I recall seeing some mention of a better wire to use with the Tortoise Switch Machines than the ones that come with the motors. I didn’t pay much attention before because I wasn’t having any problems with my turnouts. Well, now I am having problems and would like to replace some of the vertical wires that go through the turnout’s throwbar and attach to the Tortoise’s fulcrum.
I appreciate any input that can be provided as to which wire and just as important, where to buy it.
I don’t have the direct measurements, but all you need is stiff wire that is bigger than the existing wire. If you go much bigger, you’ll need to open up the hole in the fulcrum bracket on the side of the Tortoise. The limiting factor in most cases if the size of the rivit in the throwbar on the turnouts you use. The wire must be no bigger than that.
You should be able to find such stiff wire in most hobby shops or at some hardware stores. It is used for winding your own springs or as linkage for radio control applications.
In my case, I had no problem using the existing spring wire but I stupidly used a brand new Xuron track cutter to cut the spring wire to the correct length and, in the process, ruined the cutter! Belatedly, I discovered that Xuron makes a different cutter that is suitable for cutting spring wire [:(!].
In any case, what exactly is the problem that you ran into with the supplied spring wire?
Yeah, you want to use a pair of sidecutters to cut this hard spring wire, whether it is the supplied one with the Tortoise or heavier wire used in place of it. Never use a trackcutter, as it’s designed only for soft metal cutting.
For applications where the roadbed thickness is relatively thin, the stock wire works OK if you get everything lined up pretty well. But if you use thick raodbed (I use 3/4" plywood with cork roadbed) or do an install where the Tortoise is lined up less than optimally with the turnout throwbar, having the heavier wire gives a much more positive action.
The problem is that some of the earlier installations of Tortoises have had problems and recently, when I removed a Tortoise, I bent the wire. Therefore, I really just need some replacement wire and I didn’t want to order it from Circuitron (the maker of the Tortoises) if I could just buy some piano wire locally.