I bought some PECO conductive track joiners to connect my PECO Code 80 flex track. I have prepped the track ends but either the joiners are so tight I can get them on the rail or so loose they don’t stay put when attempting to join them to the second track. Are there other brands of joiners (Atlas, Kato, Bachmann) That are easier to attach and then stick at the halfway point?
I’ve seen the hockey stick rail tool that some people use, but if I can’t the joiner over the end of the track, that device is unlikely to help. Looking forward to shared secrets.
I use Atlas rail joiners on both Atlas flex track and Peco turnouts.
I use a needle-nose pliers to attach them.
I agree, it’s very difficult, but I’ve gotten a lot better at it after a bunch of times. If I can’t get it, I will use a file to remove a tiny amount of rail bottom, and then it’s a little easier. Good luck!
Thanks
My ‘take’ on tight joiners is to lightly ‘bell-mouth’ the upper ends, with a tool like a jeweler’s screwdriver, and lightly file the top of the ends of the foot of the rail, to aid starting the joiner on.
I confess to cheating when centering joiners. I drilled a small hole in the base of the joiner at midpoint, so I could get the tip of a pushpin in there. This kept the joiner from going too far one way or the other until the joint was nearly finished – at which point you pull the pin out and just push the joint closed. You could do this with wire or T-pins and temporarily solder if you wanted.
As mentioned… the ‘first best way’ to assure electrical continuity is with feeders soldered to each length of rail, not better contacts from rail end to rail end…
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Thanks! Good information. I plan on soldering at least the flex track joints, put non-conductive joiners on points and crossovers and independently power those from the rail buses and point motors.
As a suggestion: if you use non-conductive joiners, also use a little epoxy in the joint followed by filing to get the railhead profiled and smooth through the joint. You may need to use care to ensure there is enough room around the little ‘pin’ in the joiner for the epoxy to stick. Common practice is to cut the ‘gaps’ through the rail where needed, fill the gap with suitable epoxy, and file to contour to get ‘the best of both worlds’ – this technique works in N scale even if you don’t have a thin-kerf saw or thin cutting wheel, because neither the width nor the angle of the joint “matter” to smooth running with no clicks or drops.
What brand of epoxy do you use? One-part or two part? Will a pin drill go through a joiner or do I need more power? Thanks, you’ve been very helpful.
I always used PC-7 but waited until I had other repair jobs too. The amount to ‘do’ a whole layout’s worth of gaps is very slight.
I have never gotten the ‘one-part’ mold able epoxy to set right. I’d avoid anything that is ‘metal-loaded’ or reinforced (like the J-B Weld formula with steel in it).
I believe the joiners are brass and I’d expect a small drill in a pin vise to work fine. Might be easy to make up a ‘dap’ to stick joiners onto to hold them steady for drilling. It might be worthwhile to invest in a model drill press as it cuts down dramatically on broken drill bits from freehand use.
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