Handbuilt Turnouts - Insight Needed

With many of the commercial turnout manufacturers on an extended hiatus, I have decided to go the route of building my own turnouts. I bought supplies from Fast Tracks and watched a plethora of informational videos on building turnouts using paper templates. The downside, it is certainly a lot more difficult that it appears on video. All this trouble using templates really makes me consider spending the big bucks on the fancy aluminum jigs Fast Tracks offers. To the more experienced builders out there, what tips can you offer to help me get started? Should I bother trying to perfect template building or should I invest in some turnout fixtures? Does anyone know of any used fixtures that I could buy for less than retail? Really any information is helpful at this point.

 

You may want to try a jig or two to start with. Do not start with any expectations, the first couple of turnouts will not be very good. There is a learning curve. But after doing several more it does get easier and easier. And a little while after that, it is as easy as the videos.

 

I'm facing the same situation. One major manufacturer currently cannot not supply, a mother major manufacturer uses a European design and a mid major manufacturer seems to also be out of stock at most suppliers.

AFAIK, Central Valley doesn't make switch kits in N, so I assume Fast Tracks is the next best option for me too.

Sent from my LG-P930 using Tapatalk 2

 

David is correct. Using the paper templates is a lot easier after you have built some good turnouts.

I gave up on factory turnouts because of the wheel drop through the frogs and what I perceived as the non-scale wiggle and bump this imparted to rolling stock.

I bought the Fast Track jigs and my first turnout using them was a bit rough but functional. The second looked a bit better. The third was a keeper.

So, I don't think the learning curve was as steep as many other things in [hobby] life. Just follow the instuctions step-by-step and you'll be pleased at what you can do.

 

The jigs work well particularly if you don't have any experience. Rick is right about the tools for filing the points and frogs, they'll save a lot of frustration trying to get the angles correct. Buy enough extra rail and pc ties to make a few practice switches first. When you're done each one go over it with a gauge and a truck assembly to find any problems. Try to improve each time. Take plenty of time on the first few switches to test fit things.
After a while it gets easy to create switches that aren't commercially available. It took me three attempts to make a curved switch before I got one that I was satisfied with.

 

Building turnouts with paper templates is easy. Jigs are expensive. I think you would be better off to spend the money on a resistance soldering machine, not much more than a couple of jigs, and learning to use it. It makes the whole process so easy. I had an article published on using paper templates to scratchbuild turnouts that describes the process, but I don't remember when or where. Likely it was either MR or RMJ.

Bill PEarce

 

It's just amazing to me that in 2014 N scale modellers have this constant dilemma with turnouts. Why can't the major track manufacturers figure this out once and for all? This isn't rocket science. There has to be a way for a product with this much demand to find its way onto the marketplace.

 

jpaufsc,
If you do a search on handbuilt turnout here in TB you will find some excellent write ups form some really talented and knowledgeable folks.

 

Congratulations on your decision to start hand-building your own turnouts! Yup, it is a little intimidating, even with all the information that's available out there. As has been said, it'll take you a few turnouts before you get one you like from both a functional and a cosmetic aspect. It took me three and I started "rolling my own" in the early 1980's after reading Gordy Odegard's MR article on how to make N-scale code 40 turnouts and glue the rails to wooden ties using Goodyear Pliobond cement by cooking them on with your soldering iron! Mmmmm...I can still smell it!

I made a few jigs and fixtures out of hardwood and plywood to assist me with making frogs, but after about half a dozen turnouts, I discovered I didn't need them. All I needed were paper templates, which I got from the NMRA and which I made myself by doing "rubbings" on tracing paper of code 80 and code 70 commercial turnouts (there were no code 55 turnouts or code 40 turnouts).

The basic tools I used, and most of which I use today were these:
(1) A set of three three-point gauges, which are now available from Micro Engineering
(2) an NMRA N-scale Type I RP-2 Standards Gage (I have three of them)
(4) a 30 watt Realistic soldering iron with a wedge tip (with stand and sponge)
(5) a set of jeweler's files
(6) three sizes of fine ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ files (the "bad word" censoring software won't print the word that means "Person with an unknown father" and starts with a "B")
(7) sharp flush cutters
(8) small flat-nose pliers
(9) a thin 12" metal ruler (straightedge)
(10) a Dremel rotary grinder with medium grit sanding disks and arbor
(11) masking tape
(12) two types of SS pointy tweezers (curved and straight)
(13) an X-acto knife with sharp #11 blades
(14) an HB pencil with pink eraser
(15) a soft Bright Boy track cleaner
(16) a sturdy workbench
(17) a good drafting light
(18) a jewelers brace (saw) and the finest blade I can find

I also bought a container of tip-tinning solution from Radio Shack, the finest solid-core solder I could find and later (after several really bad failed experiments) I ordered the best soldering flux in the world for making turnouts...Superior No. 30 Supersafe Soldering Flux (Gel) from here: http://www.ccis.com/home/hn/

I additionally bought some de-soldering copper wick mesh (fine) from Radio Shack to clean up any extra solder I was going to apply.

Later, I discovered that my old Craftsman grinder was really good and really fast at grinding away nickel silver, so I scratched lines on the tool rest according to what turnouts I was building and used this for most of my metal removal, dressing the front surfaces of the grinding wheels to get a pretty sharp corner, which I later would "dress" with a file.

Even later, I got a great deal on an American Beauty Resistance Soldering Station (250 watt) which I now use for much of my turnout soldering, but...it isn't NECESSARY...just nice to have and greatly aids in speed and accuracy since I can hold the piece and solder with the same tool at the same time.

The most important thing about making a turnout is that it works, and allows your trains to go through smoothly in either direction, with no tilts, noises or flange catching. The second most important thing is to make the closure points durable so they're not always breaking off the throwbar. And, thirdly, it might become important for you to make them look as realistic as you can...and you CAN make them look almost exactly like a real turnout if you want to expend the time and money to do so.

The main two skills you MUST have are a good knowledge of soldering, which includes using materials that won't corrode over time and ruin all your hard work, and joints that are strong and long lasting.

Using the the Supersafe Flux I recommend fixes the corrosion problem and will take your soldering to a whole new, better level.

Using thin solder will allow you to apply just the right amount of solder and not big globs...unless you want big globs.

Making sure the metals are clean (by rubbing them with the eraser on your HB pencil) and bright, and that your soldering iron is hot (30 watts is ideal) and the tip is clean and tinned EVERY TIME YOU SOLDER, will relieve a lot of headaches and frustration.

Nowadays, I print the paper templates available from Fast Tracks and Proto87 Stores, cut them about an eighth of an inch from the ends of the printed ties and tape them to my drafting table, or a wide, flat, smooth pine board for soldering up. In the mid-90's N-Scale magazine printed up a centerfold that was several diagrams of turnouts from the "Engineering and Maintenance of Way Cyclopedia", which was a real gift to me and getting my turnouts to look very prototypical. You can maybe still order the September/October 1994 issue from Platinum Rail Productions, but I believe it's way out of print. Here's that centerfold:


I find the Proto87 Stores templates to be the most informative, but Fast Tracks has more types of turnouts and diamonds available.

You'll find that at first, when you're soldering up your creation, that there are some places you do not want solder to go, such as on the insides of your stock rails where they're cut out for your closure points...because this keeps your points from working smoothly and closing completely against the stock rails. The easy way to make sure that solder doesn't go somewhere is to cover the area you don't want solder to creep onto with pencil markings. You can even just draw a heavy line and solder won't cross it on your PCB ties. At the closure point area, the pencil graphite also acts as a lube.

When you lay your PCB ties down, be aware that sometimes there's a burr on the edges. Just take a flat jewelers file to the edges and dress that burr right off. You don't want that especially in the closure point area because your closure point rails will catch on that "edge" if there's a burr there.

When cutting the copper away from your PCB ties, there is a temptation to put a slot right down the middle of each one of them. This looks pretty obvious, even after they're painted and weathered and a deep slot will weaken them a lot. I take an oval jeweler's file and file the copper away so there's no slot. I also file the copper away at various angles and widths so there's no "regularity" to attract your eye. Truthfully, the fiberglass doesn't have to be cut at all, just the copper removed. Dress the edges to get rid of any copper bits that might form a short.

Some model railroaders like to attach feeders to the copper cladding of the PCB ties. It's handy but remember that there's copper on the bottom of the tie too, and solder will flow along the feeder and sometimes solder the feeder to both the top and bottom of the PCB tie. This is okay unless you've soldered another feeder on the other end of the same tie! Dead short. So, I just gap both tops and bottoms of my PCB ties since sometimes I do apply feeders to them and I don't want to worry about "phantom" shorts (experience speaking!).

When soldering, I also flatten the ends of my solder with my flat-nosed pliers. This allows much greater control than with the solder's normal cylindrical cross-section and the flattened solder heats up much quicker. Just make sure your flat nosed pliers are clean and grease-free before doing this.

When constructing multiple turnouts in a monolithic unit (which almost ALL hand-layers eventually do), I slide on plastic ties that I've cannibalized from old flextrack on straight track sections where a normal length tie would be appropriate. Near the PCB ties, I cut the spacers from between the plastic ties so I can slide them back from the solder joint until it's cooled, then, I just slide them back in place. Here's a photo of a code 55 monolithic three-turnout construct for one of my UP style center siding ends. Notice that I use a lot of PCB ties for strength (my layout is portable) and you can see the ME ties I've slid on the appropriate trackage:


I isolate my frogs after they're soldered securely on the PCB ties by cutting the gaps in the rails with a jewler's brace and an ultra-fine saw blade. I make the frogs prototypically short, cutting the gaps essentially where the prototype frog would be bolted onto the rails. You'll find that if you build your frogs and guard rails to NMRA spec's, they are way too long and have no operational need to be that long. Use the Proto87 Stores templates or the centerfold I've supplied here to get the wing rail bends, frog lengths and guard rail lengths to a more prototypical proportion. Frankly, turnouts built to strict NMRA proportions look like narrow gauge turnouts in my opinion. Some of the NMRA's specs are not essential for a reliable, smooth-running turnout and there's no reason to not improve on them.

You'll find that the plastic ties on flextrack are higher than the PCB ties are by a few thousandths. You can cut card spacers or Styrene to compensate for this gap, but I just use gap-filling CA to glue my turnouts to my sanded cork roadbed. It's essential that your turnout's rails remain even with your track's railheads, so a few spacers of the appropriate thickness go a long way to insure this.

One recommendation that has merit is to go ahead and buy the jigs and fixtures for your most common turnout on your layout...which will probably be a #6, #7 or even a #8 depending on how much space you have. Then, build a few turnouts using the jig and get familiar with what it takes to make a reliable, durable and good-looking turnout...usually between three and six turnouts, then start making them off the paper templates. After you gain the knowledge, skills and confidence to make them from paper templates, sell the big aluminum fixture. Lots of modelers out there looking for used Fast Tracks fixtures.

Here's a photo on my layout at Echo (still under construction) of code 40 and code 55 hand-laid turnouts as well as hand-laid code 40 track. I could not have done this with commercial RTR turnouts because they aren't available either in the size I want or the rail code I want:


After having built 30 or so turnouts, I got to the point I could build them in around an hour and a half each. Installation takes me a little longer than installing RTR turnouts (on my friends' layouts) but mine run noticeably smoother, look more realistic and are more durable than the RTR turnouts I've installed (Atlas 55, ME 55, Atlas & Peco 80). So, the frustration at first was well worth the rewards I've gotten over the years of making my own.

Lastly (whew!) NEVER trust that your turnouts are electrically correct. ALWAYS test them with a ohmeter before you install them. If you don't do this, one day, you'll be sorry (believe me!).

Cheerio!
Bob Gilmore

 

Hey Bob,

Thanks for sharing that template image. Now I have to make a few of those #20 turnouts. Yahoo!

 

Haha!...Make sure ya post some photos! Cheerio! Bob Gilmore

 

I really enjoyed your post on building turnouts, Bob. Lots of good information and helpful hints.

I have bought a jig from FastTracks and gathered up all my stuff to start building turnouts. I am just fixing to give it a try.

I think I'll order some of the gel flux that you recommended. So you do not use rosin core solder with this flux?

Thanks,

 

I concur. I have been using the Supersafe flux for years.

 

looking at the supersafe flux. Which solder should be purchased with it?

 

Now we need you to figure out how to make the movable point frogs for those high speed #30 turnouts.

 

I have used the 96/4 Tin/Silver solder for years with excellent results with the Supersafe Flux. It's much stronger than the 60/40 Lead/Tin solder and works great with both my resistance soldering station as well as my trusty old Realistic 30 watt iron.

And no, using rosin core solder isn't a good idea when using Supersafe Flux and it's not needed. I've done it in a pinch, and everything seems to have worked okay, but my solder joints weren't nearly as clean, so it took some extra cleaning to get them nice and bright before installing my turnouts.

I'm always happy to assist anyone who is thinking about rolling their own turnouts. It's been one of the better parts of model railroading for me for many years.

Cheerio!
Bob Gilmore

 

Robert3985....i sent you a pm with a few questions....