This age old question has been beaten to death with advocates of Dremel and Zona.
I have a (I think) new question. My Zona saws worked very well on my old brass rails but just don’t cut the NS rail. Has someone come up with a blade that works on the harderm NS rail?
We use Xuron rail cutters, goes quickly and easily. The harder NS splits better IMHO than the gummier brass.
http://www.micromark.com/xuron-track-cutter,9199.html
Richard
I have cut rail with just a razor saw. Mind you, that’s N scale rail, not HO, but the razor saw goes through it nicely. The only problem with using a saw is that the teeth catch on the rail and tend to jerk it from side to side and can pull it out of the ties. I have a heavy cast metal saw guide that fits onto the rails and has a slot in it for the saw blade. It’s just a solid block of metal with grooves for the rails and a slot for the saw. It keeps the rails steady. The only problem with it is that when I replaced the razor saw the new blade was higher than the old one and won’t fit in the slot. It doesn’t work as well when it’s holding the rails on only one side of the saw. My preferred method is to use a cutoff disk in a motor tool. That too has its problems. Due to the bulk of the motor tool I can’t get a perfectly perpendicular cut. I’m sure that a razor saw with very fine teeth should cut NS rail okay so long as you can hold the rails steady.
I usually use a fiberglass reinforced cutoff wheel in a Dremel. They’re hard enough to cut nickel silver rail without shattering like the flimsy Dremel wheels.
I use either an Atlas rail saw, or a Dremel thin shank (so I can get perpendicular to the rail) with a thin saw blade (not a cut of disk). I find the cut off disks to be to thick and make too large a gap.
I use a Dremel or generic brand cut-off disc to cut rail gaps, which, of course are not perpendicular. I’m not sure why this should be a concern: the resulting gap is a perfect width into which to insert a small square of .020" Plastruct ABS sheet material, which is ca’d in place. After the cement has hardened, I use an X-Acto #17 blade to carve the ABS to the shape of the rail profile, yielding a positive electrical gap requiring no painting.
While I’ve broken my share of cut-off discs, it is always attributeable to misuse. Treated with care, the disc simply wears down and becomes, in some cases, even more useful, as it will fit into spaces where a new disc won’t. This is especially useful when working on brass steam locos, where the mounting pegs of soldered-on detail parts often extend too far into the boiler or cab, making re-motoring, adding extra weight or installing window glass difficult.
Cut-off discs are probably the most-used accessory for my Dremel. Here’s a couple of used ones, alongside a couple of new ones:
Wayne
Seamonster, there is a flexible shaft accessory for the Dremel tool that will give you better control and a vertical cut. With it, the motor part can be left on the benchwork nearby, and the wand at the end holding the disk is easier to handle in close quarters. It is about the diameter of a AA battery. I get good vertical cuts with it. Wouldn’t be without it.
Have fun, George
I’ve been using the Dremel abrasive cut-off wheels for years, hobby or work, and sometimes I was able to wear them out, and sometimes I’d break a couple just to get a single cut. Then I read a tip which greatly extended their life, especially by reducing shattering.
Just dribble a bit of CA around the center of the disk, to about half way out from the center hole.
I have just purchased these for cutting rail and models…
Metal cut off wheels…
I hope it all works out. The “Thin Cut” wheels seem to be 1mm thick. [;)]
I use the same method. I hang the dremel tool from a hook at the work bench when not working on the layout and find the flexible shaft easier to use at the workbench as well.
Good luck
Paul
Hey Sea Monster, I have a flex extension that goes on the dremel tool it works wonders for not being bulky and doesn’t get in the way for a perpendicular cut. Check them out at Dremel’s site.
http://www.dremel.com/en-us/Attachments/Pages/ProductDetail.aspx?pid=225-01
Hope this helps in the future.
Blind Bruce, Dremel makes a right angle adapter that is excellent for cutting rail and many other things. I often use it as a mini angle grinder, the down side is that it is kind of pricey, but it sure works slick.
John Sawaska
Xuron makes a great cutter for rails… not to be confused with their sprue cutter.
The trick is to follow their instructions. Try and resist cutting along the sides of the rails but rather put the cutter jaws on the rail bead and the bottom of the rail and cut off.
It will only need a minimal amount of filing there after.
see ya
Bob
The Xuron railnippers can’t be beat for new track. But, for track already in place, I use my trusty Dremel, now with the flex drive. I use the lightweight cutting disks, because they leave the smallest gap. But, not only do I wear safety goggles, I also wear a full face shield. One grenaded one night and a piece hit me in the neck. As with prototype railroads: SAFETY FIRST!