Assuming you used cork for your HO scale roadbed, on curves did you cut the cork on the outside of the curve to make the cork easier to bend around the curve or not? I don’t remember much discussion about it here and I asked a long time local modeler if he did and I got a puzzled look in reply and he said ‘why? it’ll bend just fine without cutting’. But I seem to remember in a article or two that I’ve read where the author recommended a slight cut every few inches.
What did you do?
Jarrell
I have never had to cut any of my HO cork roadbed. It does bend quite a bit. It’s a little pesky until you get it nailed (in my case) or glued in place as it always wants to go straight.
Terry[8D]
Heya Jarrell,
Not the only method, not to say the right method but only the method I’ve had success with:
Midwest Cork has a bevelled edge at the center of the strip. The strip breaks cleanly along that edge when you fold the halves together and carefully separate them. The bevelled edge goes to the outside when laying the cork and the square edge goes toward the center. (You no doubt know all of that but someone else might be going “ohhh WOW, that’s how that works” right about now) [^]
I’ve always laid the track out and marked the center on the table, connecting the dots to create a center live for reference. First I lay the outside of the turn, tacking the cork in place with pushpins but no adhesive. Next I place the inside strip with white glue and secure it with pushpins. The outside strip can now be lifted and secured with glue and pushpins.
Till now I’ve never had to cut either piece but when using slightly older cork I’ve been known to soak it in water a bit before trying to place it onto a curved position.
Another tip I’ve employed when butting two pieces together at the ends is to get one secured properly and then overlapping the end of the second over the first and cutting both at the same time, creating a near perfect matched end.
I hope this helps you or someone else.
dwRavenstar (Dave)
The past few days I’ve put down cork on 18" radius curves on my practice layout and it seems pretty flexible. No kerf cuts - just latex caulk over foam, then the cork. I push some track nails in to hold it in place until it’s dry, then pull the nails out. Even repositioned a piece and it stuck back down - wow.
And they said model railroading was hard!
Jarrell,
With the split cork that Dave is referring to, you shouldn’t have any problems with kinking. Draw your line, lay down your adhesive, lay one side or one half of the cork dow first along that line, let it dry, then lay down the other side. The cork should be flexible enought to handle any curves you throw at it.
Jarrell, the one thing to remember with laying cork around a curve: Make sure you offset your joints so that both halves don’t line up with one another. It doesn’t have to be even, like building a brick wall, but just slightly offset.
The method that Dave mentions about overlapping the ends of the cork then cutting through them both to get a perfect seam or splice is a tried-and-true method that works well.
Tom
Jarrell,
I use cork for my roadbed. It is a wonderful material to work with. It cuts very easily and conforms to most “railroad” sized bends very well. I use track nails to fix my roadbed in place, although I’ve heard of others using all manner of glue compounds. I prefer nails, it is fast and if you make a mistake it’s easy to pull up and fix. Even if you do not make a mistake, but later decide to alter something that doesn’t quite look or work properly it is easy to remove and reinstall.
Hope this helps,
Trevor
i curve it myself
I appreciate the answers. For those that lay cork on extruded foam and use caulk, you’re using something like Liquid Nails for Projects and Foam, right? Or just regular old latex caulk?
Jarrell
Regular old latex caulk obtained for $0.99 a tube at Wally World.
HD
Whatever you get, just make sure it’s compatible with foam. Otherwise, things could get ugly…
Tom