How do you use the tortoise machine with 2 inches thickness of foam? I have 1/4 inch plywood with 2 inches of foam over the plywood. The wire that comes with the tortise machine is not long enough to reach the turnout. Is there a place that sells longer wire? I have been looking but have not foud it anywhere.
If anyone has run into this problem I would like to know your solution.
Bill
Most any hobby shop, even those that don;t have much train stuff, should have a selection of music wire. Get some lengths of .037, .039, or .042 and also get yourself a paitrr of heavy duty side cutters or else use a Dremel and cutoff wheel (do NOT use ordinary wire cutters and most DEFINITELY do not use your track cutter, as the music wire is hardened and will quickly destroy the blades. It will destroy the blades of heavy duty lineman’s pliers too but not as fast as the soft jaws of the tracka nd wire cutters) and cut pieces to length and then bend the one end to the Tortoise pattern. If you go all the way to the .042 you’ll probbaly hae to drill the hole in the Tortoise bigger to stick the end of the wire in, but I use .037 through the same thickness of materials (plus cork roadbed under the track) with no problems.
–Randy
Where there is a will, there are relatives!
You can buy longer PIANO WIRE at your hobby shop. It is supposed to work, but the LION has never bade it do so. LIONS like brute strength, and so will opt for a 1/16" piece of welding rod. But with a two inch inch thick trackway, that could shove your track or your switch machine out of alignment.
LION does mount Tortoise switch machines remotely, and does link them to the turnouts with said welding rod:
Here you can see the Tortoise switch machines up against the wall on the left (there are four of them in a row to control a double crossover on the elevated structure above the trucks). They are connected to the track by a piece of welding rod Eventually these machines will be disguised by a store front.
To connect the rod to the machine I use a piece of insulation from a wire, which will slip over the actuator rod. I use some thin copper wire to lash this into place. I center the motor actuator by hand, and slip the rod over it. I then center the switch points, an finally with both points and actuator centered, I solder the lashing in place so that it will not slip. DONE.
Do not be afraid to try different things, and take them apart again to try something different.
ROAR
Bill:
Google on McMaster-Carr. They are an industrial supply place in Atlanta. On their site, search for music wire and there you will be. I just bought a bundle of 12" long .025" wire and one of .040" to resolve the same problem with my Tortoise machines. The only problem is that you usually have to buy it by the 50 or so piece bundles which can always be used somewhere. I’ve been doing business with McMaster-Carr for years and have always had excellent service from them.
Good Luck
Jim
Your Local Hardware Store can probably help you out. Ours has a wide assortment of music wire of various thicknesses, over by the brass rod, sheet and tubing section. I think I used 042 for mine. I did have to enlarge the small hole in the Tortoise a bit, too.
Use a 1/4 inch drill to get through the foam. I know, you can poke an awl through and enlarge it with a pencil, and that works fine for wires, but a drill will remove all the residual material and leave a clean hole that won’t collapse. The Tortoise wire needs to move freely.
If you still HAVE a local hardware store and they haven’t all been run out by Home Depot and Lowes. I’ve never seen it at the big box stores (but never really looked - since even the hobby shop that caters to trains by having a few Bachmann train sets still has a full selection of K&S wire). It’s also pretty cheap.
Oh and save yourself some time. Once you figureout how long a piece you need, cut a whole bunch up at one time so you don;t have to keep stopping to measure and cut a new piece. Bend them all to shapre in a mass production as well, then i’ts a matter of slipping the wire in and mounting the Tortoise.
–Randy
I got my music wire from ACE Hardware…“Ace is the place”.
Check this thred. I have the same 2inches of foam with a 1/4inch plywood base as you. I just remove all of the foam where the switch machine sits. then run a centering hole through roughly the senter of the square hole into the plywood. Then get a 1 1/4 hole saw and come up from the under side of the layout for some access to the switch machine. Solder your wires to the tortise before you mount the track above, run the wires through the hole and you are in place.
Bill,
I use a completly different approach. I have not had much luck with the longer wire over the long haul. I cut out a 4" square of 1/2" Medium Density Fiberboard, predrill the holes for the wire, then saw an approriate hole in the 2" foam, and use liquid nails to secure the MDF. I secure the Tortise with double sided carpet tape, check the operation. If it is good I use screws to secure the switch machine to the MDF. I use the original springey wire to throw the switch. They do have lenghts of steel and brass stock at Lowes and Home Depot. I buy mine at Tacoma Trains in Tacoma Washington. You can get a Hard Wire And Cable cutter from Micro-Mark, and probably other stores, but I use a dremel cut off disc, and a pair of safety glasses. Please Wear safety glasses whenever cutting the music wire, it will fly like a missile when cut.
Paul
Dayton and Mad River RR
http://cs.trains.com/TRCCS/forums/p/48476/615277.aspx
Sorry I forgot to post the thread so here is the link.
Thank everyone for your help. I checked out McMaster-Carr and they sell several thicknesses of wire in 1 foot lengths. for about $15 you get 100 pieces.
Also, I never thought of mounting the Tortoise Machine on top of the layout and cuttign a hole for the Tortoise to fit through.
I will experiment with both and see which one works best.
Again, thanks for all the help. I’ll post some pics when I start mounting the switch machines.
Bill
I did do the top down apprach years ago on my previous layout, but that one just had 2" foam and no plywood. I used squares of perfboard from Radio Shack so I could just screw the Tortoise tot he square. With plywood under, it will be much more difficult, you have to cut away the plywood too. Foam is easy to cut a square hole in, plywood not so much. With just foam, this method worked out GREAT. I used a router attachment on my Dremel to route out the recess for the square of perfboard to fit level witht he surroundign foam, workign with the Dremel in oen hand and the nozzle of the shop-vac int he other, since using a router bit on extruded foam makes a lot of dust that likees to get staticly charged and stick to everything.
–Randy