I’m A newbie to the hobby. I’m building my first layout. This is my question. What’s the easiet way to cut the cork roadbed for the curved atlas code 100 track. The straight track is no problem. But i want to be able to do it and not waste a lot of roadbed.
cork is cheap.
i didnt really cut mine i just laid it how i wanted it and you make up for the slack at the end of tracklaying
if youre new you want to watch youre curves and make sure their not too sharp or it will de-rail some cars and locomotives 18" radius is about as sharp as i go with HO scale
hope this helps
-jason
The standard cork roadbed is made in two pieces and can be pulled apart at the seem or middle of the cork. To make it follow a curve just lay it side by side and work it gently around the curve. Draw a line down the center of the curve and place one half of the cork roadbed on one side, then place the other half on the other side. Working it gently around the curve making the two half’s meet in the middle along the center line of your curve.
To add to this, be sure to get some long T pins. I laid my cork on foam board so after drawing the center line down like Johnny said, take your adhesive and spred it out on that center line, being sure to spead it out almost the width of the roadbed, then as mentioned above just work your cork around that line and put a pin in it every so many inches to keep it where you want it. Let dry, and Wa-La!!!
Also read the book, “Getting started in Model Railroading” at lesat I think that’s what it’s called.
Hi!
Welcome aboard!!!
Johnny Reb gave you excellent advice, and that should take you a long way. Two things I would add is to not start the two strips at the same place - stagger them by a few inches. Also, putting the cork under turnouts can be a bit difficult, and there are a few ways to do it. I would experiment and find which way is best for you. You can buy cork roadbed cut out for turnouts, but that can get a bit expensive if you have several.
Also, as JR indicated, spend some money and get a few of Kalmbach’s “beginners” books. They run about $18 or so new, but you can always get them on Ebay for about 1/4 the price. Even though you may get older editions, most of the data is timeless (ex: DCC of course).
ENJOY !!!
Mobilman44
If you’re usiing Midwest Products cork roadbed (and thats the only one I know of) you only need to cut it occassionaly for length - just curve it around to conform to your track and pin it in place while the adhesive dries. You can use almost any kind of glue (I prefer white glue since you can adjust the roadbed before it dries). You can buy “foam pins” from Walters or WS for about five bucks or you can go to Wal-Mart and get “quilting pins” in the craft section for $0.98. You can cut it with scissors or a sharp utility knife.
I used a utility/Stanley Knife/Box cutter and it worked fine, with a nice clean new blade.
I’ve used a staple gun (layout base is half inch plywood) and I can go around curves and what have you easily; if I am not going in the direction I want to I can pull it out and try again, or if I go back and add a turnout or what have you it’s easier. Since I ballasted my track anyway, they are hidden.
Welcome. As has been said draw a center and lay your split cork each side of it. I always cut the ends square, it bends enough to match up just fine. I pinned it down (foam base) made sure all was qoing to fit, then took it up a section at a time, put down a small bead of latex caulk, spread it thin, put the cork back down and pinned it again. You may want to weight the cork down as well as the pinning. Make sure you stagger the ends so that the joints don’t come together. Also for turnouts and yards you can buy specially cut peices or you can go to a craft store and buy sheet cork or cork tiles (12"x12" or similar size) that is the same thickness as your roadbed and cut your own, it’s much easier than cutting the roadbed to fit as I did. Some folks have used foamboard to do under yards, check to see which is cheaper, if that is an issue.
Have fun,