I am a bit confused on how to go about fastening flex to cork roadbed. ( or any other surface) Do you just lay a bead of the stuff and press the track in? What holds the curves in position until the adhesive sets?
I want to do it right the first time. This time anyhow. grin.
Thanks,
Bruce in the Peg
Certainly not the experienced expert here, but I successfully laid down a bead, of caulk, spread it to about the width of the track and held it in place with weights until dry. On curves I also used temporary spikes to hold in place. One key is not to use too much. Don’t want caulk to push up between the ties. Also be spare under your turnouts.
Hope that helps.
JSoule got it right, I’ll just add - canned goods make good weights, & I use a 1" plastic putty knife to spread the bead very thin…
Spread a thin bead and spread it with a flat blade. Try the plastic ones at Home Depot or such, they’re usually less than a buck. If you’re using something under the track like cork, try push pins to hold it on curves. The caulk is pretty tacky real quick, so you don’t have much to worry about. It’s very quick and easy to lay track this way.
I use push pins on the curves, just in case - I find the caulk is actually tacky enough as soon as you spread it that it tends to hold the track in place just fine. But I don’t want any unpleasant surprises, so I stick in some push pins.
I don;t use cork, I use the Woodlans Scenics foam roadbed, but same principle. ANd same thing there - I will stick push pins in on curves and at joints between pieces just so they don;t curl up, othersie, it actually sticks in place as soon as I put it down. There’s still a good half hour when you can slide things around, but uness you actually apply pressure to move it, it doesn;t go anywhere.
–Randy
I have used this method to lay flex track. I spread the caulk with a credit card – you get these “john doe” sample cards in the mail all the time and now I save them to use for this purpose. You have a few minutes to work the track but it tends to get stiff pretty fast. I make the tangents straight by running a Baumgarten Ribbonrail 18" long straight track piece down the middle of the rails (this is HO). For curves, Baumgarten Ribbonrail also makes similar things for various radius curves.
Dave Nelson
As mentioned earlier, don’t put it on too thick. A nice thin layer works best. To spread it I use a little piece of foam, or cork, roadbed. It is the right size, flexible and disposable. Track fixing pins and weights are what have worked for me to hold it in place until dry.
Cambells Extra chunky soup makes great weights to hold the track in place, I suggest bean and ham for curves and steak & potato for straight runs. [:D]
Dave,
Would using these track tools be a good and/or easy way to create easements into curves? Just curious…