Been on one of those long working all weekend jobs, first time I’ve been home since last Thursday, and waiting for me was my Fast Tracks order. No I haven’t tried building a turnout yet, way too tired for that, but I did open and inspect everything. I must say, what a class oepration. Well packaged items, and all of the pieces themselves - the turnout jig, the PointForm tool, etc - are all VERY well made. I used to work in a precision CNC machine shop, so I can appreciate how smooth the pieces are. And the package of solder they give you - I was trying to pull off the lid when I realized it has a feed hole in it - I’ll definitely we keeping that to use as a handy dispenser, as the 1lb spool of the same size solder I have is just a bit hard to handle, as is just cutting odd loose bits of it. Then there’s that wonderful laser-cut (fully assembled) billboard they supply. And oh yea, a laser-cut T handle kit for the allen wrench used on the PointForm tool.
If I’m still awake come this weekend, I may attempt my first turnout build. I don’t see how I can go wrong with the excellent video instructions and well made tools.
Randy, good for you. Just be very carefull notching the stock rails so that the point rails nest up to them. Take your time and do it right. Test often.
While you are testing, don’t rely on the turnout jig for track gauge. 99% of the time you will be fine, assuming your rails are nicely pre-bent and want to lie flat in their grooves. If you are out by too much, they’ll want to spring out and you may end up with a slight gauge problem after you solder them to the ties.
I know, It’s still way cheaper than buying commercial turnouts.
I figure when I start my N scale standard guage to dual gauge to narrow gauge layout I’ll use thier dual gauge jig which can make dual, standard, narrow, and bunch of combinations.
Congrats! I’ve had great luck with mine, without a doubt it quickly became some of the most fun I’ve had so far in this hobby. I started making cross overs out of a single turnout jig, and finally ended up with a yard ladder that shared the same piece of stockrail for all four turnouts.
Besides guage as mentioned, check your electricals. I found that a multi-meter is invaluable for their assembly; check each turnout thoroughly on the bench before installation. It’s much easier to find and correct shorts before you put them in.
I also soldered frog feeder wires to the bottom before installing, whether or not you might use them it seems an easy step just in case.
Ditto to all of the good comments here. I had never attempted anything like this before, and I was amazed at the quality of the work that I was able to produce. It has given me the confidence to handlay my new layout and, inspired by Tim’s Bronx Terminal, I’m thinking of trying some complicated trackwork, just because.
Everything I’ve read here just reinforces what I’ve heard elsewhere - FasTracks is a class operation that delivers a class product.
I consider jigs to be something like water wings - great for learning to swim, but not meant for somebody training for the Olympics. By all means use them, but be aware that there will come a time when your track geometry and the available jigs don’t come into alignment. When you can handlay a three-way switch with all three routes curving left, you will have passed the point of needing them.
By all means, make good use of an excellent product. Just don’t ever say, “I can’t build that. I don’t have a jig.”
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - with jig-free hand-laid specialwork)
All set - I now have a total of 4 three-point track gauges plus an NMRA gauge. I keep meaning to have a freind of mine turn a couple for HO like he uses for N scale, basically cylinders with rail-width grooves, but haven’t gotten around to that. I think I have plenty to get started though [:D]
Stripped a piece of flex track (I had my fixtures made for Atlas Code 83 so I can use Atlas flex and other components), and made my first guard rails. They came out fine, fit in the slots perfectly. Will need to file away the base for a truly accurate fit, when it comes time to install them. Then I tried to make a frog. Two things. One, I need to practice - I thought I had the rail ends prtruding through the Pointform sufficiently but when I tested the frog it did not go in all the way. Needs some more material filed off (and it was down to the tool surface). Two, I need a small belt sander. Filing by hand, well, stinks.
Randy, believe it or not, I just used an electric grinding stone, the finer of the two wheels. It takes some steadiness and a firm grip, and you will goof up a couple of rails, but it otherwise worked well for me.
I don’t know how you are fixed for disposible income, but I paid through the nose for a jeweler’s file ordered from the States, and a bag with quite a few spare filament blades. As Tim demonstrates, it really is the way to go. You have to get down to your nose pressing on the rails to see the tiny gaps that it leaves. If you have a supplier handy, I would urge you to go that route.
Randy, You can order the rolling gauges from Steve Hatch here http://www.railwayeng.com/gauges.htm if you don’t want to wait for your friend to make you some. Cheers, David
If you’re using the frog and point form tool, make sure you have a good hand file. I went to Sears and got a new one after being frustrated with my first efforts. It made a HUGE difference from what I was trying to use at the house. No more than half a minute to file down a piece of rail.
I’ve looked into this system before, and from what I can tell, it’s great. Probably cheaper than buying tons of commercial turnouts, too. Only thing is, I don’t have the money buy the stuff to start.[:(]
IMHO, the key tool for shaping frogs and points is a BIG flat file. I use a 12 incher from my local big box home improvement center. What took me a minute to do with smaller files takes one stroke with the behemoth.
Agreed, a large flat file is the best way to get the rail down to what it should be…takes about 90 seconds or less. As for the grinding out of the foot on one side so that the point rail rides us nicely against the stock rail head, this is tricky. It generates heat quickly and you are gripping this soft thinned rail trying to get it to thin even more…high probability of screwing up if you are impatient and fueled on too much coffee. I believe I only ruined one length using the bench grinder.
Well, I THINK I have the proper file - prior to my goodies arriving I checked the instructions and went out and picked up a couple of 12" single-cut mill files (leaving out the word that will get filtered here). I was careful to use the entire tool and cut in only one direction, not go back and forth over a small area, and it definitely took more than 90 seconds to get down even with the tool. I’ll give it another shot when I get to go home again, and when I’m not so tired. I’m confident the next try will produce bette rresults - I goofed the first piece of rail and had it in in the ‘point’ end and not frog end, and made one nice sharp point rail.
It sounds like you do have the right file, maybe give it a few more trys before you trade for a powered option. I’m shying away from the latter, mostly to preseve the point form as long as possible. I did find that code 70 went a lot faster than 83, and that it took me a couple to “get comfortable” with how much material I needed to remove.