RSS Fetcher Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 My initial attempt to mount the Tortoise point motors involved me underneath my layout on my mechanics creeper using eyeball mk1 to align the piano wire actuator. The point motors were mounted on thin ply and then attached to the baseboard using Velcro. The problem I faced was that the tension from the piano wire would mean the the point motor would eventually be found hanging underneath the baseboard as the alignment wasn't good enough. Searching the InterWeb I found several jigs to align the pint motor http://www.vikaschander.com/points-and-tortoises-install/ https://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/17165 and someone on Feabay is selling a jig https://www.ebay.com/itm/Tortoise-Switch-Machine-Drill-Jig-with-mounting-screws-drill-bit-/291273710283 All these solutions provide an accurate way of aligning the point motor during track laying but not for retro fitting. I do not claim to have invented this idea ( but I can't remember where I read of this on the InterWeb) . Anyway, here is my take. Modifying a Kadee couple height gauge (#205) to create an alignment jig to improve the the alignment of the piano wire actuator - here a picture is worth a thousand words... Using the jig has enabled me to align the point motors far more accurately than using eyeball mk1. The point motors are still attached using Velcro (and I've added a couple screws to secure the point motors). The point motors are not as well aligned as could be achieved using any ofthe jigs - but I don't have the resources (or the skills) to make either of the jigs above. Hope this helps someone. Edmund Attached thumbnail(s) View the full article Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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