MarkNewZealand Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 Hi all I have installed and checked all of my point motors and now i need to trim off the excess rod. Can anyone please give me some advice on the best way to do this with out wrecking all the hard work of lining them up so they'd work correctly? Can they be cut level with the rail or do they need to be cut below? Thanks in advance Mark Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngryMeerkat Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 I presume the rod comes up from underneath the motor? If so when I was fitting my point motors I held them in place with double sided tape while I marked the screw holes, and also marked the rod with permanent marker at the point where it came through the hole. Then I removed the motor, drilled the screw holes and snipped the rod to length with a pair of side cutters. All my rods are cut level with or just below the height of the sleepers. Not sure if this helps you or not? Mark Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomJ Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 I simply fitted the point motor with the pin sticking through the tie bar. When I has happy it was fitted correctly I just snipped the excess of with sharp wire cutters in situ if you get what I mean. A little bit of filing and painting the ends has disguised it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon hudson Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 I used a cutting disc in the mini drill no pros so far Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkNewZealand Posted October 27, 2012 Author Share Posted October 27, 2012 Mark, Tom and Simon, Thanks for you help on this it's much appreciated. I was thinking along the same lines but I just wanted to double check before going ahead. The old ask twice and cut once approach is definately the best way. Cheers Mark Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 If using a mini drill, be a little bit careful. I cut mine like that, and managed to melt the tie bar. Fortunately Peco supplied me with a replacement. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold RFS Posted October 27, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 27, 2012 I used a pair of these from DCC Supplies. They work very well especially on the very hard piano wire I use on the Tortoise motors I use. http://www.dccsuppli...roducts_id=1305 . They're out of stock at present but might be obtainable elsewhere. Before I had these I used a slitting disc in a mini-drill, but if you're going to do it this way then you do need to take care that you don't damage the tie-bar or partially cut through the point blade! And eye protection is essential as the disc can easily shatter without warning. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkNewZealand Posted October 27, 2012 Author Share Posted October 27, 2012 I used a pair of these from DCC Supplies. They work very well especially on the very hard piano wire I use on the Tortoise motors I use. http://www.dccsuppli...roducts_id=1305 . They're out of stock at present but might be obtainable elsewhere. Before I had these I used a slitting disc in a mini-drill, but if you're going to do it this way then you do need to take care that you don't damage the tie-bar or partially cut through the point blade! And eye protection is essential as the disc can easily shatter without warning. I can find some locally but they are 350mm long. It says they're for soft metal wire and cutting screw and nail heads. This might be a silly question but In the pictures the head size looks the same but overall 150mm longer, that shouldn't matter should it? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver Sidelines Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 If using a mini drill, be a little bit careful. I cut mine like that, and managed to melt the tie bar. Fortunately Peco supplied me with a replacement. Yes - been there as well. Easy does it if you are using a cutting disc. It is still probably the easiest solution - but be warned. Ray Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Tony_S Posted October 27, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 27, 2012 Just don't use the Xuron track cutter! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter c Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 Definitely second that ! HTH Peter C Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium BR60103 Posted October 28, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 28, 2012 I bought a set of guitar string cutters from a music shop. Problem: they won't go very close to the tie bar. I trimmed the excess with my Dremel and the wire melted into the tie bar a bit. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkNewZealand Posted December 8, 2012 Author Share Posted December 8, 2012 Hi All Its taken me a while but below is a picture of the mini-bolt cutters that i bought to do the job. They worked a treat and i was able to cut the rod very close to the sleeper. Cheers Mark Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium kevinlms Posted December 8, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 8, 2012 Why not? they do the job well, and there is the best part of 3/4" of blade "still not wrecked" after you have done it Works best on a brand new set! I had about 20 plated brass screws to shorten. All went well until the last one, which was a steel screw. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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