Measure twice, cut once.

I was panicking a bit this week, trying to make detailed plans from drawings of the track plan I am using for my layout. Somehow my drawings just didn't match up with the original, no matter how hard I tried.

Then I looked more closely and saw that I was working from a width that was 6 inches too short, in two different spots.

Once I realized that, it all made a lot more sense. So I've now worked up the benchwork plan. The layout will be in 4 sections: Two that measure 2 feet by 6 feet-9 inches, and two measuring 3 feet by 4 feet.

I plan to get all the framing from 3-inch strips ripped from a single 4 x 8 x 1/2 inch sheet of birch plywood, using a combination of Jim Hediger's plywood frame in Basic Model Railroad Benchwork and the benchwork design that David Popp came up with for the Beer Line sectional layout. I will use self-leveling feet rather than casters. While the framework will be assembled with glue and nails, the legs will be bolted to the frame/table assembly. Angle braces and I-bar shaped lower cross braces also will be bolted in place. The point is to allow for easy moving of the finished layout to a new location as the opportunity and need arise.

The table tops will be 1/4-inch plywood topped with 2-inch insulation foam.

I'll make L-shaped legs, also from ripped plywood. The remaining as yet unsettled question is, how high do I want it? As I explained to DairyStateMom this evening, it's a matter of finding the height that optimizes ease of work with interest of angle in viewing.

But I will give myself some time on that question, and I won't buy the leg lumber in all likelihood until I have actually built the table tops themselves.