Well, see that confuses me. Why are you bothering to handbuild turnouts on a jig away from the layout? All you're doing is expending lots of effort to create sectional track turnouts yourself. The advantage of handlaying T/Os is found in the fact that they suit the trackplan by being created in place on the layout. If you use as jig, you throw away that advantage.
*chuckle* I do it for several reasons: I wanted turnouts of sizes I can't get from commercial vendors, namely a #12 switch. I've planned my layout with standard sizes (I don't need a 6.5, for example), just not sizes I can buy off the shelf. I find it faster to build them on the bench than in place. I find it easier to paint them on the bench than in place. I am going to use these on Ntrak modules, so durability is a huge concern. I think my soldering is better in the jig, and that by gluing them on the bench I get better glue joints to the other ties. Looks. Let's face it, any hand laid looks 1000 times better than a commercial Atlas or Peco. I really like these sorts of discussions. It's fun to find out what motivates other people, because we all want something different, and get something different out of the hobby.
Sorry for the delay guys, I got ahead of myself and had to get some homasote put down. I want to do both a straight and a curved turnout for this thread, since both are done a little different. Should be able to start on the straight one tonight. Absolutely As to your statement about pc board holding up better than spikes, I can't make an educated statement on that, but I'd guess that spiking would hold up just fine. I've found them to be quite strong. Spikes don't just "pop up and out" nor do they move much at all when driven all the way in. I'd be more afraid of a solder joint popping loose. Dave, in the past, I've done a quick shot of rattle can primer followed by a brownish black paint that I also use on the rest of the flextrack. You can also use a stain. Once you ballast and weather the track, these blend right in. -Mike
Mike, Thanks for inspiring me to try my hand at turnouts again.. I've done them before. But, on my own. This is a great thread!
I've definitely seen it happen at the club. Not so easy to repair when track has been ballasted either.
Just posting a few pics. All stuff I've built with PC ties and solder. Nn3: HOn30: Z: Standard drywall screw for size comparison. I don't think you will have a problem with solder joints breaking, if done right.
Ok guys, got some time tonight to continue. Doing the work and taking pictures of it eats up the time pretty fast. I also had to wait on a few more pieces of glued down homasote to dry. Anyhow, here is the area I'm working on. The main line comes in from the left. I'll then have a #10 right hand turnout that starts the siding. As the siding starts to curve, I'll then put in another turnout that curves back towards the #10, and into a spur track just below the main to serve an industry (where the ruler and pencil are sitting) We will work on the #10 first, and tackle the curved turnout later on. Most all the turnouts on my layout are standard sizes. So instead of drawing each one out, Fast Tracks has already done this hard work for us. They have a superb turnout library for standard sized turnouts. They are in .pdf and can be printed out full size. It is located here: Turnout Template Library I print out quite a few of each kind when I'm working on turnout locations on the layout. For this turnout, I've printed out the #10 template and cut the right hand turnout out. We'll be using this in a little bit. When you cut these out, keep as close as you can to the tie ends. Since I had already drawn the track center line on the wood subroadbed, I then transfer it up to the homasote. Now that I have my center line, I position the paper template into location. Keep an eye on both the straight route and the diverging route so they line up with the rest of your roadbed/track. Once you are happy with the location of the turnout, take a ruler and draw the diverging route's center line. The paper templates have the track center lines on them to help line everything up. If you are using any sort of under the table switch machine, make sure you are not putting the throwbar/points area over any benchwork. With the paper template still in position, mark each end of the turnout. By marking each end, we'll know where to set the ties to get them back into the correct position. Another thing I like to do is mark the throwbar location, since this is a pretty important area of the turnout. next post is setting up the wood ties in the jig. -Mike
Before I get too far ahead, here is a picture with the turnout terminology. I'll be referring to all the rails of the turnout by their proper names, so this should help you guys out if you don't know them already. =) Ok, now that we have all the lines drawn, we'll take the paper template back to the tie jig. With my jig, I always start on the right side and put the ties in heading to the left. On the top, I've marked where most of the turnout sizes I use end at. For this one, I'll set the paper template in place on the tie jig and start putting in ties. Looking at the left side of the turnout in the previous picture, I put down 4 regular sized (8'6") ties. Then skip Two tie slots. These skipped ties are the headblock ties which will go in later. Then I put in 6 more regular sized ties. Finish the rest off with 16' ties. Once all the ties are in place, I use common brown masking tape and carefully put the tape down on top of the ties. Make sure you don't move any ties out of alignment! Leave enough tape hanging over each side so you can pick up the assembly without touching the ties. It should now look like this. Now we can take the whole thing back to the layout and set it into position. I take and center the throwbar lines I drew on the homasote between the 2 absent tie area. To finalize the position of the turnout, we'll need to find centerline on the assembly. Measure and then mark the centerline. Note the pencil dot in the previous picture. Now line up the mark made on the tie assembly to the centerline on the roadbed and push the masking tape on the "fat" side of the turnout firmly down on the homasote. -Mike
Keep forgetting that TB only allows 4 pictures per post. Ok, the turnout should look like this now. Now that the ties are ready to be glued down, we have one more thing to do. Since the throwbar needs to have a smooth surface to slide back and fourth on, we'll take some masking tape and cut a piece out just big enough to fit in the throwbar gap. This will prevent glue from getting in the way of the throwbar. Take and draw 2 marks on each edge of the ties that face the throwbar gap. This will let you know where to put the masking tape when the turnout is moved out of the way. Now take and lift up the "skinny" side of the turnout, making sure the tape stays put on the "fat" side. We don't want the turnout moving out of place. Roll the ties back on themselves and put the piece of masking tape into position in the throwbar gap. Roll the ties back down, line up the centerline marks, and check to see that the protective piece of masking tape is clear of the surrounding ties. If all is good, undo the "skinny" side again, and roll the entire tie assembly over to the "fat" side. This is where pushing down on the masking tape comes into play. We want to get all the ties out of the way but we don't want to lose our centerlines. I use Liquid Nails to secure all my flex track and ties. You can use whatever you want. I cover the entire area, including the piece of masking tape over the throwbar area. Once you have the entire area covered in glue, go ahead and roll the ties back over. Line up the centerlines again, and then sight down the turnout. Make sure all the ties are even. Once you are happy with them, secure the ties in place with clamps or something heavy placed on top and let dry. With the Liquid Nails, I can usually pull the tape off in about 15 minutes and start laying rail. Thats it for now, next up is the rails. -Mike
This is a great thread Mike. I have never considered hand laying my own turnouts but it is looking like a great idea so far. Nice easy to follow explainations and great photos. Thanks for sharing.
Are we about to start a flame war in a How To thread? I suggest we enjoy pastoolio's thread here as he sees fit to publish it. I'll delete the last four comments about the time factor as not relevant to getting the turnout in place. Everyone remain calm.
You forgot Number 6! 6. The layout isn't "permanent." When it's time to move on, these "sectional switches" can be taken up and recycled on the next layout - try that with a laid switch!!! The whole reason to make sectional switches is because they run between 25 and 20 bucks now for either a peco or a shinohara switch. The materials to make the same switch run about 5 bucks - So what if the rest is made up with a time investment!! Money saved is money earned!!
Thanks, Mike. This is exactly what I wanted to know when reading your blog on the OVS. I look forward to the next installments! Best, Ryebot.
Wow Flash, I didn't get to read them! I would have liked to respond. I figured I was going to get alot of negative feedback from the TB members about this thread. But I thank the members that have giving me positive comments. I never thought I would be one to hand lay anything since I wanted my layouts done ASAP. But once I tried it, I found I really enjoy building my own turnouts. Some might not. That is why I love this hobby. I can understand about the time factor. Most people don't have alot of time for their hobby, and doing something like this delays it even more. But like I said at the beginning, this is the trade off. It takes quite a bit of time and effort to have smooth flowing trackwork, but this is what I wanted with my layout. To each his own. Now I'm going to go "waste" more time by laying some rail. I hope to get another post in today. -Mike
I can tell you from recent threads--especially this one--I will be hand laying some turnouts in the fairly near future, something I would not have considered to be in my league. Onward and upward! Excellent work and awiating the next post. Jamie
I guess we're gonna need some tools to lay the rail huh? Here is a pic of the essentials. Pliers - Since we'll be using this tool the most, it should be a nice comfortable fit in your hand. Teeth are a must. Smooth pliers don't work good at all. Rail snips - Any kind of side cuts will work, but I prefer Xuron track cutters. A lot less filing. Small File - This can be any shape as long as one side is flat. Xacto Blade - We'll need to mark on the rail and this works great. Track gauge - Either a Micro Trains or a Micro Engineering work. Both are pictured. One will get you by, 2 will make life easier. NMRA Standards gauge - Optional. I don't use mine much. Truck with wheels - This is the most important tool to have. This will tell you where the problems are better than anything else. Soldering Iron (not pictured) - Pencil style works the best. Wattage isn't a big deal, since there is no plastic to melt. We will also need some PC board for the throwbar. Radio Shack sells small sheets of this that can be used to make your own, although its a pain to cut them out. Fast Tracks makes PC board ties, and this is what I've started using for my throwbars. N & Nn3 Scale, PC Board Ties - 1/32 [PB-N-S] They come in a bundle of 100. This is plenty, and you won't feel bad when you mess one up or break one, which will happen. The last thing is optional but highly recommended. Just makes life easier. Turnouts : Point Forming Jig These are point forming jigs made by Fast Tracks for code 40/55 rail. These will make the frog point and closure rail points for you. They take the guesswork out of filing the rails. As you can see in the link, they come in all sizes. No, you don't have to buy one for each sized turnout you want to do. All that is needed is to slide the rail a bit further out of the jig and file a bit more rail down for a larger turnout. (I'll show how to do this later) For instance, I bought a #8. With this, I can get up to a #12. It's not as precise as if I bought a #12, but it works just as good. I also bought a #6, since I was going to do quite a lot of this sized turnout. If you are only going to make small to medium sized turnouts, then a #6 will do you good. Fast Tracks makes great stuff, as I've had my point former jigs for years and have made tons of turnouts with them. They also sell most of the stuff I've listed which makes it convenient if you need to buy all this stuff at once. Ok, one last thing. The rail. You can purchase individual rail, but I prefer to use the rail from a piece of flextrack. Because I'm using Atlas code 55 flex for my layout, I wanted the turnouts to use the same rail and I also found it to be cheaper. Also, one piece of flex track contains enough rail to build TWO #8 turnouts. If any of you are keep track of the price of things, you can see that only doing a couple turnouts is not worth it. But if you have quite a few you want to do, then the price will come out cheaper than prefab. And the more you do, the cheaper it becomes. Ok, lets get back to the layout -Mike
Ben, I gave links for the stuff I use. Most stuff can be bought from Fast Tracks, which is up there where you are in Canada. What in particular did you need? -Mike
