Hi Everyone,
I'm working on a large train table that currently has 3" railings made from 5/4" boards attached on their edges to the table. I attached the railings by driving wood screws through the bottom of the table and into the edges of the railing boards. The corners of the railings were attached using wood screws.
I've decided I need higher railings for the layout I'm planning to make. I don't have the bucks to buy a whole new set of wider 5/4" boards, so I bought some narrower (cheaper) 5/4" boards to add to the tops of the existing railings.
In other words, I want to stack 5/4" boards on their edges. I figured I could use splicing cleats of some kind.
I have some of those flat steel splicing plates used in construction. I can use those to attach the stacked boards to each other from the insides of the railings. It's pretty thin stuff, a lot more unobtrusive than wooden cleats would be. I'll be using pan head wood screws to attach the plates.
But now I'm wondering: is this really the best way to attach boards stacked on their edges to each other? Would it actually be better to drive wood screws all the way through the edges of the top board into the side of the bottom board? 5/4" board is thicker than 3/4" lumber, but not by much. As usual the dimensions are all really smaller than nominal because the lumber has been planed - so 5/4" board is slightly less than 1/2" thicker than 3/4" board.
Or is there some other, better way to attach boards stacked on their edges?
Thanks for your time,
I'm working on a large train table that currently has 3" railings made from 5/4" boards attached on their edges to the table. I attached the railings by driving wood screws through the bottom of the table and into the edges of the railing boards. The corners of the railings were attached using wood screws.
I've decided I need higher railings for the layout I'm planning to make. I don't have the bucks to buy a whole new set of wider 5/4" boards, so I bought some narrower (cheaper) 5/4" boards to add to the tops of the existing railings.
In other words, I want to stack 5/4" boards on their edges. I figured I could use splicing cleats of some kind.
I have some of those flat steel splicing plates used in construction. I can use those to attach the stacked boards to each other from the insides of the railings. It's pretty thin stuff, a lot more unobtrusive than wooden cleats would be. I'll be using pan head wood screws to attach the plates.
But now I'm wondering: is this really the best way to attach boards stacked on their edges to each other? Would it actually be better to drive wood screws all the way through the edges of the top board into the side of the bottom board? 5/4" board is thicker than 3/4" lumber, but not by much. As usual the dimensions are all really smaller than nominal because the lumber has been planed - so 5/4" board is slightly less than 1/2" thicker than 3/4" board.
Or is there some other, better way to attach boards stacked on their edges?
Thanks for your time,