Hello all, I just ordered track nails from the WALTHERS catalog ( part #433-1402 ).Can anyone tell me what size drill bit I should order to drill code 100 rail ties. Or is it better to glue my track instead, I am using 1/2" plywood sub roadbed with homasote for main roadbed? thanks, Joe
LION uses whatever size he has. Maybe 60, maybe 52 somewhere in there. If the hole is too small, choose a bigger bit. Maybe LION has 58s. Him just does not know. I went down to the power house and was given a dozen of whatever size he had the most of. And all of his numbered bits were government surplus from about the 50s, maybe older, they were in waxed paper.
LION takes what he is given and if the hole is not big enough, he drives the nail into it anyway.
ROAR
I would recommend putting your track down with latex caulk. I have used both nails and caulk. I didn’t have any trouble with the nails, but I have seen a number of posts where folks pushed the nails in too far and put their track out of guage. Depending on what you have driven them into, they can be hard to pull out.
When using the caulk, it takes only a thin bead spread out to hold the track down. If the caulk squeezes up through the ties, you are using too much. You should use some temporary pins on curves to hold it in place and weight all the track overnight to hold it firmly to the caulk. As long as you don’t use too much, if you need to move your track, you can usually slide a putty knife underneath it and lift it off your trackbed.
Do not put caulk under your trunouts. It can foul up the movement and if you have a failure, makes it hard to pull it out.
Another suggestion. Paint the roadbed under your turnouts the same color as your ballast. By doing this you do not need to put much ballast around the turnouts, which can cause problems.
Good luck,
Richard
If you use nails don’t put the nail head all the way down onto the ties. Stop with the nail head just shy of the tie. This way you won’t push it in too far and buckle the ties.
Not sure what the actual size is , but I have one thats just a bit smaller than the nail. I use a long nose pliers to push the nail in , but making sure not to push to hard , just barely touching the tie. I like using nails because I often change the track , specially in yards.
That’s what I just can’t understand with this trend of gluing your track down. You guys must be awfully sure of your trackplans ! When I built my layout, I was tweaking track geometry for a couple years until I had it just the way I wanted it. Remove a few nails, shift the track a bit and nail it back down. I would not have been too pleased if I had to use a putty knife and scraper every time I wanted to move some track !
Speaking of the nails, I just use 3/8" finishing nails that fit the factory holes just fine. After the track is ballasted, all those nails come back out anyway.
Mark.
Nor do I Mark…
I don’t use nails either with their plug ugly round heads showing even after painting them to match the color of the ties…I leave caulk for its intended purpose.
I prefer to use 2 rail O Scale spikes and ballast glue. I’ve use that method for at least 50 years and never had a track to move or come loose…
Thanks for all the input guys! I think I will stay with nails instead of caulk as I am not sure of my final layout plans. Looks good on paper but we all know how that goes!
LION does push with pliers if into softer material, but it is far better to use a small hammer and a nail set. Very light taps with the hammer will give you better control than the pliers will. And if you are driving the nail into harder material, just get a bigger hammer, or better yet, drill a small pilot hole.
LIONS use not caulk. Him moves tracks about too much for that.
ROAR
I bedded my flextrack with caulk, hammered nails in 3/4 of the way, and put canned goods on the track for extra security until the caulk cured. I then removed the cans (!) but left the nails in place “just because.” As I ballast, adding another level of glue, I remove the nails easily with a nail puller. I only use nails on turnouts.
Like Lion, I used a hammer and a nail set. I’m going into cork roadbed and so never found it necessary to drill pilot holes.
To another poster’s point, I tried to use great care, straightedges, and other tools to make my trackwork as perfect as possible, and so far I’ve not had any problems. But I wouldn’t want to have to remove it!
Rick Krall
Rick,Every time I tried to used a straight edge I ended up in trouble…[:$][:'(]
So,I returned to my "eyeballin’ the track and stayed out of trouble.
Maybe I wasn’t coordinated enough to use a straight edge.[:$]
Some of my “eyeballed” track.
Just a follow up to my other post here , After drilling the hole I grip the nail using the longnose pliers and push it into the hole , then gently finish the job by pushing with the tip of the pliers until the nail just barely touches the tie. I find that doing it this way I can feel where the nail is and when done I can wiggle the rail just a little but its is secured in place
A good investment is a set of numbered bits with index case such as this one from Micro Mark that way I can always size my bits and start out with what I need.
I use the bit that is just slightly smaller than the nail shank. This gives a tight fit but is easily inserted. I use a nail set and small hobby hammer to very lightly tap the nail home leaving it very slightly higher than the tie - about the thickness of a sheet of paper. Even if I over tap, it’s so light that it doesn’t destroy/distort the tie and I can back the nail out a little.
The size bit is dependent on the nails themselves and not all have exactly the same diameter. I use the black track nails because they are mostly invisible against the dark ties. If you use the lighter brown ties then you may need to daub the head with matching paint.
Good luck
Paul
Hey JH,
If you are going to use track nails, I would recommend using a nail set. As already suggested don’t wack the nails down so far that you bend or flex the tie. Don’t leave the nail head up too high as to catch coupler trip pins or anyother undercar detail.
You’re a better man than I, Brakie, and more power to you. That is beautifully straight. Unfortunately, I’m not coordinated enough not to use a straightedge!
Rick Krall
If you have homasote on top of the plywood I wouldn’t be glueing it down, If you have to move the track to adjust it the top layer of paper is going to come with the caulking. Its your call but I think everyones added their pros and cons. Jim.
Hi!
Of course there are pre-drilled holes in most all trackage, but often we need a nail where no hole is provided. Years ago I learned really quick that a track nail hammered in without a hole will split the tie - no matter what it was made of.
I used small drill bits of various sizes, but of course most are too brittle to withstand regular use for this purpose. I was advised to try a bit from my dentist. I asked him, and he put together about 10 old bits of various kinds. I put one in a pin vise, and have used it to lay track on two 11x15 two level HO layouts, and it still works like a charm.
I use caulk and would never go back. Caulk if applied very thin is absolutely invisible and can be popped up easily and cleanly with a putty knife then relaid.
I only use nails initially to ensure the tracks stay in place while my very thin layer of DAP Alex Plus caulk with silicone sets. That stuff is a real boon to those of us who do use caulk because it dries clear and is easily pried up if you use a butcher’s knife and saw gently under the ties. Once the caulk is dry (and of course I never cualk track that isn’t exactly as it should be for reliable tracking for my most cranky rolling stock), I ballast and glue, and then remove any nails.
The nails are especially useful where you have gaps along a curve, or joiners along a curve, and want to keep the curve alignment near-perfect to perfect. They relieve stress on the joiners, even if they are finely soldered…no great gobs of the stuff showing. However, once the tracks are ballasted well, the glued grains do a much better job of retaining alignment anywhere. So, up come the nails.
Crandell
Great point, Mobilman44. I just visited my dentist, who’s also a friend, and he offered to use his tiny, and I mean tiny, bits with his equipment to drill small holes for me. I never thought of buying some through him, although I assume they’re expensive. I inquired about his magnifying lenses/quartz light combination as a possible replacement for my Optivisor just because they look neat, and he said they were over $1,000 at his cost. I now realize that Optivisor looks neat, too!
Rick Krall