I was wondering if anyone has a suggestion for an adhesive. I am scratch building a 10" wood trestle bridge in N gauge and I would like to hand lay the track. I do not yet have the skillset for this work and I was figuring on glueing the track down. As I need to use my NMRA tool to ensure proper spacing between the rails, I think I need an adhesive with good initial tack but not an overly fast cure.
Any thoughts?
Hi Sam,
I just started using a adhesive about 8months ago by Northeastern scale lumber called ‘‘Flamingo Glue’’ goes on pink, cures clear, sets in 5mintues. They say to clamp for 5minutes…but I didn’t on any parts and they dried extremely strong. It is recommened for all wood craftsman kits and wood projects, doll houses included. Water wash up before curing. I got the one with the applicator, works perfect for small apps.:
https://northeasternscalelumber.com/shop/glue/flamgk.html
I forgot to mention: When I glue rails to wood or plastic…I use ZAP-A-GAP Medium CA +. You only have 15 seconds though before it sets…but I’m used to using it. Some people use epoxy and JB Weld. I have not encountered any problem’s with the Zap though. I have even used ME spikes, but I’m in HO so it is easier…never tried to spike N-scale track to wood.
I wish I had it when I used to build wood ship models.
Inclosed is a pic’ of a kit bash I am working on with white pine lumber, that I cut to scale on My table saw, which is the roof support and removable side wall, for display purposes. The trusse’s I used Zap CA.
[URL=http://s1376.photobucket.com/user/fm_stripe/media/IMG_20151012_080915_zpsx53hz37c.jpg.html]
like I said…it’s very strong, once cured.
Take Care! [:D]
Frank
I like using Pliobond to attach rails to wood substructures. It’s pretty easy-- you spread a thin layer on the underside of the rail, press it in place, and touch a soldering iron to the top side to activate the adhesive. I’ve found that with a little more time it does begin to tack without the heat, which is how it’s normally used I think. I’ve done the decks to three small trestles on my current layout this way, as well as a defunct lift-off bridge section.
To keep the rails in gauge, I use three-point gauges while gluing and weight the rails in place while the adhesive dries. If you have those too, it’s a cinch. But I’m sure it can also be done with just the NMRA gauge.
P
For attaching rails in places that I cant use spikes, I use Barge cement. Actually, I use Barge everywhere since I discovered it. I thin it with MEK and apply using blunt tip syringes. Super easy to apply and you will be amazed at how strong the hold is. Lots of fumes though.
For scratch building with wood I’ve had very good results using Aleene’s Wood Glue available at any Crafter’s store. My wife put me on to it and I have built close to a dozen scratch built houses with it.
It bonds to Basswood extremely good, for strength it’s great. Firm setup time is about 8 minutes. It turns a bit tacky quickly. It dries with a slight brownish tint and doesn’t absorb darker stains very well. Oak stains look very good but darker walnut stains don’t take as well.
I particularly like the way the glue flows from the nozzle, extremely easy to control.
Mel
Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951
Pliobond is the right stuff for attaching metal rails to wood ties. Normally it takes about two days to fully cure but you can get it started by applying heat with a soldering iron as stated. When you hear the glue sizzle you know it has set. I laid the track on my wood trestle this way.
I am not familiar with N gauge so not sure just how critical it is, but I highly recommend getting some 3pt gauges to set the track , especially if you are building a curve into the trestle. Once fully cured the pliobond holds really tight so fixing a trouble spot could be difficult. I used a little bit different technique than most to lay the rails but it really worked well. Maybe this will help.
This pic is after I built the stringer and tie assembly and was checking the fit. I left gaps in the wood ties at this point and left some of the flex ties in place to help hold the rails together. You can see the 3pt gauges laid on the rails to the left.
Here is the stringer and tie assembly after painting and with the subroadbed removed.
I don’t have a pic of gluing the rails down, but I did that after finishing the terrain underneath and attaching the bents to the stringers. And if you look at the first pic you can see how it was done. I applied pliobond to the bottom of the rails and to the ties, let it get tacky, set the rails in place and used the gauges to make sure they were spaced exactly right while using a soldering iron to set the glue. After the pliobond was cured I snapped out the remaining flex ties and slid wood ties in their place. Here is the finished trestle right after the rails were glued on:
Thanks for the suggestion Frank. Nice work!
I see you are a guitar player!
[quote user=“HObbyguy”]
Pliobond is the right stuff for attaching metal rails to wood ties. Normally it takes about two days to fully cure but you can get it started by applying heat with a soldering iron as stated. When you hear the glue sizzle you know it has set. I laid the track on my wood trestle this way.
I am not familiar with N gauge so not sure just how critical it is, but I highly recommend getting some 3pt gauges to set the track , especially if you are building a curve into the trestle. Once fully cured the pliobond holds really tight so fixing a trouble spot could be difficult. I used a little bit different technique than most to lay the rails but it really worked well. Maybe this will help.
This pic is after I built the stringer and tie assembly and was checking the fit. I left gaps in the wood ties at this point and left some of the flex ties in place to help hold the rails together. You can see the 3pt gauges laid on the rails to the left.
Here is the stringer and tie assembly after painting and with the subroadbed removed.
I don’t have a pic of gluing the rails down, but I did that after finishing the terrain underneath and attaching the bents to the stringers. And if you look at the first pic you can see how it was done. I applied pliobond to the bottom of the rails and to the ties, let it get tacky, set the rails in place and used the gauges to make sure they were spaced exactly right while using a soldering iron to set the glue. After the pliobond was cured I snapped out the remaining flex ties and slid wood ties in their place. Here is the finished trestle right after the rails were
Thanks Sam, I just started this layout just a few years ago so only have a few areas that are finished to this level of detail. But it is at least a 10 year project and to me building is most of the fun.
While I really like Pliobond for gluing metal rails to wood ties I haven’t had as much success with it for anything else. MicroEngineering recommends Pliobond for gluing flex track to their bridge kits for example but I’ve found Pliobond to be very hit and miss for gluing to flex track. I’ve not really found anything that sticks to the soft plastic that flex ties are made of very well.
There are no good hobby stores around me so most everything I buy is mail order or ebay too.
Pliobond or any other contact-type cement should work fine for plastic ties such as those used on Atlas flex track, and it works well on the Micro Engineering ties, too. I use LePages or Dap Weldwood gelled contact cement to put Central Valley tie strips on cork roadbed and to glue the rail to the ties, too. If you need to position something accurately before bringing the two surfaces together, waxed paper works well: the dried contact cement doesn’t stick to it, and it’s transparent enough that you can see alignment marks through it. Line up the material, then slide the waxed paper from between the two surfaces, applying pressure to the surfaces as they touch.
If you have soft plastics which don’t respond well to contact cement (most do, though), prep the plastic with lacquer thinner. I discovered this when putting down sheet styrene around flex track laid directly on plywood. Apparently, too much of the solvent in the contact cement is drawn into the surface of the styrene, resulting in a weak bond. I used a 2" brush to apply the thinner to the plastic, then used the same brush to apply the contact cement to the plywood, then finally, to apply the contact cement to the styrene - this can be done as quickly as you can work, since you don’t want the softened surface of the styrene to re-harden.
Once the contact cement has been applied to both surfaces, let it dry for the time specified on the container (20minutes to 2 hours for the Weldwood or 20 minutes to 1 hour for Lepages) then carefull
