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 Post subject: I have joined the ranks!
PostPosted: Mon Mar 14, 2016 9:30 pm 
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Joined: Tue Mar 01, 2016 3:39 pm
Posts: 23
Finally the long box arrived, and woohoo! My first one, ever. The tooling was amazing, but the videos are even more so. The tips and gotchas helped tremendously. And those Trifecta gauges...wow.

I know folks send a lot of praise, Tim, but I'm tickled and really pleased. Thank you.

(Oh, how long? Just at 2 hours, but I was going slow. My big first mistake is DO NOT solder the throw tie to the stock rails. :) Unsoldered, spun the tie over, and went back to it...)


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PostPosted: Wed Mar 16, 2016 11:44 pm 
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Joined: Tue Mar 01, 2016 3:39 pm
Posts: 23
Some things I learned, for other newcomers...

1) When soldering the frog rails, Tim makes it look all so easy. That's experience talking. For me, I could tell the filing was good, but the rails just wouldn't mate up to a sharp point all on their own, and that's even with the frog helper, pulling rail back and forth for the best fit. So a trick I discovered is to flux and apply solder, but before removing the iron from the top of the rail, take your rail nippers and lightly squeeze the tip of the frog, then with the nippers in place, remove the iron and let the solder cure. Razor sharp frog tip. :o

2) So...why the black marker on the rail prior to filing the stock rail? Well, I learned the hard way. I've followed the video, to the letter, but I didn't look closely enough while I filed. I filed the stock rail backwards. Surely nobody else could be so dumb, but just in case, your black marker goes outward in the StockAid tool, and you file the deep recess on the short end of the rail. And if you happen to file it backwards, don't solder it to the ties and not notice it until you want to solder the diverging rail. Ahem. :shock:

3) The PC board tie with a single insulation cut closest to the frog, between the point rails. Probably should solder the one side of the rails just as when by the guardrail or wing rails. For a #8 or greater turnout, there isn't much (enough) space to solder and not fill that valley with molten metal. And cleaning it out with the iron only leads to burned and blackened fiberglass on your iron and, generally, quite a mess. :oops:

4) In one video Tim says to be neat with the Pliobond, in another he says not to worry about it. Worry about it, certainly at least where the points meet the stock rail. Too much and you get mounds of glue between the stock rail and the points, and then, of course, the points don't meet the stock rail. You can clean it out with a modeling knife, but it mars the ties a bit. Not that I'd know. :|

5) If you're old enough to remember Westside, Oriental, and PFM, you likely will want a stronger set of...modeling glasses. :(

6) This is just plain fun to do. Enjoy yourself and no need to hurry. 8)


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