Matador Posted September 22, 2013 Share Posted September 22, 2013 Double sided fibreglas carpet tape coffee stirrer sleepers superglued track code 83 (would be spiked as well ) ballast sticks as though glued. this is just an experiment but it shows promise. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hartleymartin Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 Starbuck's Coffee stirrers? They're about the best supply of cheap stripwood for 7mm scale sleepers that I've ever come across. Too bad that there are none near my college or home these days though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matador Posted September 23, 2013 Author Share Posted September 23, 2013 Spikes or Staples Micro Engineering spikes look a little too large (next size down too small) but Staples have to be cut and blackened after being soaked in solvent to remove the coating not sure if I want to put that much effort into it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hayfield Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 Looking very good, and I will watch this thread with interest. You can buy very cheaply packs of coffee stirrers, my friend did (500?) for a couple of pounds (less than the price of a cup of coffee). I have used Exactoscale sleeper strip along with code 75 bullhead and plastic chairs. C&L do a fast clip chair using code 82 flatbottom rail. Both Peco and C&L sell track spikes, but the Bambi staples look very good. I think I have seen square metal plates between the spikes and rail. Might it be an idea to stain the sleepers first? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matador Posted September 23, 2013 Author Share Posted September 23, 2013 This whole thing is on a 12" board and is being used to test various ideas so no staining yet, its been 25 years since I last built a layout so i am trying a few different ideas this is all a new journey for me. Also trying BEMO couplers and testing those as well after reading about all that is available. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hartleymartin Posted September 24, 2013 Share Posted September 24, 2013 But you can get up to 10,000 spikes for a couple of quid if you make them from office staples, but you only get a few hundred from Micro-engineering (I've always used the "micro"-sized spikes). I don't know if I would bother blackening spikes made from staples, as I paint the sides of the rails with rust colour, and this usually coats the spikes aswell. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matador Posted September 24, 2013 Author Share Posted September 24, 2013 I,m going to try 6 sleepers with Micro spikes today, the spikes are only cosmetic as Super Glue holds the track firm. Micro Engineering spikes and Office staples are roughly the same price here in the US for 1,000.00 I,m just not sure if I have the time and patience to do all the work required to cut the staples. Trying to find a 12v hobby drill so I can control the speed for drilling the sleepers my DREMEL is too vicious even at its lowest speed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matador Posted September 24, 2013 Author Share Posted September 24, 2013 The winner is Micro Spikes by Micro Engineering Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldknotty Posted September 24, 2013 Share Posted September 24, 2013 I,m going to try 6 sleepers with Micro spikes today, the spikes are only cosmetic as Super Glue holds the track firm. Micro Engineering spikes and Office staples are roughly the same price here in the US for 1,000.00 I,m just not sure if I have the time and patience to do all the work required to cut the staples. Trying to find a 12v hobby drill so I can control the speed for drilling the sleepers my DREMEL is too vicious even at its lowest speed. Try a cheap Archimedes hand drill that is what i use fast , easy and gentle :-) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hartleymartin Posted September 25, 2013 Share Posted September 25, 2013 Just one thing: Remember to off-set the spikes so that the holes for the two spikes do not line up in the grain of the timber. This was done on the prototype to prevent the sleeper ends from splitting. I've been using Micro-Engineering "micro" spikes for some years. (In fact I made some 60-odd yards of the track for a now retired exhibition layout). One time I ran out of spikes, so I made some from steel guitar strings somewhere around the .010" to 0.18" mark in thickness. Not something I would wish to repeat. Extremely laborious, and I have better things to do with my time! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matador Posted October 3, 2013 Author Share Posted October 3, 2013 The experiment moves on towards the goal of easy and realistic hand laid track ,on the previous attempts the sleepers were undersized and too shallow these I feel are as close as I can get out of a bag. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium DLT Posted October 3, 2013 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 3, 2013 I recommend trackspikes from KBScale http://www.kbscale.com/track-parts.html Perfect for use with wooden sleepers. I have used them on my extensively on my 7mm-scale narrow-gauge layout. Cheers, Dave. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matador Posted October 4, 2013 Author Share Posted October 4, 2013 Read up on your layouts and been inspired over the past 18months thats what got me back into modelling, just trying to figure out what makes kbscale spikes better than what I have. David A Yorkshireman in the USA Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium DLT Posted October 4, 2013 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 4, 2013 Read up on your layouts and been inspired over the past 18months thats what got me back into modelling, just trying to figure out what makes kbscale spikes better than what I have. David A Yorkshireman in the USA Thanks David. I guess the easiest thing is to use what you can obtain easily; I hadn't registered the fact that you are in the US! Your track looks very good; I haven't tried coffee stirrers yet, how hard are they? I use softwood (I think its Obechi, balsa is too soft) from Model Aircraft shops for sleepering, along with a softboard trackbase so I can push the spikes in without drilling. Speeds things up a lot. All the best, Dave. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matador Posted October 4, 2013 Author Share Posted October 4, 2013 Thanks David. I guess the easiest thing is to use what you can obtain easily; I hadn't registered the fact that you are in the US! Your track looks very good; I haven't tried coffee stirrers yet, how hard are they? I use softwood (I think its Obechi, balsa is too soft) from Model Aircraft shops for sleepering, along with a softboard trackbase so I can push the spikes in without drilling. Speeds things up a lot. All the best, Dave. Thats the only downside of the stirrers I use I have to drill for spikes, it would seem kind of funny going into a coffee shop and asking "are your stirrers Obechi" LOL David A Yorkshireman in the USA Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium DLT Posted October 4, 2013 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 4, 2013 "Are your stirrers Obechi?" "No, they're wood." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matador Posted October 4, 2013 Author Share Posted October 4, 2013 "No, they're wood." LOL thats a good one!!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matador Posted October 8, 2013 Author Share Posted October 8, 2013 David Looking at my pictures what would you say the size of the KBSpikes are closest to I have written to him, asking for a sample. David A Yorkshireman in the USA Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldknotty Posted October 8, 2013 Share Posted October 8, 2013 I think the Small spikes look best personally Dave :-) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jc2001 Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 Making spikes from office staples is easy - and it just needs a scrape with sandpaper on the corner to remove the plastic coating. Have a look at the PDF doc here for more info: http://o14group.org/2008/10/31/finescale-7mm-ng-trackwork/ BTW the header photo shows trackwork made with office spikes and coffee stirrers. John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matador Posted October 11, 2013 Author Share Posted October 11, 2013 I have that printed out and have read the whole article a few times very informative. Thanks David A Yorkshireman in the USA Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium DLT Posted October 11, 2013 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 11, 2013 David Looking at my pictures what would you say the size of the KBSpikes are closest to I have written to him, asking for a sample. David A Yorkshireman in the USA Hi David, I think the Small size look better. Cheers, Dave. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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