Ok - so for a first attempt (let me rephrase, first COMPLETION - there were other attempts that were abondoned before they were completed due to being too wrong) it’s not great, but it works. I wouldn’t mount it on the layout but it DOES work - I’ve run trucks through it and while there’s some problems on the diverging route through the frog I’m pretty impressed with myself.
I used the FastTracks point tool and the stock rail tool to easy my filing but everything else was handlaid. Print out a template, spray with spray mount and drop the PCB ties on and then off you go.
Now I just need to do about a dozen more to get them right all the time.
(apologies for my wife’s hair stuck to the turnout - she sheds everywhere!)
-Greg
(edit: I know the guard rails are missing but that’s easy compared to the rest)
Greg, that looks pretty good. I found the frog to be the biggest pain to get right, but yours seems okay. It is hard to tell from your image, but it appears to me that your closed point rail is not sharp enough. I would like to see the filed portion longer, and the point sharper if it were mine. I almost have a suspicion that you have the points jig for a sharper turnout, and not one for the frog # of your assembly jig.
How are you dealing with filing away the foot of the rail so that the points can lie flush against the stock rail flange face?
What would you say your most troublesome experience is with the Fast Tracks turnouts? With what part of the assembly do you struggle most?
The closed point rail actually lies pretty flat - part of it is the “spring” in the point rails. So it’s just kind of hard to tell from the picture. This is a #6 turnout using a #6 frog so don’t think there’s any problem there. If there is it’s in my assembly and soldering!
As for the stock rails, I used the new Fast Tracks stock rail tool. BOY is that thing a life saver. I was trying to hand file it with a vice before and it just ended badly every time. The stock rail tool makes it cake.
I didn’t use any assembly jig at all on this - just the point and stock rail tools. I used a template from ptototrains.com, marked my PC tie locations, put spray mount on the template and then stuck the PC ties down. From there I soldered the straight stock rail as a base, built the frog and then soldered it in place. Finally I soldered down the curved stock rail and then went to work on the closure rails (the hardest part).
I used a couple of ME code 55 guages to keep everything in guage and the NMRA guage for the flangeways and such.
There are a bunch of mistakes on this one (no guard rails yet, the closure rails by the frog aren’t filed down enough, I actually soldered the point tie to the stock rails at one point and had to redo that, I forgot to cut the foil on the PC ties, and my soldering leaves a lot to be desired) but it’s a start and will (hopefully) only get better from here.
To be honest, I really don’t think a jig is necessary. The point and stock rail tools are a big help but the rest is fairly easy to do by hand. The worst part is getting the rails tacked down. I learned a trick from YouTube (credit to TheBigE61 on YouTube) for doing it.
You cut your solder into little “discs” – basically cut the solder about 1/32" so you get little solder discs. Then you can lay the stock rail, pick up a piece of solder with tweezers or whatever and lay it against the rail. Hold the rail down with your finger and touch the solder disc with a hot iron - it melts immediately. Once you get it tacked down the rest is easy (I use normal 0.015" solder at that point).
With the straight stock rail tacked down the rest is pretty straightforward if you have a couple of ME rail guages. They become your fingers at that point.
The hardest part with the jigs is they cost a fair amount and they are only good for one size. For the cost of one jig I can buy 3 point tools.
I had already decided on an additional PC tie there as I noticed keeping it in guage is tricky. Same with the other end of the turnout - I’ll be adding an additional PC tie to both the main and diverging route.
I’ll be making more for practice - the tough part for me appears to be the closure rails by the frog. Getting all that working properly was quite difficult and it looks like crap on this first try. It works, but it looks bad.
I’ll take a look at the video, thanks. And I know what you mean about the upfront cost. I’m holding out for a while, maybe they will run some sort of package deal. I could use four or five basic units and it would make sence with setting up a new layout, but I’m not going to put down over $1000 on jigs just yet. I just might have to learn to hand lay them as your doing.
The “in work” photos do help and are nice to see, they are just invaluable when tackling something new.
Mind you I don’t agree with everything does but it all works and he’s got some good ideas for making life a little easier. I went over the videos over and over and made changes along the way to things I was more comfortable with.
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Kung Fu-Tze.
Pretty good-looking footprint for a first step! Pretty soon, you’ll be jogging along through double crossovers, slip switches and three way turnouts on curves (where all three routes curve in the same direction.) As you’re surely aware, the biggest obstacle is the one you’ve already overcome, the fear factor. Once you tell yourself, “I can do that!” - you can.
Having built a LOT of specialwork, in track gauges from 6mm to 16.5mm (including dual gauge) I really admire the appearance of your work. (My own first efforts were cosmetic disasters!)
Well, my second attempt came out much better than the first. Here’s a picture in all its glory:
I ran a test truck through it in all directions, no clicking, no clacking, no stalling, no stuttering. I was kind of surprised as I saw a few places I could improve this one (the frog could be a little tighter, the closure rails could be a little closer in to the frog, my soldering still isn’t great, etc).
To anyone reading this who thinks they can’t do it I really urge you to try! The one you see above took me maybe two hours of work to complete start-to-finish. It’s full in guage, no binding anywhere and looks pretty good (yes, I know one guard rail is a hair longer than the other but lets not pick nits).
Again, this is all hand laid with no jigs. I do use the pointform and stockrail tools to make filing a bit easier (code 55 rail is pretty darn hard to lock down in a vice to file otherwise) but the rest is all me. A couple of track guages from MicroEngineering and I’m off and running.
I’ll keep working at this until I get really good at it (and start cutting my PC ties longer, they’re all a bit short here) and then maybe try something funky like a slip switch or a curved turnout.
I have no interest in handlaying track in general (flextrack is fantastic) but to be able to build to fit and do custom trackwork … absolutely. Its a heck of a lot cheaper than buying it that’s for sure!
So what am I missing. Should there be a picture of the switch? I have read several post that indicate a picture is included but am not able to find anything.
It looks very good, Greg. In complete honesty, I can see two place where I would want an improvement. Firstly, the diverging closure rail wing, just above the frog in your second photo, is splayed too widely as it approaches its tip along the frog rail. Secondly, the lower guard rail appears to be too far away from the stock rail, or else it is canted toward the frog too much. I would suggest, if I am correct, reheating it and pressing it down so that it adopts a more upright stance or so that you can slip it a wee bit closer to the stock rail…maybe half a millimeter will do, maybe 3/4…hard to tell.
Hey man, looks good! Always great to see others getting into handlaying.
I won’t criticize your turnouts, as everyone else has pointed out the areas in need of improvement.
However, I do have a few suggestions you might want to think about trying. First, what are you going to be using for roadbed? If it’s N-scale cork, I would HIGHLY suggest buying pieces of basswood that are like 2" wide, or whatever will fit an N-scale turnout (i’m HO). This way, you can lay out a template on the wood, and then just build the turnout on top of it. Plus, you can use all wooden ties with spikes, and not have to worry about soldering. This is what I do. And then, once you finish your turnout, it is COMPLETELEY ready for installing on your layout; just cut out where it’ll go, and you’re ready for ballasting.
Also, I’m not sure how your skills are with handling the small parts of N-scale, but if you want a better-looking throwbar, check out the Ultimate Throwbars from the Proto87 Stores (www.proto87.com). I use them now, and they look soooo awesome.
Lastly, I dont know if you’ve realized this, but since you have the #6 pointform tool, you can build #5 and #4 turnouts!!! The points will be filed away enough. Becuase the #6 is a shallower curve, more of the point needs to be filed away. You would actually be OVER-filing for a #4 and #5 turnout, but it will work. You just can’t go the other way (making a #8 with a #6pointform).
Thanks for the comments all. It’s all still a work in progress. I’ll be building more of them to work on the technique. This second one is already worlds better than the first one I built (ie, this one works without jiggling through the frog).
Definitely need to work on the closure wing rails - that was something that I noticed as well. It’s not as aesthetically clean as I would want it. Ditto on the guard rails. To be honest, on the guard rails I was so excited about getting the turnout done I kind of rushed through them so I could be “finished”.
After I took the previous picture I actually did go back and reheat some of the joints to tighten things up. Turns out I was out of guage on the diverging closure rail and it was causing a bobble through the frog. That’s been corrected now and all is working better.
Again - thanks for the comments and critiques. I’ll keep filing away at it. I figure in another half dozen or so I should be good enough to start dropping them onto some test tracks and running through them. Just have to get a real throwbar in there!
Your turnout looks great! I did some hand laying in c55 N scale about 30 years ago (before there were commecial jigs). My approach was to build them right on the layout using code 70 spikes. I simply built them to fit. I think yours looks better than mine, but I’ll be glad to share my methods if you’re interested.
Yeah there’s about 50-odd parts but they’re all short and broken into segments (like laying the stock rails, etc) so you can go through them relatively quickly.
Considering it was the first time I’d seen anyone handlay a turnout it was really helpful, even if it was long!
