If you are ever short of track spikes and all of the stores are shut or you really really need to fini***he job, try and use nails used in a small nail gun - the types used in furniture building.
They have a T hsaped head and a square shank. I have used them successfully and have found that they are also galvanized so — NO RUST.
This tip might just get someone out of trouble. They are also a lot cheaper than purpose made spikes.[:D]
Hi TOM,
Have you found a way to fire these nails/brads from the gun or are you pushing them in with a hand held tool of some sort?
I would love to find a faster way of spiking my rails to the wood ties.
I’ll stop by here latter…OLD DAD
Hi Old Dad
I wish I could get them to shoot them in. I am working on the problem.
Unfortunatley you still have to drill and punch them home. I still use a Kadee track spiker for handlayoing my On30 track and they make life very easy indeed.
A pneumatic nail gun, if you could get the head into the right position to spike down rail, would probably drive the nail completely through the tie. I have used one of those guns to assemble cabinetry, and in my opinion they have too much power for wood as thin and brittle as a model tie.
Here’s my two cents worth if you can get the nail gun into position for your spike placement, turn the air pressure down. I’ve done this quite often in my carpentry buisness. Although I might be off base if the concept would work having never layed track… I’m getting close, COME ON WARM WEATHER!!! One more thing if you do try to nail thin would ties position the gun so the “T” on the head is paralle with the grain.
Carpenter MAtt