Wolf

For Graham Harrison and others. I'm sure others will add their tips.

a) always shape the flex track before fastening it down. Do no start
fixing it at one end and curving as you go.

b) make a track template of the design radius, a quarter circle is long
enough. Also make a transition template: make the true curve about 1/8
of a circle, and add a transition plus about 1 foot of straight at one
end. Use the templates to draw the location of the flex track on your
baseboard. If you make it of 6mm ply, you can use it as a jig to help
shape the track. The width of the template depends on your track base.
If you are using a ballast strip, make the template that width. If you
are laying the track directly on the baseboard, make the template as
wide as the sleepers. It will work for both left and right hand curves,
just flip it over. If you make several templates for different radii,
mark each one on both sides.

c) if a joint will fall on a curve, use railjoiners (fishplates) and
solder it before curving.

d) overbend the flex track when curving it. You want the flex track to
lie without straining to straighten out, especially where you need an
electrical gap. Curve it enough so that it will spring back to the curve
you want, instead of being held in place by the little bits of plastic
that stand in for rail fastenings.

e) when the flex track lies on the curve without straightening out,
offer up the adjoining piece, and mark the rails of one or both pieces
with a marker for cutting. Use a side cutter to cut the rail from the
top down, and rotating the cutter downwards slightly as you cut. This
will give near perfect vertical cut. The flat side of the cutter goes
against the good side of the cut. Dress the rail end with a small file.
NB: Wear eye protection, as the bit that's cut off can fly off at an
alarming velocity.

f) flex track takes a natural easement (transition), so make the pieces
long enough that they are straight for a foot or so before the nominal
start of curve.

g) gaps on curves are a problem, it's best to avoid them, but that's not
always possible. Some people use 3 or more PC sleepers either side of
the gap to hold the track firmly in place, and stagger the gaps. Others
(me too) overbend the flex track so that the rail is actually curved,
and not merely held to the curve by the sleepers. Cut the gap after the
track is fastened down.

h) solder the feed wire to the bottom of the rail, and drill a hole in
the trackbed to accommodate it. Neater than the wire soldered against
the outside of the rail. It's also easier to solder on the workbench.

i) keep all sleepers removed to accommodate soldering, rail joiners,
etc. Cut the fastenings off, and you can slide them under the rails to
fill in gaps in the sleeper strip.

j) a pair of pliers will do as a heatsink.

k) sight along the track at a low angle to check for straightness and
smooth curves. Adjust everything _before_ pinning and gluing.

Safety note: use only water-based latex acrylic glues for gluing
ballast strip, ballast, and track. Solvent glues are not only very bad
for your liver and brain, they also tend to warp the plastic sleeper strip.

HTH

Chris

Wolf wrote:
> For Graham Harrison and others. I'm sure others will add their tips.
>
> a) always shape the flex track before fastening it down. Do no start
> fixing it at one end and curving as you go.
>
> b) make a track template of the design radius, a quarter circle is long
> enough. Also make a transition template: make the true curve about 1/8
> of a circle, and add a transition plus about 1 foot of straight at one
> end. Use the templates to draw the location of the flex track on your
> baseboard.
Trackseta make a series of templates if you want to save some time.
If you make it of 6mm ply, you can use it as a jig to help
> shape the track. The width of the template depends on your track base.
> If you are using a ballast strip, make the template that width. If you
> are laying the track directly on the baseboard, make the template as
> wide as the sleepers. It will work for both left and right hand curves,
> just flip it over. If you make several templates for different radii,
> mark each one on both sides.
>
> c) if a joint will fall on a curve, use railjoiners (fishplates) and
> solder it before curving.
>
> d) overbend the flex track when curving it. You want the flex track to
> lie without straining to straighten out, especially where you need an
> electrical gap. Curve it enough so that it will spring back to the curve
> you want, instead of being held in place by the little bits of plastic
> that stand in for rail fastenings.
>
> e) when the flex track lies on the curve without straightening out,
> offer up the adjoining piece, and mark the rails of one or both pieces
> with a marker for cutting. Use a side cutter to cut the rail from the
> top down, and rotating the cutter downwards slightly as you cut. This
> will give near perfect vertical cut. The flat side of the cutter goes
> against the good side of the cut. Dress the rail end with a small file.
> NB: Wear eye protection, as the bit that's cut off can fly off at an
> alarming velocity.
>
> f) flex track takes a natural easement (transition), so make the pieces
> long enough that they are straight for a foot or so before the nominal
> start of curve.
>
> g) gaps on curves are a problem, it's best to avoid them, but that's not
> always possible. Some people use 3 or more PC sleepers either side of
> the gap to hold the track firmly in place, and stagger the gaps. Others
> (me too) overbend the flex track so that the rail is actually curved,
> and not merely held to the curve by the sleepers. Cut the gap after the
> track is fastened down.
>
> h) solder the feed wire to the bottom of the rail, and drill a hole in
> the trackbed to accommodate it. Neater than the wire soldered against
> the outside of the rail. It's also easier to solder on the workbench.
>
> i) keep all sleepers removed to accommodate soldering, rail joiners,
> etc. Cut the fastenings off, and you can slide them under the rails to
> fill in gaps in the sleeper strip.
>
> j) a pair of pliers will do as a heatsink.
>
> k) sight along the track at a low angle to check for straightness and
> smooth curves. Adjust everything _before_ pinning and gluing.
>
> Safety note: use only water-based latex acrylic glues for gluing
> ballast strip, ballast, and track. Solvent glues are not only very bad
> for your liver and brain, they also tend to warp the plastic sleeper strip.
>
> HTH
>

Graham Harrison

"Wolf" <ElLoboViejo@ruddy.moss> wrote in message
news:46af4cc4$0$30844$9a6e19ea@news.newshosting.co m...
> For Graham Harrison and others. I'm sure others will add their tips.
>
> a) always shape the flex track before fastening it down. Do no start
> fixing it at one end and curving as you go.
>
> b) make a track template of the design radius, a quarter circle is long
> enough. Also make a transition template: make the true curve about 1/8 of
> a circle, and add a transition plus about 1 foot of straight at one end.
> Use the templates to draw the location of the flex track on your
> baseboard. If you make it of 6mm ply, you can use it as a jig to help
> shape the track. The width of the template depends on your track base. If
> you are using a ballast strip, make the template that width. If you are
> laying the track directly on the baseboard, make the template as wide as
> the sleepers. It will work for both left and right hand curves, just flip
> it over. If you make several templates for different radii, mark each one
> on both sides.
>
> c) if a joint will fall on a curve, use railjoiners (fishplates) and
> solder it before curving.
>
> d) overbend the flex track when curving it. You want the flex track to lie
> without straining to straighten out, especially where you need an
> electrical gap. Curve it enough so that it will spring back to the curve
> you want, instead of being held in place by the little bits of plastic
> that stand in for rail fastenings.
>
> e) when the flex track lies on the curve without straightening out, offer
> up the adjoining piece, and mark the rails of one or both pieces with a
> marker for cutting. Use a side cutter to cut the rail from the top down,
> and rotating the cutter downwards slightly as you cut. This will give near
> perfect vertical cut. The flat side of the cutter goes against the good
> side of the cut. Dress the rail end with a small file. NB: Wear eye
> protection, as the bit that's cut off can fly off at an alarming velocity.
>
> f) flex track takes a natural easement (transition), so make the pieces
> long enough that they are straight for a foot or so before the nominal
> start of curve.
>
> g) gaps on curves are a problem, it's best to avoid them, but that's not
> always possible. Some people use 3 or more PC sleepers either side of the
> gap to hold the track firmly in place, and stagger the gaps. Others (me
> too) overbend the flex track so that the rail is actually curved, and not
> merely held to the curve by the sleepers. Cut the gap after the track is
> fastened down.
>
> h) solder the feed wire to the bottom of the rail, and drill a hole in the
> trackbed to accommodate it. Neater than the wire soldered against the
> outside of the rail. It's also easier to solder on the workbench.
>
> i) keep all sleepers removed to accommodate soldering, rail joiners, etc.
> Cut the fastenings off, and you can slide them under the rails to fill in
> gaps in the sleeper strip.
>
> j) a pair of pliers will do as a heatsink.
>
> k) sight along the track at a low angle to check for straightness and
> smooth curves. Adjust everything _before_ pinning and gluing.
>
> Safety note: use only water-based latex acrylic glues for gluing ballast
> strip, ballast, and track. Solvent glues are not only very bad for your
> liver and brain, they also tend to warp the plastic sleeper strip.
>
> HTH
>

Blimey! That's amazing. I can see I'm going to have to go to my local
model shop tomorrow and buy a (1!) piece of flex track so I get an even
better understanding.

I've printed out this, and all the other comments, thank you all.

John Firth

>> Safety note: use only water-based latex acrylic glues for gluing ballast
>> strip, ballast, and track. Solvent glues are not only very bad for your
>> liver and brain, they also tend to warp the plastic sleeper strip.
>>
>> HTH
>>

Do people actually use Solvent Glues for this? - I guess there are some.
The solvent doesn't doesn't actually warp the sleepers it will dissolve it .
Oh the toluene in the glue is a carcinoma as well .

Out of curiosity do you know a stockist for latex glues, never heard of them
used for modelmaking ( they may be in common use but that's just me having
not heard of it) . Doesn't it string rather a lot when you are trying to
apply it.? I know it's used for sealing sugar bags and cigarettes . I tend
to use a weak PVA glue which works.

John

Wolf

John Firth wrote:
>>> Safety note: use only water-based latex acrylic glues for gluing ballast
>>> strip, ballast, and track. Solvent glues are not only very bad for your
>>> liver and brain, they also tend to warp the plastic sleeper strip.
>>>
>>> HTH
>>>
>
> Do people actually use Solvent Glues for this? - I guess there are some.
> The solvent doesn't doesn't actually warp the sleepers it will dissolve it .
> Oh the toluene in the glue is a carcinoma as well .
>
> Out of curiosity do you know a stockist for latex glues, never heard of them
> used for modelmaking ( they may be in common use but that's just me having
> not heard of it) . Doesn't it string rather a lot when you are trying to
> apply it.? I know it's used for sealing sugar bags and cigarettes . I tend
> to use a weak PVA glue which works.
>
> John
>
>


Any DIY shop should carry both solvent- and water-based latex-acrylic
glues. They're used in place of nails to fasten panelling and such to
walls, etc. The heavy construction glues are a bit of a bother because
they tend to make thick blobs. I use a house brand produced for Home
Hardware/Building supplies here, it comes in 500ml cans. It's blue,
quite thin, and works nicely. I spread it with a flat wooden coffee
stirrer onto both surfaces to be glued. For use as a contact cement
(impact cement) let it dry to the touch, locate the work pieces, and
press in place. For gluing cork strip, wait for it to become tacky. It
will grab, but still allow a little adjustment. Pin down the cork strip,
and wait a day or so for the glue to cure. It's not a super strong
joint, but more than strong enough for layout building purposes. Works
especially well with styrofoam.

Glues are a subject worth investigating. Study what's available at the
DIY shop - you'll be amazed at the variety, and most of them can be used
for modelling purposes.

HTH