Hayfield2 Posted August 19, 2014 Share Posted August 19, 2014 Having a bit of a problem up loading photos but either earlier on in this or the other thread I asked about switch rails. Here are two photos of switch rails. They clearly show the tapers (which to my eyes look shorter than I thought they were a few years ago ) and how the gap is larger at the tip. The joggles in the stock rails are also very noticeable Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill badger Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 I've been following this thread since it started and have been kicked up the behind to get on and try some trackwork! I've gone down the ply and C&L plastic chair route. Apologies if this has been mentioned earlier and I've missed it, but can you offer some advice on getting the completed turnout off the template (I've used double sided to hold the sleepers) and then transfered acurate to the base board for laying? My first attempt resulted in track & sleepers moving around when it was removed. Thanks for all the inspiration so far! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hayfield Posted September 16, 2014 Author Share Posted September 16, 2014 Flood the area in something like white spirit, let if soak a bit so the adhesive on the tape starts to loose its strength. Just to go over my method again !/ Glue plan to building board 2/ Stick tracing paper over the plan with masking tape on the edges (you could do this with the plan if disposable rather than glue it to the board) 3/ I cut thin strips (2.3 mm) of double sided tape along both sleeper ends, leaving the gap where the tiebar goes 4/ once built it is very easy to peal off the backing paper from the turnout I use this method for both ply sleeper & chairs and copperclad turnouts, as the copperclad can bend during removal The idea is to have enough stick from the double sided tape to hold the sleepers in place whilst the solvent sets, but very easy removal once the backing is not needed I use Hobbycrafts cheap stuff which is ideal for my purposes. £2 x 33 meter rolls 12 mm wide for £2 when I last bought some Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill badger Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 Thanks. Have been just using a couple of strips of full width along the template. Out of interest, I just read some folk glue the template to their chosen trackbed and then the sleepers to the template and then so on before ballasting the lot, template and all. Any reason why this isn't more commonly used? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Rowsley17D Posted September 17, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 17, 2014 Thanks. Have been just using a couple of strips of full width along the template. Out of interest, I just read some folk glue the template to their chosen trackbed and then the sleepers to the template and then so on before ballasting the lot, template and all. Any reason why this isn't more commonly used? Hi Bill, this is the way I go. I stick the Templot template to 3mm foam and then stick the ply sleepers to this.To keep the assembly flat I hold it down with mapping pins stuck into a flat piece of wood. I too found that the sleepers moved around when removing from the template. The sleepers that were only held on with slide chairs fell off completely! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill badger Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 I think I shall have to experiment with this approach to see if it suits me better. Can I ask what glue you use to stick the template to the foam? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debs. Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 Hello Bill, I use slightly diluted PVA adhesive and spread it {thinly} about on the baseboard/cork/foam/timber using an old bank/credit-card as a squeegee; lay on the paper template in position and then squeegee-out all about the template`s top surface, pushing any excess glue remaining underneath towards the edge of the paper.....not leaving the paper too wetted, speeds the drying and leaves little-chance of template shrinkage or distortion Perhaps time (for newcomers to the thread) to again make mention of Martin Wynne`s excellent track design software "Templot" (now generously available to download free!) which not only permits one to design a track layout in its entirety, but also to print-off precisely fitted templates ready to stick down and construct trackwork upon........The associated Templot Club forum is also an excellent resource for information and fellow-user support. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill badger Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 Thank you Debs. The credit card squeegee is a great idea! I have some light card that my printer is happy with so I shall give this a go tonight. I second your view that Templot is an excellent piece of software, albeit with a steep learning curve. I've been playing with it, on and off, for around a year and am now quite happy with the basics of setting out a track plan. Definitely worth persevering with. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
buffalo Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 ... Out of interest, I just read some folk glue the template to their chosen trackbed and then the sleepers to the template and then so on before ballasting the lot, template and all. Any reason why this isn't more commonly used? That's how I usually do it. The main benefits are no problems with movement/distortion when moving the work from the bench to the layout and it makes it easier to line up with existing trackwork. The main drawback is that you need good access to the trackbed. I doubt it would be viable if you have to lean over a couple of feet of baseboard to do it. One thing that's not often mentioned is that, when building curved track or turnouts on the bench, any curved rail should be gently formed to shape before sticking it down. If you don't, the turnout is always going to distort when you remove it from the template. Nick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill badger Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 I've had exactly that on one of my initial attempts - forgot to pre-bend the curved stock rail and when release from the grip of the sticky tape it tried to fight back. The effort got recycled as I couldn't get everything back to the same place. Great to make these mistakes on a trial run as hopefully the real thing will be less fraught! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hayfield Posted September 17, 2014 Author Share Posted September 17, 2014 To stop the slide chairs moving I use thin superglue. I also use solvent on normal chairs to temporary fix the chairs to the rail Carpet spray adhesive is very strong and a lot cheaper (half the price and 3 or 4 times the amount) than spray fix. But this seems to be very hard work. The 2 very thin strips of double-sided tape on either a piece of tracing paper or plan will peal off leaving the slide chairs stuck to both the rail and sleeper (use solvent for chair to sleeper). Be very careful sticking a paper plan to the trackbed, as using spray mount (not the carpet stuff) I have had the paper peal away from the track bed Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Rowsley17D Posted September 18, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 18, 2014 I think I shall have to experiment with this approach to see if it suits me better. Can I ask what glue you use to stick the template to the foam? Hi Bill, I use thinned carpet vinyl adhesive from B&Q as it doesn't set solid unlike PVA. Copydex is another glue (latex) that doesn't set solid but is expensive compared with the B&Q stuff. I also use this to stick the formation to the baseboard and to stick the track to the foam on plain sections. Also stick the ballast with it too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hayfield Posted September 18, 2014 Author Share Posted September 18, 2014 Bill I can confirm what Jonathan has advised, I used the Exactoscale closed cell foam underlay, using Copydex I coated both the board and underlay and let them dry. Once dried used it as a contact adhesive. However as for track (both plastic and ply) I used neat Copydex on the sleepers, and stuck them down. Absolutely fine and had no problems. Ballast was spread over the sleepers and stuck down with Copydex diluted with water. The benefit of Latex glue over PVA is that it does not set rock hard Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill badger Posted September 19, 2014 Share Posted September 19, 2014 Thanks for the advice - much appreciated. Time to get building in earnest I think! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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