Homasote vs pink foam board (NW Modeling List)

[NW Modeling List]

Frank:
 
Blessings on thee from a fellow dinosaur.  Tru-Scale (plain for  hand-laid 
or flex track and milled [after pre-staining] elsewhere) over Homasote  over 
plywood has been my construction recipe for more years than most of y'all  
have walked this earth.  I wouldn't seriously consider doing it any other  
way, one of the inevitable consequences of advancing "maturity."  Amen to  
the "knife blade" suggestion, which I follow.
 
I also swear by my Kadee spiker; of course, following along with a magnet  
to pick up the "droppings"is mandatory, but I learned that years ago.  
 
This is not to say that newer techniques won't work, sometimes even better, 
 and following this thread has been educational.  Thanks to all who  
contributed.
 
Dave Phelps 
 
 
In a message dated 5/7/2014 2:43:35 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
nw-modeling-list at nwhs.org writes:

 
A few more thoughts.  I have been using Homasote for years, and have  had 
excellent luck with it. (yes; it's findable online, but it is tougher  than 
it used to be).   Admitedly I'm using it between plywood and  Tru Scale 
subroadbed (I'm a dinosaur; that's another discussion), so the sound  insulation 
is more of a factor than spike holding (which is, as Gerard says,  
excellent; experience on other layouts).  Yep; dusk mask helps.  But  what really 
helps is using the knife (untoothed)blade in your jigsaw.   

And, from what I've learned from others:  for our purposes, if  there's a 
difference between the blue foam and the pink foam, we aren't sure  what it 
is.  For fastening the foam, Liquid Nails is very good, BUT,  there are (at 
least)two varieties of Liquid Nails.  One attacks the  foamboard like mad; 
get the other one.
 
Frank Bongiovanni



On Wed, May 7, 2014 at 9:54 AM, NW Modeling List 
<_nw-modeling-list at nwhs.org_ (mailto:nw-modeling-list at nwhs.org) > wrote:


 
 
 
 
 
Hi,


I still use Homasote and think it too often gets a bad  rap (sometimes by 
those who have little experience with it). Regardless...  the only reason to 
use Homosote is to hand lay track because of its  wonderful ability to take 
and hold spikes. If you are not hand laying track  there is very little if 
any reason to go to the bother, expense, and mess of  using it. The 
difficulties and the terrible mess involved in cutting  Homosoate are not just 
hyperbole and wearing a mask is a necessity as is  having a place to cut outside. 
The dust created is like a a talcum powder  factory exploded near your table 
saw. You can purchase pre-cut sections  called Homoabed although I have 
heard that is harder to get of late because  of the manufacturer (not sure). 

If for track you are planning on  using Central Valley plastic tie strips, 
or some type of flex track, foam  will work fine and you can glue in cork or 
whatever for subroadbed. It is  also possible to glue wood or something 
similar to the underside of the foam  in small sections to attach switch 
machines. 


Good luck with  your project.


Best,


Gerard


Gerard J.  Fitzgerald

Charlottesville,  Virginia


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