Attaching Trestles to Wood


M

MikeL

Member
We have Bachmann EZ-Track and their trestles. The trestles have small holes to allow them to be nailed to the wood (we've got 3/4 inch 4 x 8 plywood). We got Atlas track nails (little ones - don't know what model # or designation), but it's almost impossible to nail them down.

Any suggestions on what to do with this problem? Anyone using Bachmann trestles and nailing them to (or screwing them down on ) wood?

I'm going to try Home Depot or equivalent for small screws to see if that might work, but any help would be greatly appreciated!
 
I would recommend against nailing them down, maybe use some white glue to affix them to the base. If you nail them down you may regret it later when you decise that the EZ track is no longer what you want to run on or when you decide to change your track plan.
 
Get some cheap latex caulk in a tube. It's cheap, strong, and can easily be removed by soaking it in some water.
 
OK - both good points and thanks. It occurred to me after writing the post that if I found some small screws, it would let me keept hem in one place, be removable later, and wouldn't make much of a mess on the wood..... Makes sense?
 
MikeL said:
but it's almost impossible to nail them down.

Any suggestions on what to do with this problem?
Click to expand...

I'd rather use caulk..

..but to answer your question, you can place (lightly push) the nail into position and use a pin punch with the hammer

BS565WB.jpg
 
I always had a heck of a hard time nailing track nails into plywood. I'd go with the caulk. Latex caulk rolls up into a ball or strings when you scrape it off - not messy at all in my experience.
 
I use 19ga. cad plated nails w/a small head to nail my track down. 1/2" long is enough length. Then I paint the heads w/flat black paint. But, like everyone else has said, cheap caulk or Elmers glue works real well. I glue all of my buildings to my plywood top w/Elmers & then when I want to move or remove the structure I just pry it up w/a wide screwdriver & the building will pop off w/out any damage. Don't use a lot of glue, just enough to hold it in place. I put some weights on it till it dries. About 12 to 18 hrs.
 
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