Handlaying Turnouts Point, Stub, and Exotic Wayne Perrier O Scale - PDF document

Handlaying Turnouts Point, Stub, and Exotic Wayne Perrier O Scale West 2012 www.americantieandtimber.com 1 Examples We’ll Cover Today Point Switches O Scale West 2012 www.americantieandtimber.com 2

Examples We’ll Cover Today • We’re going to “build” this today! Stub Switches O Scale West 2012 www.americantieandtimber.com 3 Examples We’ll Cover Today Switch on a Trestle O Scale West 2012 www.americantieandtimber.com 4

Gapping Rails: Challenges The Problem • Traditional “insulated rail joiners” are unsightly • They don’t do a good job of holding rails in alignment in ANY direction x,y, z – derailments can happen. • They can allow the rails to spread further apart, increasing the gap • They are generally so beefy due to the material characteristics that wheel flanges can hit them, particularly with smaller rail sizes like code70 Cutting a gap in flextrack or handlaid has its own problems • Gap can close, causing electrical problems • Gaps can open, looking unsightly or causing derailments • Alignment can be poor, especially over time Is there a solution? O Scale West 2012 www.americantieandtimber.com 5 The Solution : Introducing the Gapmaster • Precise, narrow gaps • Rails always in perfect alignment • Visually unobtrusive, mechanically robust • Installs in minutes -- EASY O Scale West 2012 www.americantieandtimber.com 6

The Solution : Introducing the Gapmaster • Available in an array of scales and gauges • Designed to match popular tie dimensions • Simple tools only O Scale West 2012 www.americantieandtimber.com 7 Instructional Video O Scale West 2012 www.americantieandtimber.com 8

Tools & Materials Soldering – Small Butane torch – Bernzomatic + refill canister – Welder’s Torch Lighter – Steel wool #0000 – Muriatic acid flux, liquid (Alpha Metals) – Silver solder, either acid core flux or (preferably) solid wire – Old toothbrush & hand soap Measuring / Marking – NMRA standards gauge – 3-point track gauges or Simpson roller gauges – Caliper – – O Scale ruler O Scale ruler – Black Sharpie pen Metal and Metal-forming – Seamer – Airplane snips – LH and RH, large offset – MicroMark tracklaying toolkit – rail nippers, spiking tool – Mill file – Needle files – Jeweler’s saw and fine blades – Hacksaw blade – Copper or brass sheet, 0.010” – 0.015” – Nickel-silver, unweathered rail – Sheet aluminum, 0.040” – 0.060” – Motorized disc sander O Scale West 2012 www.americantieandtimber.com 9 Soldering Tools O Scale West 2012 www.americantieandtimber.com 10

Simple Jigs to Make Frog Soldering Jig – Allows soldering the 4 rails that comprise the frog into a unitized assembly – Adapted from 1970’s article in Model Railroader magazine about handlaying code 40 N Scale turnouts in place. – Masonite base Guardrail Spacing Jig – Allows easy spacing and alignment of guardrails – Simple aluminum plate that grips guardrail and stock rail – Use NMRA gauge, caliper and jewelers saw to fashion this. Stub Rail Spacing Jig – Allows easy spacing and alignment of stub switch rails. – Aluminum plate grips 2 or 3 rails at a time over the soldering point O Scale West 2012 www.americantieandtimber.com 11 Simple Jigs to Make Frog Soldering Jig Guardrail Spacing Jig Stub Rail Spacing Jig O Scale West 2012 www.americantieandtimber.com 12

What is Nickel Silver? According to Wikipedia: Nickel silver is a metal alloy of copper with nickel and often but not always zinc. It is named for its silvery appearance, but contains no elemental silver unless plated. Other common names for this alloy are German silver , paktong , new silver and alpacca (or alpaca ). Composition Many alloys fall within the general term of "nickel silver". All contain copper and nickel, while some formulations may additionally include zinc, antimony, tin, lead, or cadmium. A representative industrial formulation, Alloy No. 752, is 65% copper, 18% nickel, and 17% zinc. The white alloy of 75% copper and 25% nickel used in coins, such as the United States nickel, is better known as copper-nickel, cupro-nickel or cupronickel. Some nickel silver alloys, especially those containing high proportions of zinc, are stainless (corrosion-resistant). Nickel silver alloys are commonly named by listing their percentages of copper and nickel, thus "nickel silver 55-18" would contain 55% copper, 18% nickel, and 27% other elements, most probably entirely zinc. A two-element alloy may be named for its nickel content alone, thus NS-12 is 88% copper and 12% nickel. O Scale West 2012 www.americantieandtimber.com 13 Some Notes About Model Rail • All model rail is not created equally • Different alloys of nickel-silver used, resulting in different colours of rail • You will notice some websites talk about RailCraft rail versus new Micro Engineering (ME) rail • Different railhead widths and different rail base widths • Different size rail-joiners over the years • The weathering on ME rail has been inconsistent recently • I prefer to weather it myself – I use the ME rail weathering solution O Scale West 2012 www.americantieandtimber.com 14

Using ME Rail-Weathering Solution • 2 methods possible: – Dunk rail in a vat and agitate, or, – Paint solution onto rail and wait – Both are reasonable methods • Why “do-it-yourself”? – To obtain the exact colour you want – To get a consistent colour – To enable starting with bare metal for better soldering • Steps – Mask off bottom of rail in areas where feeder wires will be soldered. I use blue masking tape strips – Fill vat with solution; place in rail pieces and agitate until desired colour achieved – Rinse well with water and let dry; use 72 hours later O Scale West 2012 www.americantieandtimber.com 15 Always and Never • Always inspect all your rail at time of purchase – Note the colour and width of railhead and base – Your hobby shop will love you for this. • Never use pre-weathered rail for your soldered switchwork – It does not solder well and is impossible to fully clean off • Never rely on rail joiners for positive electrical contact • Always solder 2 feeder wires to the bottom of each rail – One is redundant • Always colour-code your feeder wires – I use black for -, red for +, and white for frogs • Always use silver-solder, never lead-tin – It is considerably stronger • Always build your switches to be DCC-compatible – This is easy to do O Scale West 2012 www.americantieandtimber.com 16

DCC-Compatibility • I found this diagram at www.wiringfordcc.com. • They have some very extensive descriptions of do’s and don’ts. • Fundamentally you don’t want any areas where two adjacent rails are opposite polarity. This is usually an issue at the point rails. O Scale West 2012 www.americantieandtimber.com 17 Frog Angle De-mystified • Number 5 frog geometry shown here O Scale West 2012 www.americantieandtimber.com 18

Standard 2-way Point Switch Note gaps • Quick to build • Involves basic principles we can apply to other switches O Scale West 2012 www.americantieandtimber.com 19 Curved Point Switch • Surprisingly common on prototype • Frog angles generally very acute O Scale West 2012 www.americantieandtimber.com 20

Cutting Rail • Rough-cut to approximate length + 1/16” - 1/8” • Complete finish-cut • Ensure that cutter blade held vertical • Inspect Note O Scale West 2012 www.americantieandtimber.com 21 Bending Rail • Use MicroMark spiking pliers to firmly grip railhead and base at same time • Keeping tight grip, bend protruding rail with fingers • Railhead will be centered with respect to base after bend • Touchup underneath rail with fine file to remove “bumps” O Scale West 2012 www.americantieandtimber.com 22

Bending Rail: Don’t use Needlenose • Needlenose will result in a deformed bend • Base is bent and railhead “along for the ride” • Not recommended Note: rail head Note: rail head not gripped by not gripped by not centered on not centered on pliers base O Scale West 2012 www.americantieandtimber.com 23 Building a Frog: Step1 • Setup your disc sander O Scale West 2012 www.americantieandtimber.com 24

Building a Frog: Step2 • Cut frog diverging rails to desired length. I prefer 8 inches • Rails can be different codes if required • Sand rails to sharp point using disc sander • Check angle against frog lines on jig – test fit often • Touch up with steel wool and files • Solder together lightly with silver solder and acid • Clean with toothbrush, hot water and soap • Use mill file to touchup and sharpen to a point O Scale West 2012 www.americantieandtimber.com 25 Building a Frog: Step3 • Cut 2 pieces of rail about 8 inches long • Form closure rails using MicroMark spiking pliers • Form to appropriate frog angle O Scale West 2012 www.americantieandtimber.com 26