Fast Tracks

I have a number 8 jig, and if I place rails in the jig without ties, they fit nice and flush.

However, when I place the pc ties in the rail wont seat, and it seems I cannot get a contact with the pc ties. weird,
Any suggestions Ron or Tim

Rob

Rob,

What type of fixture is it and what is the rail code?

Hi Ron,

Its N scale, and code 55. seems to me that some of the ties are inconsistent with their thickness? Is that possible? or the depth of the machining might be different on one or two Tie slots.

However, I'll see what you have to say.

Rob

I take it you don't have a depth gauge? I have a set of verniers that can measure inside, outside and depth measurements in imperial and metric. I think they only cost me about $15, so it would be a cheap investment and an easy way to check what's not up to specification.

_________________
Now waiting for a better currency exchange rate before I order.

Yes I do! a digital but without the specs, measurements are moot!

Rob

Rob,

Measure the ties for consistency. Measure the fixture tie slots depths for consistency. Determine the tie slot to rail slot difference(s). Examine and calculate why the rails are not sitting on ties when in fixture. Report directly to FastTracks (not the forum) any fixture discrepancies.

The PC ties are punched, you may need to do a quick bur filing on the edges to get them nice and level flat. If so, then set up a flat plate (small piece of glass) with some fine emery cloth contact glued to do rapid tie 'dressing'. This will also clean them up well for soldering - nice step in the process anyway.

Also make sure your rails are cleaned off well on the base bottom. This also assists soldering.

-ed-

_________________
-ed mccamey-
COSLAR RR - http://www.coslar.us/
NMRA Standards and Conformance Department
PROTO & FINE Scale Coordinator
I estimate I have about 5 pounds of coupler springs somewhere in the vicinity of my workbench.

Hi Rob,

Ed seems to have covered all the points I was going to make. Sometimes when cutting a PC board tie to length a burr can form on the bottom, I make it a habit to give the tie a quick pass with a file, on both sides to ensure it is flat.

It would be unlikely, but not impossible, that the pockets are cut at different depths. The only cause for this would be a cutter breaking mid cut. Typically if this happens, the cutter breaks off completely and no pockets are cut. Our CNC machine takes care of the depths and has not yet ever got the depths wrong.

Keep me posted.

_________________
Cheers!

Tim Warris
Fast Tracks
http://www.fast-tracks.net
service@fast-tracks.net

Hello Tim, Ed, and Ron,

As a general rule, I take a very fine wire brush in a dremel and quick clean all sides of fuzz and polish up the side thats going to get soldered. I do the same on the bottom of the rail, (you wouldn't believe how dirty the nickel silver is?) I'm going for max strength on the solder joints, so extra clean is the rule rather than the exception. I even checked this by putting the rail in first and attempting to slide the tie underneath the rail to get an idea on how much clearance there isn't, but the tie (even after I beveled the end to facilitate getting the rail underneath) wouldn't slide under.

I haven't miked the ties as yet, but where this happens most is where the ties are close together (as in the vacinity of the frog) where two ties are together without wood ties interviening. It also happens on the tie just passed the head ties in the direction of the frog. Given that there aren't many ties (just one) in that area got me stumped as I reported before without ties the rail just pops in nice and easy. Just for kinks I'm going to remove one side of the copper on the tie and see if it "fits" better.

What it appears to be is the tie thickness. But I'll keep playing around with this, and see what where and why. I'll let you know what happens via email.

Rob

Rob,

Which PC ties are you using? Sounds like you've gotten some PC ties that don't fit the slots correctly. Check (mic) the PC ties first before doing anything further. I'm not sure about the N scale PC ties - they may be expected to be only the 0.032" vs. the 0.064" (two most common) variety. Check the widths and lengths (always snip the length just shy of the fixture slot) as well, you may be using PC ties that aren't fitted for the fixture.
-ed-

_________________
-ed mccamey-
COSLAR RR - http://www.coslar.us/
NMRA Standards and Conformance Department
PROTO & FINE Scale Coordinator
I estimate I have about 5 pounds of coupler springs somewhere in the vicinity of my workbench.

Hello Ed,

These are standard Fast track PC in N scale, yes I hand fit them, and insure they are seated. No possibility of me mixing ties up.

Rob

Hello Gents,

Well I found out what I believe was the problem. It was a couple of ties that when they were cut kind of bulge upward in a convex kind dome shape. If you look at the ties under magnification, one side if very flat, (aka the original pc board shape) the other is kind of rounded on the edges. Apparently these few ties kind of bulged upwards adding additional height.

The tracks in the jigs are fine, I miked them and got pretty consistent results. (although my miking skills are in question) it was the pc ties. I check most of the bag, it seemed that only a few ties had this problem. Had I known a couple of strokes with a file would of fixed it asap.

My apologies to Ron and Tim for the hulabalu!

Rob