I decided to order the CMR 135' turntable after reviewing many articles on this kit. I ordered the kit from CMR in Baltimore MD. and it took four days to arrive via UPS in South Florida. The CMR 135' turntable kit was $115 plus $10 shipping and handling. I was told that this kit would take 16-18 hours hours to build and to take my time and not rush building it. This morning was a beautiful day in South Florida, so I decided to start this project outside on my deck in the enclosed pool area. The temp is 74 degrees and there is no humidity or threat of a hurricane. You can see the undamaged part of my pool enclosure after 2 major hurricanes and the peaceful setting behind the house. I decided to build this outside because the acrylic bonding agent needed to bond this acrylic kit. Adequate ventilation is absolutely necessary and this is an ideal place to start the CMR 135' turntable "in the open air". The kit came packaged in a well constructed box. The instructions were comprehensive and easy to follow. The parts were placed on two acrylic parts boards. These parts would have to be removed with a heavy duty exacto blade. For additional supplies to start with you will need an acrylic bonding agent; brush applicators and a syringe with different gauge needles to transport the bonding agent to the necessary acrylic parts. You will also need putty to fill in any voids and CA to bond other parts. Also needed will be a heavy duty X-Acto to cut out the acrylic parts from the frames of parts (2) and various rail nippers and craft tools There are different acrylic bonding agents available on the market to "bond" the parts in this turntable kit; Tenax-7R; PlastiStrut has a bonding agent and various commercial bonding agents used to build plastic display cases. I decided to use the latter for the reason that 4 ounces was $5.99 . as opposed to Tenax 7-R which is sold at $3.99/ounce. I then placed the circular turntable base on a work area and then proceeded to cut the 120 ties needed for the turntable base and rail guide from the parts board ( there are many extra ties if needed) . This took about 1 hour and 15 minutes to do. As I removed each tie section; I smoothed the end of each tie(the part that was attached to the acrylic parts board) with a very fine grit sandpaper to remove any flash. I then placed all the ties securely in the turntable base. Some fit easily and others were a snug fit. You must make sure that the ties are seated firmly in the turntable base. This photo shows the 120 ties placed on the turntable base. They are not bonded in position as of yet: The next photo shows the ties firmly in place in the base in a closeup shot: I contrasted the next photo to show the ties in relationship to the turntable base. The indented area is where the guide rail is to be placed: [ 13. November 2004, 17:51: Message edited by: Powersteamguy1790 ]
The next section of this kit deals with bonding the ties on the turntable base and placing the guide rail on the ties while they are not completely bonded to the turntable base. We continue with the CMR 135' turntable construction. I used the bonding liquid to bond the 120 ties to the turntable base. The ties must be COMPLETELY SEATED as you apply the bonding agent to the ties and turntable base. If the ties aren't completely seated the guide rail won't be in proper position. As the bonding agent is working you slide the guide rail throught the ties. At the 180 degree angle, you use rail nippers or a blade saw to cut the rail half way around. You then guide the remaining rail through the ties to complete the circle. You now have one rail with two cuts at 180 degrees apart. The cuts are about 1/16" wide. Here is are closeups of both cuts in the rail: At this point in the construction of the turntable; the guide rail must be luted to the turntable base with CA. I placed CA on both sides of the rail at the turntable base in between 120 ties with a common pin as an applicator. I will let the turntable base harden undisturbed for the next 24 hours... So far I been working on this kit for about 2 1/2 hours +. To be continued..... Stay cool and run steam..... [ 18. October 2004, 02:34: Message edited by: Powersteamguy1790 ]
I'm enjoying the construction Bob, keep us posted. I also love the view out your backyard! Interesting that the parts are all clear acrylic plastic. Do you find working with see-through parts any more or less difficult than average grey plastic?
Thanks Chris... It is a wonderful view to look at all the time. Most of the rooms in the house have all or part of this view. Florida sunsets are beautiful. This faces south west.... As for the turntable, it's not too difficult to work with that color as long as you have a darker background. The ties BTW, are the smallest parts. There are 120 ties for the turntable base and a smaller number of ties for the bridge. They provide you with rails to slide into the ties for the bridge track.. Stay cool and run steam......
A very interesting discussion! It will be fun to read your summary of how it all came together. And see how the time goes as compared to their statement. Boxcab E50
Bob For some reason I was under the impression that the CMR TT was in the 300.00 price range. At 115.00 it is affordable, and probably worth every penny. I will be closely following this thread. This will give me some incentive to do the desigb work on the track plan. There is a layout in the 101 layout book that was love at first sight. It was roughly 7X11 in HO. The layout name was the Baltimore & something. I would leave it as close to HO size as practicable. On the other side of the shop I have a space that is 40" by 14 feet. That would have the advantage of a long main line. It will also take a little less shop space. Decisions .......Decisions . Len
Today is a another beautiful day in South Florida.. It is a bit more humid outside and the temperature is about 82 degrees, but this is still the best place to work, especially with the "volatile" bonding agent that we must use. The turntable so far was completely "cured" overnight. It is about 24 hours after I finished working yesterday. The first thing I did today was to use a razor saw and redefine the two cuts I made in the guide rail at 180 degree intervals. The instructions say to measure two inches to the right of each cut and cut the guide rail again. This was done for any DCC installation that might be considered. I will hook up a Lenz reversing loop module to these two wires in the two inch cuts that I made. This will change the polarity for me when the turntable is operational. I then proceeded to drill four holes in the areas of the two inch cuts and other cuts for wiring to the guide rails. After the four holes were drilled in the turntable base, I use 22 gauge wire for the electrical connections. I bent the wire at approximately right angles, tinned the wire and rails and soldered the 22 gauge wire to the guide rail in the turntable base (using red and black wiring). Here is a closeup of the wiring. There is little room to work and tinning the rail and 22 gauge wire helps immensely before you solder. The next step is to build the pit wall. You must remove all parts from the parts board. The 1/16 " parts have to be removed carefully as they are quite thin. I broke one of the pieces but it was not a problem. You can build the pit wall directly on the turntable base or you could build it apart from the base and lute the final pit wall to the base of the turntable. I chose to build the pit wall directly to the base. I used some very fine sandpaper to smooth down any irregularities in the pit wall structures. Then I proceeded to build the pit wall, layer by layer, using the bonding agent after each layer. The wall must be lined up perfectly or else the bridge will interfere when it rotates. There is a scribed line on the turntable base to follow to get the correct position of the pit wall. The final height of the pit wall is about 10/16". The pit wall must be coursed like brick for strength. You overlap the starting point from one layer to the next. The final two layers are lipped, which should be raised enough for most road beds of the track to the turntable.. This photo will give you some perspective about the depth of the turntable pit to the turntable wall. I used a small screwdriver that I placed at the bottom of the pit. At this point in the CMR 135' turntable kit construction, I will let the walls of the turntable cure 24 hours before continuing. The next step is to construct the bridge. I'm about 4+ hours into the construction of the CMR turntable... Stay cool and run steam.. ...
E50: I'm not trying to rush with this kit.... It will take "as long as it takes".... The 16-18 hours is just to build the kit... I don't think that includes weathering the turntable which could take me another 5-6 hours to complete. Stay cool and run steam...
Len: The CMR 135' turntable kit is reasonably priced. The 105' turntable kit is $105. When I initially researched this over one year ago, the concensus was that it was really difficult to build. The hardest part was building the pit wall, which I didn't feel was difficult at all. You just had to line up the rims evenly; four rims to form a circle. There are four rims up and two additional rims to form the transition to the tracks leading to the turntable. It's just a matter of letting the bonding agent set for 24 hours. I could have started the bridge today, but 1 1/2 hours on the kit is enough for me. Have other things to do besides modeling the JJJ&E. Len: I'm glad that you found a trackplan you like. The JJJ&E is a modified HO trackplan. With the reverse loops I have a very long mainline as well. Stay cool and run steam....
This morning I continued to work on the CMR 135' Turntable kit. It was time to start building the bridge. The bridge parts were removed from the parts board. I bonded individually the interior braces, which keep the bridge girders properly spaced apart. There is a scribed line on the girder to show the position of each interior brace. Once one complete set of braces were bonded to the girder, I bonded the interior braces to the second bridge girder. The interior braces must be properly aligned and kept square to the girders. After the initial set I proceeded to glue the exterior ribs to the girder using CA cement. The exterior ribs were made out of a hard paper product. I think these exterior ribs should have been made out of acrylic as well. There are other detail parts that are also made of this paper product. These should have been made in acrylic. After the exterior ribs hardened to the girders, I glued the bridge trucks to the underside of the bridge girders. The Bridge truck assembly MUST be square and line up with ends of the girders. I tested the partially completed bridge frame in the turntable pit to make sure that there was proper clearance through the 360 degree circle. There were no problems with clearance. I added the top of the bridge platform to show you how that would look. The next step is to add the track rails to the bridge platform and to fabricate the wheel assembly and wire it underneath the bridge. So far this project has taken 6 hours up to this point. I will also add putty to the interior walls of the pit to remove any imperfections in the acrylic. I will closely examine the acrylic with some magnifying scopes to see if I have to putty the interior walls of the pit. I will use white putty for this step if necessary.. Stay cool and run steam.....
Thanks, Bob! This looks do-able! Maybe I haven't read carefuilly enough (no, probably....), but it seems the buildup of the pit provides rigidity for the table? That's been my biggest problem.
Pete: The finished pit has the feel of a heavy acrylic "serving tray", that's used as a vegetable platter. There is no "flex" whatsoever. The buildup of the pit and bonding with the bonding agent gives you essentially a "one piece" construction. The layering of the pit walls must be coursed like brickwork to give it strength. One mistake I made was the external ribs are "upside down". Can't get them off , so I reshaped the bottom part. I am also going to modify the walkway with some plasti-strut strips as well as in between the rails. The material they give you is a heavy "embossed" paper . I might cover the plasti-strut strips with the "detailed" paper. For the price of the kit, the exterior ribs, walkways, handrailings and coverings for the arch could have been in detailed acrylic. Mais, c'est la vie mon ami. Tonite, I luted the top of the bridge to the deck and used CA to bond the rails to the deck. I then used several gauges to make sure the rails are in gauge. After the CA sets up over night I fine tune the rails on the bridge deck. I think weathering this kit will take most of the time. I have some putty that I might use on the walls of the bridge to cover any irregularities. I have some of my dental spatulas that I used to mix cement and a glass slab for the putty. I'll put on some magnifying scopes tomorrow to see if I have to putty the walls. If not, I'll spray the pit first a light gray and then use a concrete color over the gray. The bridge, I plan to use a grimy black with the usual earth tone colors and some white to detail it. The only other complaint I have is the acrylic for the bridge and deck is too thin and can easily be broken. However that can be repaired with the bonding agent . The only thing left to do on this; is to do the "wheel assembly", wire it, and then complete the center shaft assembly along with the center archway and the Control Cab. The two inch sections to the right of each 180 degree cut is to power those two inch sections with a Lenz reverse loop module which will prevent the disruption of current and sound to the JJJ&E. I use a Lenz 100 system for DCC and have DSX sound only decoders on the JJJ&E. Well it's time to watch the Red-Sox game..... Stay cool and run steam......
Pete: Maybe this is the year.. Who knows...... Stay cool and run steam and root for the RedSox.......
The next step in the construction of the CMR turntable is to add the deck for the track to the bridge girders. The deck has to be snapped in place on the bridge girders in four places. Two didn't line up properly and that is a common experience according to the instructions. I then use a fine file to slightly shorten the male connectors of the bridge girders. Once that was accomplished the deck snapped in position and I bonded the deck to the bridge girders with the bonding agent. I then placed the two rails in position on the deck. There are small grooves that show you the exact placement. The rails were cemented in position with CA. As the cement was setting, I checked the rails with a gauge to make sure they were in proper gauge. I made a few adjustments at this time and I placed two gauge "spacers" on the rails which were provided in the kit. I modified the kit slightly by adding Evergreen strips along both walkways. After the bridge is airbrushed and weathered I will add the detailed heavy paper walk ways on top of the strips. There is also a detailed strip to place between the rails. I also added about 3/4 ounce of lead weight to each end of the bridge so that the wheel assemblies on each end will have proper contact with the guide rail below on the pit. The bridge itself was nicely weighted with the addition of the lead weights. I took these photo's quickly inside today as we having some pretty heavy thunderstorms this afternoon and I used the auto flash instead of a time exposure. You can see the rails in place and the two Evergreen plastic strips cemented in place. The next two photo's show the bottom of the bridge deck with the 3/4 ounce lead weights cemented in place on both sides. You can see the bridge trucks at each end of the bridge. The wheel assemblies will be attached to the bridge trucks. There are four wheel assemblies and I was missing one so the missing assembly is being mailed to me. I tapped three of the wheels into each brass axle in the meantime. I will properly start to airbrush the bridge a grimy black while waiting for the fourth wheel assembly. At this point I decided to putty the inside wall of the turntable pit with Squadron white putty. I'll let the putty dry overnight to completely harden and then smooth the putty walls with various grades of very fine sandpaper. I didn't take a photo of the unfinished putty wall of the turntable. So far I've been working on the CMR kit for about 8 hours now. The pit is finished except for the smoothing of the pit wall. The bridge is almost finished. I have to add the wheel assemblies and wire them. I then must build the center shaft assembly and add a center arch to the bridge as well as a control cab. Stay cool and run steam....
Yesterday afternoon, I applied Squadron white putty to the interior walls of the turntable pit. This was done to smooth out any irregularities in the pit wall. I let the putty dry overnight and this morning I started to smooth out the putty using some dental carving instruments that I still had in my possession. I also used very fine grits of sandpaper. You must be careful to remove enough of the putty to allow the bridge to turn freely in the pit. You can see the center of the bridge in the photo below resting on the turntable pit floor. The Evergreen strips are support for the detailed heavy paper walkway that will be added after the deck is air brushed and weathered The next photo shows the end of the bridge and it's relationship to the turntable deck. The bridge will be shimmed slightly, once the wheel assembly is put in place. The final photo's below shows the placement of the lead weights at the ends of the bridge assembly. This will provide the wheel assembly with more weight to contact the guide rail in the turntable pit. I will probably start the wheel assembies some time in the next day or two as I am waiting for a replacement assembly from CMR. I will try and air brush the bridge deck tomorrow.. So far this kit has taken about 9 1/2 hours to build up to this point . Smoothing down the putty took about an hour. Stay cool and run steam....
This morning I airbrushed the bridge of the CMR 135' turntable kit a grimy black. When that is dry I will airbrush a wash of earth, dust and windshield washer fluid on the bridge to create a thin layer of dust and grime. When that wash has dried I will dry brush different layers of rust and dirt deposits near the exterior ribs and other parts of the bridge. I still haven't received the fourth wheel assembly from CMR. Hopefully it will arrive by Monday or Tuesday. In the meantime I will probably air brush the pit with a primer and then use an aged concrete as the final color. I also plant to build the center shaft assembly and fit that to the bridge once I have the fourth wheel assembly in hand. I can also add the heavy paper detail parts to the walkways once the wheel assemblies and wiring is complete.. Stay cool and run steam....
