make it fairly ridge.
What do you guys think?

[tjcruiser]

I said this somewhere on a recent post, but I'm not sure exactly where ...

If lightweight is important, you can achieve a very stiff and light panel by using thin "skins" (1/4" MDF, for example) fully glued and bonded to BOTH sides of rigid foam, say 2" thick or so. I.e., you're building a structural I-beam of sorts, with the working flanges (the MDF skin) separated away far away from a neutral axis by core or web. It's important that all internall panel-to-panel joints of the foam are glued to each other, too.

Here's an interested engineering-calc example ...

A "sandwich" of 1/4" MDF, 2"' foam, and 1/4" MDF has 18-times the stiffness of a single-skin 3/4" sheet of MDF alone ... 18-times!

A "sandwich" of 1/8" MDF, 2" foam, and 1/8" MDF has 8-times the stiffness of a single-skin 3/4" sheet of MDF alone, at essentially 1/3 the weight!

Same ratios are true for plywood, OSB, any homogeneous material.

So ... go make a sandwich!

TJ

[Reckers]

I'm thinkin' I'll play it safe and just get some sheets of 3/8" stainless steel....

[Stillakid]

Why not use a Ping Pong Table with foam? They're 9' x 5' and you can pick them up cheap at yard sales and 2nd hand stores:D

Notice how I used my favorite word, "Cheap!" :)

[big ed]

I'm thinkin' I'll play it safe and just get some sheets of 3/8" stainless steel....


stainless armored steel?:laugh:

[Reckers]

I'm gonna go with titanium plate. *L* Jim, the ping-pong table is a nice idea, but it's smaller than I'd like. I'm going 12 x 5 on the original layout and leaving room for the main line to run up one side to the next table. That one will probably be something like 8x6 or 8x8: she has a lot of motorific track!

[Reckers]

Well, the table is progressing. I now have a 12' x 5' top framed, up on legs and with side rails to brace the legs. Tomorrow, I plan to finish the "floor joists" that will support the top and throw the OSB top on. The frame and legs have passed the stress-test: I was able to take the inverted frame-and-legs and, in a space about 7' x 14' with a 7' ceiling and rotate it by myself to get it up on it's legs. I'll post a pic tomorrow, once the OSB is on it!

[Stillakid]

"I see that train a comin, it's rolling round the bend, and Reckers ain't seen sunshine, since, I don't know when". :laugh::laugh::laugh:

[tjcruiser]

Progress !!! :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

[Reckers]

Nice touch, Jim! TJ, I have two potted plants to "launch" in the front yard this morning---grass is all cut, dishes washed, window ac installed and it's just going on 11. That leaves me the rest of the afternoon to install about 4 joists and lay the OSB on top and shoot a few screws into it. At that point, it's gonna look like I have Kansas in my basement!

[big ed]

Nice touch, Jim! TJ, I have two potted plants to "launch" in the front yard this morning---grass is all cut, dishes washed, window ac installed and it's just going on 11. That leaves me the rest of the afternoon to install about 4 joists and lay the OSB on top and shoot a few screws into it. At that point, it's gonna look like I have Kansas in my basement!



Your pictures look great!:rolleyes:

[Reckers]

You wanted to see pics of Blackeyed Susans????

How about this pic?

http://i481.photobucket.com/albums/rr174/reckandstep/Model%20Railroading/6-13-10TrainTable003.jpg

Or this one? Dorothy caught the last train to Kansas: 5' x 12' of flatland!

http://i481.photobucket.com/albums/rr174/reckandstep/Model%20Railroading/6-13-10TrainTable002.jpg


Ironically...I have my table up exactly one year, to the date, after Anton started his table.

[choo choo]

Ok... now that you've converted your bed... where are you going to sleep?:laugh:

You're way ahead of me, Reck... I'm still jackhammering like a crazy coalminer and scattering dirt and rocks all over the yard. It's about 1/3 done so far. :)

[Reckers]

Take your time, Choo....it has to be a labor of love, and that means work on it when you feel like it. I had the luck of my girlfriend wanting us to leave the apartment for a house at a time when I was ready to start thinking about a layout. I told her we could rent any house that fit my requirements: the perfect basement with a house on top of it. Since she wanted a lawn, fenced yard, spare bedroom and dining room, it was pretty easy to get her to agree the upstairs was hers and the basement belonged to me. That would be a lot harder to achieve if we'd been living here for years.

That said, have you ever considered swapping your lady for a backhoe?

[tjcruiser]

Reck -- Table looks great ... I like your dedicated "S Layout" thread.

Greg -- Haven't you hit China / oil / diamonds or something yet???

On a serious / sad note, I heard that the true life gardener from the Great Escape WWII story passed away a few days ago, at the age of 97, I think. He's the guy who rigged his pant legs to slowly (without detection) scatter dirt from their tunnel digging all around the prison camp garden area. He never made it into the tunnel ... the Germans discovered the in-progress escape around person #87 or so ... he was #100+. Good thing, in retrospect ... most of the escapees were later found and killed.

Some life / story he had.

TJ

[Reckers]

Thank you, TJ. It's lighter-duty than my (smaller) glass bench, but as Ed pointed out, it's only gonna have S scale trains running around on it! The real challenge was the center: in the center of each long side, I have pairs of 6' horizontal 2x4's spliced to a vertical post. I put an extra cross-member under the table at this point to prevent the tendency of the long rails to hinge at this joint. Tons of screws and sheet-metal connectors to splice them. It turned out so solid that when I wanted to roll the whole thing up onto it's legs (before the OSB), I was able to rotate it all from one end, albeit carefully.