q1s in the west Pleye Wood

[Tim Dubya]

Polishing the blades with emery.....blimey!

Mr Tricket, my instructor in apprentice training school (1967) would be most impressed.

They wouldn't let me near metal at school (I was put in cookery). Understandable really, as their insurance wouldn't have covered it.

[hayfield]

Good job the Peco nerds are unlikely visitors, your check rails only cover 4 sleepers/timbers!

 

Check rails covering 4 timbers is probably the correct distance for the size of turnouts being built, and with the timbers being in line with the straight road will keep the Peco herds happy as do the finer flange way gaps

 

Nice bit of track building, with the exception of the amount of claret being spilt

[Tim Dubya]

Thank you John.

 

Hopefully get it finished the weekend and get it tested. Then back to further track planning.

 

Cheers

 

Timbob

[bgman]

Are we there yet ?

[dhjgreen]

Thank you John.

Hopefully get it finished the weekend and get it tested. Then back to further track planning.

Cheers

Timbob

Please do not tear it up (you have form), it looks very nice, 4 sleepers tongue in cheek.

[timbowilts]

The embarrassing thing is, I have one. It's when I'm polishing up the blades with fine Emery paper I stab myself. Will keep them in the jig from now on.

Cheers

.

Blimey! That takes me back to 4th Form metalwork, polishing with emery paper. I’ve never actally tried that on any of my hand-built points. All I have ever done is to level the tops by draw filing them to make sure everything is level

 

Tim T

[Tim Dubya]

Blimey! That takes me back to 4th Form metalwork, polishing with emery paper. I’ve never actally tried that on any of my hand-built points. All I have ever done is to level the tops by draw filing them to make sure everything is level

 

Tim T

 

 

Don't do it son, it's not worth it...

 

 

 

 

But did I listen to Colonel Samuel "Sam" Trautman... no I did not!

 

 

[timbowilts]

Regarding my post about 4th Form metalwork, since typing it I’ve just realised it’s 51 years since I was in 4th Form.

 

Tempus fugit ot what?

 

Tim T

[Tim Dubya]

Indeed and one of my favourite tracks from the album, Drama by Yes from 1980.

 

[St Enodoc]

It's when I'm polishing up the blades with fine Emery paper I stab myself.

.

Don't bother then. I don't.

[Captain Kernow]

Just polish the tops of the rail when they are in place and use something else to give a non-polished clean for the rail sides.

[Tim Dubya]

No injuries to report today, however...

 

 

 

Time for some apple juice now but tomorrow...

 

My patience will be tested fitting one (if not two) of these b@stards.  

 

 

I've lost the knack of bending lace pins with pliers, so I resorted to using a Bill Bedford handrail bending jig... net result perfectly bent lace pin and bu99ered BB jig (which I fortunately managed to fashion back into some sort of flatness).

Cheers

 

Dubya
 

Edited December 2, 2017 by Tim Dubya

[hayfield]

Those are much easier to fit than using an under board actuator with 2 holes popping through the baseboard.

 

My latest favoured solution is to use the first slide chair timber as the tiebar

 

The timber itself is a copperclad timber gapped and filled(not filled in this set of photos)

Cut the chairs from the slide plates from 2 cast metal slide chairs

Then I solder the bases of (metal) slide chairs to the copperclad timber, might be sensible to de-laminate the foil behind the slide bases)

The switch rails are then soldered to the slide chair bases. The switch now is moved by the timber

To finish the illusion the chair part of the slide chairs are soldered to the stock rails (not the timber)

 

This gives a near invisible method of actuation and cosmetic stretchers can be made from plastic rod

Those are much easier to fit than using an under board actuator with 2 holes popping through the baseboard.

 

My latest favoured solution is to use the first slide chair timber as the tiebar

 

The timber itself is a copperclad timber gapped and filled(not filled in this set of photos)

Cut the chairs from the slide plates from 2 cast metal slide chairs

Then I solder the bases of (metal) slide chairs to the copperclad timber, might be sensible to de-laminate the foil behind the slide bases)

The switch rails are then soldered to the slide chair bases. The switch now is moved by the timber

To finish the illusion the chair part of the slide chairs are soldered to the stock rails (not the timber)

 

A demonstration piece showing both the difference of 00 handmade turnout verses H0 RTR one, also a very simple hand operated switch (for demonstration)

 

This gives a near invisible method of actuation and cosmetic stretchers can be made from plastic rod

[Captain Kernow]

I think part of the above was repeated, John, but that's actually quite helpful in terms of understanding the method.

 

I wonder if you can still get those slide chair etchings from C&L?

 

I do like that, very much indeed.

 

I use different methods for OO and P4. 'Callow Lane' (P4) uses the dropper method, but using the P4 Track Co's own under-board sliders, attached to the Tortoise point motors.

 

For OO, I've always used a slimmed down copper clad sleeper, reduced to at least half it's width. I've just done this for the points for 'Bethesda Sidings' as well.

[Tim Dubya]

I wonder if you can still get those slide chair etchings from C&L?

 

It appears so

[Captain Kernow]

It appears so

Thanks, top stuff.

 

I must leave you all now, for a while, as I have to make the tea.

 

I hope to return soon.

[Tim Dubya]

Me too, stew to be built and probably a bath, if I can be caught

[dhjgreen]

Me too, stew to be built and probably a bath, if I can be caught

Scratchbuilding a paella as I type.

[Tim Dubya]

Well, here it finally is.

 

 

Here's how I got there today...

 

Found a use for the eBay win (?)

 

 

Got my head around the concept of bending those Lacey pins... pin - pin vice. Put pin in vice to required depth and bend it on a metal ruler (acquired from Norton-Radstock College of Further & Higher {?} Education - other 'institutions' are available).

 

It dawned on me whilst attempting to file down the copper clad sleeps that all these weeks of filing the tips off my fingers was really unnecessary, as I have one of these:

 

 

 

 

So out with 64 & 73 for the ole's

 

 

Chuck it all together and this is with I got...

 

 

 

Got out the electric glue and ended up wiv dis...

 

 

I'm very happy with my efforts as now I can get on with further track planning but...

 

TBH, although it works ok on manual, I'm not happy with appearance after seeing Hayfield's method, so I've ordered some brass sliders from EMGS Stores, along with some other bits and bobs.

 

 

Just thought, I should have asked if anybody wanted anything whilst I was at it.

Soz

 

 

Dubya

Edited December 3, 2017 by Tim Dubya

[St Enodoc]

Me too, stew to be built and probably a bath, if I can be caught

My grandad used to have a bath once a week, whether he needed it or not.

[Tim Dubya]

My grandad used to have a bath once a week, whether he needed it or not.

Once a week,he was a bit posh!

[hayfield]

I think part of the above was repeated, John, but that's actually quite helpful in terms of understanding the method.

 

I wonder if you can still get those slide chair etchings from C&L?

 

I do like that, very much indeed.

 

I use different methods for OO and P4. 'Callow Lane' (P4) uses the dropper method, but using the P4 Track Co's own under-board sliders, attached to the Tortoise point motors.

 

For OO, I've always used a slimmed down copper clad sleeper, reduced to at least half it's width. I've just done this for the points for 'Bethesda Sidings' as well.

 

 

Phil does both the C&L and the Exactoscale cast metal slide chairs, quite expensive as they use a lost wax (or similar) production method using the plastic chair sprues as masters. Think Masokits do etched versions that fold up

 

I try and use a copperclad strip timber thinner than the timbers, just so to stop any rubbing

 

 

This is another system I developed where I sunk the copperclad tiebar into the cork track bed by soldering 2 small bits of copperclad strip under the rail both sides, then covered the gap with a strip of cardboard which had been ballasted

 

 

As can be seen the tiebar is nearly invisible but accessible, I have used a longer than usual tiebar for demonstration purposes  

 

 

Masokits etched slide chairs

 

 

This is a Masokits stretcher, which also acts as a tiebar. Very fiddly to make

 

 

In situ and as can be seen used with the Masokits chairs

 

Norman Solomon seems to use  some form of glass fibre rod with brass foil at both ends, so there are many differing ways of doing the same thing, limited only by ones imagination 

[Captain Kernow]

What to the Masokits chairs look like when it's all painted and weathered, I wonder?

[Tim Dubya]

What to the Masokits chairs look like when it's all painted and weathered, I wonder?

Not painted and weathered but looking the part no less:

 

 

From Paul O'Connor-Boyd's 'Shortley' on Flickr (scroll down to the bottom).

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/paul-oconnor/albums/72157638474115173

Edited December 7, 2017 by Tim Dubya

[hayfield]

I have only built one turnout using this method, but what a marathon !!  I guess as you use this system you can get faster but compared to using plastic chairs ob plastic turnouts it took me at least 10 times longer

 

As for looks, to me the etchings whilst in 3D were too skinny and lacking the depth of a moulded/cast chair