graeme3300 Posted February 4, 2013 Share Posted February 4, 2013 G'day Brian, Thanks for reminding me about the terminal block fittings. I'd forgotten the versatlity of these things which you've demonstrated so ably throughout this thread. Next time I'm at Jaycar I'll have to stock up on a few to experiment further. Cheers, Graeme Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barnaby Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 Great read here Gents. From your efforts so admirably shown in the previous posts I've used some of the choc-block technology described.to make my home made system much better in it's operation. I made my levers by using ready made stock brass hollow oblong section with a large aluminium top hat rivet [the ones used in a manual rivet gun] inserted and glued into one end to act as the handle. Simple, quick to make and easy to reproduce. The sizing I made to suit me and not look out of place with my 0 gauge layout I'm building, the brass is 1/4" x 1/8" length cut to suit but in my case 5" long. Then drill holes to suit for the pivot and another one for the push/pull rod fiting. I used some of my servo control surface CLEVISES from my RC aircraft days, they're cheap to buy. One of the earlier pics on here show them along with the snakes which they mate with. They also mate with cycle spokes which you can pick up for nothing from your local cycle repair man. I'll post a pic in here of the part finshed unit with a couple of the top hat rivets shortly. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gormo Posted February 8, 2013 Author Share Posted February 8, 2013 Hi Barnaby What a nice piece of work.........your lever frame looks the real deal.........I look forward to further pics and details. Cheers Gormo Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gormo Posted June 8, 2013 Author Share Posted June 8, 2013 G`day Folks, It`s been a while since this topic has had a posting, possibly because it has mostly run it`s course. The reason I am updating the topic is because my railway is finally under construction.During the course of the day, I fitted the lever frame under the base board and I thought it may be of interest to some folk to see the thing actually in place. There will be a fascia added to the front edge of the baseboards that will butt up to the outside edges of the frame housing and consequently it will also hide the racking and any imperfections in the re-used materials I have employed in base board construction. Cheers Gormo Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gormo Posted March 6, 2014 Author Share Posted March 6, 2014 G`day Folks, Long time no update.!! Well I have been busy laying track and generally moving towards an operational railway. I am now at the stage where I have to start connecting up the point control system. The first frame of ten levers is now connected and working effectively. The first pic shows a fan of rods leaving the frame and heading south to meet bellcranks etc. The next one shows where it is starting to become interesting, with rods overlapping other rods and making connections with various bellcranks. You may notice also some Meccano adapted to change the direction of throw. Picture # 3 shows an interesting setup where the rod through the hinge has been bent to 180 degrees. I have found that if the last bellcrank before the hinge is too close, it will restrict free movement of the rod through the hinge. This happens because the bellcrank not only moves the rod backwards and forwards, but also to a lesser extent, sideways. If the bellcrank is moved away from the hinge, the sideways movement is absorbed by the flex in the rod and therefore won`t restrict movement.If , however, there is no option but to have the crank close to the hinge, the hinge has to be opened out a little to allow the rod some more movement. The next pic shows a similar approach to the issue of space Micro switches are also being used to operate LED`s on the control panel and in some cases to change frog polarity as well. I will insert a YouTube video to give a better overall view of the system as it stands at the moment. Cheers Gormo Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin parks Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 Hi Brian, Thanks for sharing those pictures and the video of your point control work. It looks very robust and I am thinking of using a system of manual point control form my next layout too. The use of roller micro switches combined with the mechanical parts would appear to simplify the wiring, which is always a good thing. Very inspiring! Colin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gormo Posted June 27, 2014 Author Share Posted June 27, 2014 Hi Brian, Thanks for sharing those pictures and the video of your point control work. It looks very robust and I am thinking of using a system of manual point control form my next layout too. The use of roller micro switches combined with the mechanical parts would appear to simplify the wiring, which is always a good thing. Very inspiring! Colin Hi Colin, No problem mate......I`m glad you liked it.....good luck with your project Cheers Gormo Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
class37418stag Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 Metal rod and connect of join by where from by I want buy and make myself for layout Thank you Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gormo Posted June 16, 2015 Author Share Posted June 16, 2015 Metal rod and connect of join by where from by I want buy and make myself for layout Thank you Hello, The metal rod is wire coat hanger as used by dry cleaners. Very cheap.....cut it yourself with plyers or bolt cutter. The joiners are choc block inners available from electrical retailers or hardware stores. Cheers Gormo Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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