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 Post subject: Substitute for Homasote
PostPosted: Fri Feb 21, 2014 11:31 am 
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Joined: Tue Mar 15, 2011 5:24 pm
Posts: 6
Location: Bracebridge, ON, Canada
I can't get Homasote where I live (Bracebridge, ON). Does anyone have a good substitute that is good for holding spikes?

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Dean Purcell
Bracebridge ON


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PostPosted: Sun Feb 23, 2014 10:29 pm 
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Joined: Tue Mar 15, 2011 5:24 pm
Posts: 6
Location: Bracebridge, ON, Canada
Well, to answer my own question...I experimented with a piece of Armstrong ceiling tile, the 12" x 12" type that is stapled to furring strips. Glued some ties down on it then spiked some rail to them with ME 1/4" spikes. Seems to work well! Next up I'll get some longer spikes and test out some N scale roadbed to see how that works. The tiles are 1/2" think and quite sturdy. Hopefully, gluing them to 1/4" ply will be sufficient. We shall see!

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Dean Purcell
Bracebridge ON


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PostPosted: Sat Jun 14, 2014 12:47 pm 
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Joined: Sun Jan 12, 2014 8:14 pm
Posts: 7
In my experience, homasote is really bad at holding spikes. They loosen up over time and then pop right out. And once in a while when they do they'll manage to get attracted by a motor magnet on your motive power. The problem is especially bad with flex track, where the spikes are the thing holding the curve in place and the lateral stresses gradually cause the spike hole in the homasote to widen.

After building two layouts where spikes came up a lot for these reasons, I gave up and switched to plywood and glue. Plywood is better structurally as well, as it doesn't sag nearly as badly as homasote does over time.

Just my two cents.


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