hayfield Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 Hi Ken, I wasn't able to find any MEK in Chicagoland, despite visiting a store that claimed to have some. I think it's been withdrawn from sale here, I'm guessing that's because it can be used to manufacture some kind of illegal drug. The good news is that MEK substitute can be found in hardware stores and worked well on exactoscale components. Cheers, John. John in some other threads about track building chemical formula has been stated for the older type of MEK. You want a solvent that is quite aggressive, so the plastic sinks into the grain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold martin_wynne Posted July 26, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 26, 2014 Hi Ken, Try this supplier site in the USA for track bits: http://www.proto87.com The owner Andy Reichert sometimes posts here on RMweb. He won't have any UK-pattern track parts but he may have tools, materials, solvents. For ABS plastic on plastic Butyl Acetate works quite well, available as Humbrol Liquid Poly or Revell Contacta Liquid. The latter seems to be available on your side of the pond from: http://www.amazon.com/Revell-Rv39609-Glues-Contacta-Plastic/dp/B00B3S4BKI/ If this is your first time using UK bullhead rail, an important point to bear in mind is that the thick edge is the running top. The thin edge is the bottom of the rail and fits in the chairs. That's not always intuitive and even beginners on this side of the pond sometimes get it wrong and struggle to slide the chairs on the rail upside down. regards, Martin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brossard Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 John The tiebar should be in contact with the switch blades and soldered, unless you are using a sleeper as a tiebar. The slide chairs I superglue to the rails and use solvent on the sleepers You can get a super glue for plastics, really welds them to rail/sleepers but seems to make them brittle Thanks John. I do solder the blades to a strip of copperclad. I've tried Norman Solomon's method of using brass pins as hinges but the pins seem hard to find here. It was the timbers before and after the tiebar that tended to come apart. In the case I mentioned, I ended up redoing the points using copperclad. I have lots of lessons learned and intend to use plastic timbers in future. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hayfield Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 John If you can buy the Peco track pins (the long thin black ones) Sand off the black coating. I think Norman call them lile pins, lace pins is another name or pins used to hold insect down (entomology ?). Would have thought there would be plenty of alternatives. Don't call them points, it gives Martin high blood pressure. Chairs stuck to ply are fine and strong, you just need to find the right stuff to use. Might be worth starting a new thread, just asking for a North American alternative to Butanone. On the other hand Exactoscale plastic sleepering (timbers) is a very good alternative Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brossard Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 Good tip about the Peco pins John, ta. These are indeed widely available. Suitably chastened about terminology, I hope Martin keeps a supply of tablets handy. Yes, the appropriate stuff to use, that is the question. I must do some experiments. I have a large supply of both C&L and Exactoscale components. I'm ready to go once I get out wagon and coach mode. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alfsboy Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 Chloroform works well on plastic .My Dad made the Airfix Ferguson tractor using it when I was very small .I do remember it was impossible to get glue so he got some special stuff which he had to sign for and I wasnt allowed anywhere near it . I thought its odd I can remember as I must have been very young ,about 1949-50 so 3-4 ish .it was the first proper model I came across .He was making it for a work colleague I think .A guy I knew used to cement perspex cases together with it and it held very well .I did use it a few times when I knew the local village chemist lady but had to sign the register . I doubt it would be allowed now but it works well .Another useless tip, folks . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Cram Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 Speaking as a Commercial Casualty insurance underwriter, I wonder why on earth they would restrict sales to the US and Canada? Very odd. I'm looking at the Activity Media website right now and see several DVDs I would want. Annoying... It is to do with your product liability laws. Companies find it difficult or expensive to arrange insurance cover in the UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hayfield Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 Chloroform works well on plastic .My Dad made the Airfix Ferguson tractor using it when I was very small .I do remember it was impossible to get glue so he got some special stuff which he had to sign for and I wasnt allowed anywhere near it . I thought its odd I can remember as I must have been very young ,about 1949-50 so 3-4 ish .it was the first proper model I came across .He was making it for a work colleague I think .A guy I knew used to cement perspex cases together with it and it held very well .I did use it a few times when I knew the local village chemist lady but had to sign the register . I doubt it would be allowed now but it works well .Another useless tip, folks . I don't think you have to go to that extreme, just find a strong commercial solvent for modelling that is safe to use, and if you use plastic sleepers then any solvent will be fine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trisonic Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 It is to do with your product liability laws. Companies find it difficult or expensive to arrange insurance cover in the UK. Or lazy insurance agents. It’s actually quite difficult to sue someone from one country to another, particularly over one tin of glue... Best, Pete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hayfield Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 Now its quite difficult to send flammable liquid/paint via the postal system, for whatever reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeavyDuty Posted July 27, 2014 Author Share Posted July 27, 2014 Right - but these are DVDs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hayfield Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 Ken Sorry I was talking about solvents. With regard to DVD's is anyone selling them on UK Ebay or Amazon. Most will post abroad if asked Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeavyDuty Posted July 27, 2014 Author Share Posted July 27, 2014 Like the egg, I am committed - I placed orders today for a variety of track components from EMGS, and also for 8'6" 1.6mm plywood ties from C&L. I want to try several different construction methods, so I have both ply and plastic sleepers coming, and even some track base so I can get a test track running immediately. I'm looking forward to this with some trepidation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brossard Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 Trepidation? Surely you mean excitement! I like your idea of trying a combination of plastic and wood timbers (I'm no expert and don't want John H. castigating me again. Sleepers are for plain track and timbers for turnouts. Sleepers and timbers have different dimensions [width and thickness I mean] so you'll want to watch that.) I have an idea to do that also when I get around to it. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hayfield Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 Ken What scale and gauge are you working in please Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeavyDuty Posted July 27, 2014 Author Share Posted July 27, 2014 Ken What scale and gauge are you working in please This project is 4mm EM - I've been dabbling in 7mm for a few years, but never progressed to handlaying in O. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hayfield Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 You should be fine with the stuff then, I stain the ply timbers first and let them dry out thoroughly before bonding the plastic chairs to them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeavyDuty Posted July 27, 2014 Author Share Posted July 27, 2014 I was going to try the method we used to handlay using a Kadee spiker on wood ties at my old club: 1. Stain ties 2. Glue ties to roadbed 3. Block sand ties level 4. Touch up stain on tops of ties 5. Lay rail I suspect these plywood sleepers will need much less sanding than the stripwood ones did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hayfield Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 Ken The sleepers do not require sanding, its laser quality ply. I build the turnouts on a building board, as its far easier to build on your work bench and the ability to turn through 180 degrees. 1 Stain the ties 2 glue plan to board 3 put tracing paper over the plan held down with marsking tape 4 2 thin strips of double sided tape over both ends of the sleepers (ties) (2 mm to 3 mm strips) 5 place ties on plan 6 attach rails to sleepers 7 take turnout off the board (still on tracing paper 8 peal off tracing paper (white spirit will weaken the glue 9 glue turnout to base board Job done Its much easier to be sitting down building than hunched over a baseboard, sounds more involved when writing it down, but so much easier, quicker and more accurate this way Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium corneliuslundie Posted July 27, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 27, 2014 When it comes to points you may well find that the actual crossing is rather weak. Many people put a piece of brass under the rails at this point, or you can use soldered construction for the crucial few timbers. I have used both Plastic Weld and Butatone with ply sleepers and with plastics sleepers. By the way I would endorse the comment about the thinner plastic sleepers curling if not stuck down well. While on, anyone thinking of ordering from the EMGS needs to note the comments in the most recent newsletter about a closedown period for the EMGS store. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hayfield Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 Here are a couple of photos of how to construch a common crossing I use 0.5 mm copperclad strip, but metal shim will do providing its no thicker than 0.5 mm, which is the height the chairs lift the rail above the sleepers. The copperclad strip/metal shim is cut back and filed flat against the side of the rails Here you see the common crossing fitted by using whole and half chairs, no need for the odd copperclad sleeper as the copperclad/shim holds the rails in gauge and chairs hold the crossing in place Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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