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Tandem Queries & Scissors slip-up


Ian Smeeton
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Paisley St James' fiddle yard is now complete, although not yet wired.

 

Focus (through my bifocals) has now transferred to the main station boards.

 

Temperature in the shed is too low for prolonged exposure not to result in exposure, so (temporary) permission has been granted to work on the dining room table.

 

Not wishing to push my luck with Mission Control, rather than bringing in a complete 4' X 3' baseboard into the Domestic batleground, I reckoned that my best bet was to bring in a work board, and start work on the more complex switch & crossing arrangements.

 

Namely, one Diamond crossing, one single slip, and a scissors crossing complex.

 

I did start the Scissors crossing a few weeks ago, however discretion turned out to be a better option than valour, (and I re read the relevant chapter in the Track Book), so the first atttempt has been put to one side awaiting component recovery.

 

Attention turned to the Diamond Crossing. More bite sized than a full appetites' worth.

 

I followed others advice, and used Pritt Stick to attach the Crossing Timbers to the Templot plan, however, they did not stick as well as I had hoped, and Double sided tape was substituted.

 

A razor saw was used to gap the sleepers, hopefully in all the right places.

 

What really made life a lot easier, was a couple of pieces of 0.5 X 3 X 250mm brass strip from Eileens Emporium. I wish that I had bought these before the first attempt on the scissors.

 

Dress making pins, bulldog clips, and a judicious use of Anglo Saxon as well as flux hepled the solder flow well.

 

post-89-0-22220600-1515940871_thumb.jpg

 

Quite pleased with this, although a couple of the check-rail gaps will have to be eased slightly, and I will have to make a couple of rail breaks.

 

Next up is the single slip.

 

Any advice before I start?

 

Regards

 

Ian

 

Edited by Ian Smeeton
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Anglo Saxon often helps my track building however the bottom right check rail looks wrong

 

excellent effort though

 

Nick

 

There is currently a world wide shortage of Anglo Saxon. I may have to use something stronger.

 

Why is it, that even after looking at the completed article, and a large photo of it, it takes someone else to point out the 'bleedin' obvious'!

 

I will revisit the offensive check rail.

 

Onwards

 

Single slip progress:

 

post-89-0-73123000-1515943772_thumb.jpg

 

Timbers laid. Better result with Pritt stick this time. Despite being clamped up overnight, a couple still came adrift, however a little more glue cured that.

 

(That reminds me, I did send one of my barmaids to the local shop for some Pritt stick a few years ago. I forgot that her hearing was not the best. She, a redhead, returned with face flaming as much as her hair, slammed the offensive article on the bar for me, and shouted,

 

" Its called PRITT stick, you b@st@rd!")

 

Timbers now gapped in (most) of the right places.

 

Pub calls, so probably no more for today.

 

Regards

 

Ian

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I know it adds some time to the build, but filling the saw cut gaps in the sleepers with Milliput, then sanding it down and painting them (after completion), makes a big difference in the final appearance of the track.

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Rather than use a fine saw i now make insulation cuts in c/c sleepers with a scalpel. One cut (at a slight angle is best) followed by another next to it removes a sliver of the copper and produces a gap that is only the depth of the copper and often doesn't show at all after the track is painted.

 

Izzy

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I used to try filing a gap with a round file, to produce a gentle dip, but it gave very variable results, and often left an almost invisible piece of copper at one edge that caused a short. It would be good to check all your gapped sleepers with a circuit tester before adding the rail to find any such shorts and sort them out,

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If you use Pritt stick in the silver tube you should not have any non sticking problems.

The silver is also water soluble so when constructing in copper clad you can remove the paper in the shower / bath with a nail brush.

 

If you have a resistance soldering unit it is good at blowing any wisps of copper away.

 

Gordon A

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I agree with Izzy about the cuts except that I use a Stanley knife (a finescale Stanley knife!). All cuts are made prior to putting the sleepers on the plan. The knife gives a very clean V cut and I've never had shorts as a result of stray copper.

The Templot plans can be printed out onto A4 self-adhesive labels and then stuck to an offcut of MDF or ply. PCB sleepers can then be glued to the plan using ordinary PVA.

In 2mm scale it can be advantageous to build larger sections than individual components. The individual approach is a bit of a hangover from larger scales where the greater size of everything tends to preclude building larger sections. Using Templot everything will go back exactly in its place on the plan stuck to the actual baseboard, also printed onto A4 labels.

After all the soldering is complete I run cold water into the bath where it is joined by the track stuck to its piece of board. Leave it for a couple of hours and when you come back the track will lift away from the template as the water has attacked the glue joint of sleepers to paper. Good test of your solder joints as well! Attack track with toothbrush and Cif.

Later it will be down to the infinitely boring job of filling all those gaps in the sleepers. 

I've attached some snaps of track built as described above.

 

post-9616-0-23870000-1516026077_thumb.jpg

 

post-9616-0-06638800-1516026104_thumb.jpg

 

Hope this helps

 

David

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Thanks for all the advice. Beast, I should have thought about filing closer to the 'near' rail, but didn't. I will, though when I get on to the scissors, and the rest of the points.

 

David Long. After the single slip, it will be the scissors crossing, whch I will build in on piece. The rest of the track will be built on the main board.

 

I only decided that as the temperature is so low in the shed, that I would be better off inside, and made a start on the more complex pieces.

 

Anyway, progress (slow) so far.

 

post-89-0-73032200-1516050447_thumb.jpg

 

and tonight:

 

post-89-0-67533800-1516050509_thumb.jpg

 

and

 

post-89-0-85256300-1516050551_thumb.jpg

 

Slowly, oh so slowly.

 

I can only manage an hour or so of concentration at the end of the working day.

 

Weekends, depending on SWMBO (known to all her frtiends as 'Boss') I can usually manage a couple of hours at a time.

 

Regards. and thanks, all, once more

 

Ian

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No work tonight as there has been too much driving today for the mood to be right.(and the alarm will be going off at 05 (stupid o'clock). 30 tomorrow)

 

However, on checking, I ahve offset the first frog slightly so some desoldering/resoldering to do.

 

Hopefully, I will manage that without lifting any copper laminate.

 

Any tips for replacing it if I do?

 

Rgards

 

Ian

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After a couple of days' hiatus, a little more progress.

 

The Single Slip will stop for now, awaiting a point blade filing jig. Should be on the way fairly soon.

 

post-89-0-10848200-1516546594_thumb.jpg

 

Quite happy with the way a wagon traverses what bits it can at the moment.

 

Scissors crossing next:

 

post-89-0-20292400-1516546663_thumb.jpg

 

Timbers laid on the Templot plan. Rather than get into timber shoving etc, I have done a 'Best Fit' so that V & K crossings are supported.

 

Timbers yet to be trimmed and gapped.

 

After a first (abortive) attempt, starting at one side, and working my way across, I think that I will start with the central Diamond crossing, then work my way out....

 

unless there are any better suggestions?

 

Regards

 

Ian

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Thanks for all the advice. Beast, I should have thought about filing closer to the 'near' rail, but didn't. I will, though when I get on to the scissors, and the rest of the points.

 

David Long. After the single slip, it will be the scissors crossing, whch I will build in on piece. The rest of the track will be built on the main board.

 

I only decided that as the temperature is so low in the shed, that I would be better off inside, and made a start on the more complex pieces.

 

Anyway, progress (slow) so far.

 

attachicon.gifSingle Slip 1.JPG

 

and tonight:

 

attachicon.gif2018_0113Workshop0003.JPG

 

and

 

attachicon.gif2018_0113Workshop0005.JPG

 

Slowly, oh so slowly.

 

I can only manage an hour or so of concentration at the end of the working day.

 

Weekends, depending on SWMBO (known to all her frtiends as 'Boss') I can usually manage a couple of hours at a time.

 

Regards. and thanks, all, once more

 

Ian

 

 

Ian

 

A bit late now but if you were going to fill in the isolation gaps its much easier (and neater) to do it before fitting the rails, as you can sand the filler flat very easily without the rails being in the way. One added benefit (same for making the isolation gaps first) is it allows you to test the trackwork under power as you go

Edited by hayfield
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After a couple of days' hiatus, a little more progress.

 

The Single Slip will stop for now, awaiting a point blade filing jig. Should be on the way fairly soon.

 

attachicon.gifslip 03.JPG

 

Quite happy with the way a wagon traverses what bits it can at the moment.

 

Scissors crossing next:

 

attachicon.gifScissors 01.JPG

 

Timbers laid on the Templot plan. Rather than get into timber shoving etc, I have done a 'Best Fit' so that V & K crossings are supported.

 

Timbers yet to be trimmed and gapped.

 

After a first (abortive) attempt, starting at one side, and working my way across, I think that I will start with the central Diamond crossing, then work my way out....

 

unless there are any better suggestions?

 

Regards

 

Ian

 

Most courageous, Ian, as Sir Humphrey would have put it! I have used Templot for several years but I have no idea how to design a scissors crossover, especially inducing the diamond to sit between the four points.

As for construction, I always follow the advice from the Protofour articles in MRC in the late-1960s - start with the crossings and gauge everything else from them.

I realise that I may be in a minority here but I quite enjoy timber shoving, a strangely soothing activity. Until you print it out and find the ones you have missed!

 

David

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As for construction, I always follow the advice from the Protofour articles in MRC in the late-1960s - start with the crossings and gauge everything else from them.

 

 

I always start with the straight (or straighter) stock rail, then position the crossing (at the precisely correct distance from the stock rail rebate/toggle), then the other stock rail, both with the use of gauges.

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Most courageous, Ian, as Sir Humphrey would have put it! I have used Templot for several years but I have no idea how to design a scissors crossover, especially inducing the diamond to sit between the four points.

As for construction, I always follow the advice from the Protofour articles in MRC in the late-1960s - start with the crossings and gauge everything else from them.

I realise that I may be in a minority here but I quite enjoy timber shoving, a strangely soothing activity. Until you print it out and find the ones you have missed!

 

David

 

I, too have no idea how to plan and draw a scissors crossover. However, Echo, of this parish, did a far better job of drawing up PSJ's latest track plan in about a tenth of the time that it would have taken me.

 

His iteration of the scissors all joins up, but the various elements have been overlaid. I could copy it to a separate file and work on it, but decided to crack on with the build.

 

No more for today, beer has been imbibed, so my courage, as Sir Humphrey would say, has deserted me.

 

Regards

 

Ian

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Thanks, Nick,

 

I find that Beer lubricates the parts required, and is also handy for dousing scorched fingertips when holding a part too close to the soldering iron.

 

The trick is to stop before the beer affects digital manipulation combined with eyesight. I reckon that that is about the point that the finger scorching ceases to be painful, and is instead olfactarily unpleasant.

 

Too much and the abikilityty to tytype allsoesog otu teh wiwond.

 

post-89-0-74083300-1516822149_thumb.jpg

 

Any way, to pictures. Just the one as the photography also suffers.

 

This is a s far as I have progressed tonight.

 

The decision to start with the diamond should mean that it will be easier to add the points rather than the other way about.

 

All Timbers are now gapped (I hope), the first Vee and K crossings have been added, with a couple of other rails. All have been left overlong and will be trimmed back as I progress.

 

So far so good, as the fella said when he jumped off the Empire State Building as he passed every tenth floor.

 

Regards

 

Ian

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One more tip you may or may not know about, buy a pot of solder balls via eBay. Sprinkle some on a piece of wood, then pick up one at a time with the soldering iron to make each joint/chair. You then get nice, even sized blobs. Some people chop up normal solder into equal length pieces, but life is too short.

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One more tip you may or may not know about, buy a pot of solder balls via eBay. Sprinkle some on a piece of wood, then pick up one at a time with the soldering iron to make each joint/chair. You then get nice, even sized blobs. Some people chop up normal solder into equal length pieces, but life is too short.

If the solder balls are lead free, then they won't spread over the PCB sleeper and track as much as tin/lead solder will as they melt and wet to the metal. This should help the chair blob illusion.

 

Mim

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Thanks, both. I will have to wait a week or two before spending  any more on e-bay. I haven't been extravagant, just no money!

 

Further progress.

 

post-89-0-23725500-1516913044_thumb.jpg

 

Diamond now complete except for check rails/ trimming.

 

First two Vees in for the points and first stock rail also tacked in place.

 

All seems to be OK, running a wgon chassis through.

 

I think that I will have to get the dremel out to cut rails in the right places, before adding feeds.

 

North Mercia Area Group this Sunday, so there should be some brains to pick. Mine are not worth picking.

 

Beer calls.

 

Regards

 

Ian

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When you have a bit more rail laid, get two of your lightest 4 wheel wagons. Use a finger to slowly push one wagon which is pushing the second one. Watch the second wagon. Any vertical movement, or sudden jolts will highlight a problem to be looked at.

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Thanks, Nick.

 

I have been pushing through a single wagon at the moment, as there has not really been enough rail laid.

 

Tonight, I managed a little more

 

post-89-0-83559100-1516995627_thumb.jpg

 

Finished the first stock rail, laid the first two closure rails, and guaged the first curved stock rail from the left hand closure rail.

 

Sorry for the stop start, but I only have enough concentration for an hour, maybe an hour and a half of an evening.

 

Work, the curse of the modelling classes.

 

Most weekends I can manage a bit more but the Long-haired Senior Officer has me down for DIY tomorrow.

 

I am still trying to work out how her version of DIY, means that I do all the Doing for herself!

 

On the other hand, I am being allowed out to play on Sunday. If I can surface early enough, I may be able to manage a couple of hours at Pontefract, before going on to the North Mercia 2mm AG.

 

Regards

 

Ian

PS Who sells elbow grease. I am told I will need plenty tomorrow!

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