As I mentioned in the previous post, I wanted to save that plywood 24" radius curve I'd already cut out as a template for cutting out a duplicate. But the new piece would need a nice 24" radius centerline. Hmmm... how to do that.....
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSxJNZ1OXXbQEzRkbPJjou4UtnRR14IOsjuy4-PS01kfETdgE2kUwC7qg2i0Q10nGxIDKtaIUMUMEDD6xJp-7qK_4d_PrW8EPZvbQDZvoHS4mq8kT41hlfH6-n6ZJuEUzV_9gSIaAeJpw/s400/IMG_5442.JPG) |
Turns out, it was easy - just a matter of having someplace to anchor your trammel, and somewhere to position your subroadbed for marking. Incidentally, my trammel is just a yardstick with a screw at one end and a pencil-in-a-hole at my desired radius. I've seen variations of this where the pencil is guided by a binder clip clamped onto the yardstick (so you can clamp it anywhere you want). |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0h0dIDxVXEu6MRjACem_59gQ0IE_I9KgNJ5L5gaGDJQiORaKra9YkzzClHl7dlpQvIH6FEjewegzSyE51XtzkdWTqILIIe1gv7EZ4DZxENa_cqSk8yUEEfVYyeyOY07NphAXsVaxfNeM/s400/IMG_5443.JPG) |
My subroadbed curve needed about 6" of tangent to get to the doorway, so I offset my tangent line from the curve centerline and freehanded a short easement as above. |
Next, I marked the edges of the subroadbed so I'd know where to cut. Normally, this doesn't have to be that precise, but I may have this track be on top of a fill, so I didn't want excess subroadbed "overhanging" too much, needing to be trimmed later. Based on some quick research, I determined that 2 1/2" is the correct width for the top of an HO scale, single-track fill. Thus, I needed to cut at 1 1/4" from either side of my centerline.
One way to do that is to use a compass - put the point on the centerline and the pencil 1 1/4" out. But I didn't have a compass handy, so I used my ruler . . .
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEichT717bY2Kbymuolm0tTaznFtr8vSyFmleWRW_HOWxHfWa4MRlMrpRLNHxhQWVapOLfdxwxDzF63xQ34MMiNlUQrL8ugrPYeXAQxeKtI2fVPXnacCFZlEy39NEQBjHn-tZ_wRDICc_3Y/s400/IMG_5446.JPG) |
Pro Tip - Turns out, two of the holes are spaced exactly 1 1/4" apart. So it was only a matter of putting my Sharpie in one hole and guiding the ruler along the line, using the other hole as a window. Alternatively, you could just follow the centerline with any marking on the ruler to get a different distance. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfk3tQ7I1J6lSfs0aCFj5ZbH8VUcFIy6NaUE4_IDN_CbD6l_T19delvwxakaxjotJGWejNwdH48vmO6konzpTinTSrBq7hQYSPbzAS2Wj__4GJF0BezOjHRlXstssihS05bvy6ajxJiNs/s400/IMG_5447.JPG) |
Here's the subroadbed, ready for cutting. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2DOJGgaDnzUFsdffpuhx9GZyJJWkAaNk2zrkFDOpJopiC-Wbl8MzzCZ8u75qt3AIl4LFovz6vjHaNZUG7RO6_4qPgbBI9jekgc-CIa8ms9JNQZ88Vu896tl9ixzyLJugaQaW7jICQArE/s400/IMG_5449.JPG) |
Pro Tip: Cover any models & track BEFORE you cut - especially if your staging yard is in your shop. Ask me how I know.... |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHu_IkECKaMXk7BpHiV_PxZlPrEhIcK-03gKHqg9n8qCmbDIWBraTeJEWhsQJ2faNuEKGZw7Mf8mIj3rFbBPfxBlPMUvIhMQPMlAAL-MpcGfvlZeSsC2IjoiqPll9_qX3tdUHxxfJLHi8/s400/IMG_5451.JPG) |
After my nice S curve was cut out and spliced to my 24" curve (using a plywood splice that is 4x longer than the width of my subroadbed), I glued down cork roadbed following my centerline and tacked it in place to dry overnight. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpqSLhz6uMHiAtNtx9Dh7S7mO2u6FiJQkJhe4Npb781qqgmIWEAaAeh8dtzFJPjRH6S1sGIkoVkLuBCQVhsZjJWvgDZ6dAljcwV2AR4G8JYy9marTJaekkgiwSCgMm4O6WGByigCXP-Vs/s400/IMG_5583.JPG) |
Now comes the fun part - installing the subroadbed/roadbed. It's just a matter of placing it in place, leveling it out, and screwing it all together. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnWaRWHNmmDc6IYRJXjCxcuZEdQPmpG7D_pjfXqGjX_CdA-tNPKImTitABCbQ0VaWqIS5C4XUCE8gv9yMnGyvcImRYk6_t_Uv2Agbhx-027V4tGzZrDplMJRAmtxEU4TPepZxF7uTpc9Y/s400/IMG_5444.JPG) |
But be sure you know where your risers are going beforehand! I guess I could have just used a block of wood as a riser on top of the plywood here, but I like how easy traditional risers are to adjust. So I cut out a section to allow use of a traditional riser. Just remember to cut out enough so you can still screw it into the subroadbed from below! |
Now that the subroadbed is up to and through the wall, it's time to deal with the doorway and dropdown. . . .
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