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 Post subject: My Latest Turnout
PostPosted: Fri Jun 06, 2008 9:00 pm 
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Joined: Sun Mar 30, 2008 12:06 am
Posts: 12
I was wondering if I can get people's thought's on my latest creation? I'm still having troubles getting my points to be sharp enough to sit tightly up against the stock rail. I find if I do get them sharp enough, the web is really weak and it looks to me like a possible failure. I've resorted to putting a small kink at the point on the closure rail to make it sit proper. What do other people do to make this work for them?

I ran over the whole thing with some 400 grit sandpaper to try and smooth things out. It put a lot of small sratches in the railhead, so I may try some 600 grit next time.

This is my eighth shot at building a turnout and I do feel that I'm getting better at it. I recently aquired a small syringe with an 18 guage needle that I use to apply the flux. It works so much better than the brush for the small track work. As for the amount of solder used, I've been trying hard to use less of it, but how much is too little? I can see the solder "sweat" between the track and the PCB tie, so I know it's under there. That is the solder that's doing the work right, not the solder that I pull up onto the base of the rail? Any thoughts on this?

Cheers, Brent


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 Post subject: Re: My Latest Turnout
PostPosted: Fri Jun 06, 2008 9:25 pm 
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Joined: Mon May 10, 2004 4:02 pm
Posts: 52
Well for starters you might try to reduce the photo so we could view them easier.
Ok I'll try to explain this to you, sometimes it goes well sometimes it don't.
First off, on the stock rail, question do you have the new stock rail tool? if not disregard and go to number 1 below.

1. On the stock rail, although the prototype doesn't generally file away the rail head to accommadate the points, we can do it to improve operation reliability. How your going to do this is follow these steps.

A) while you are constructing the turnout but before you put either closure rails or points in, take the turnout out of the jig place it in your left hand and with a six inch file placed to go up and down the turnout, (turnouts laying flat in your hand) filing towards the floor on the down stroke. What your trying to do is have a little recess by the points, just enough that the sharp blade will sit in it. What your trying to prevent is flanges picking inbetween the points and stock rail. You dont need to remove much. just a hair so the blade fits in it. Next you have to re-establish the taper on the stock rails to blend it in. Take the file with long strokes working towards the frog (its going to be head that your tapering, Insure during all filing that the file is perfectly vertical. Slow even strokes concentrating on keeping the file upright at all times.

B) If you did it right the stock rail will thin out just a hair where the point blades fit You should hardly notice it the difference.
Now to get those points to fit flush like the prototype. Place your turnout back in the jig, and install your closure and point rails. After that I want you to look at the picture you sent us and look at the right side point blades and how its not flush with the stock rail. If you look at the distance the point is away (not fitting flush) you notice that it just about the same distance as the amount of material that was filed away on the point rail head. check the photo, look at the point blade, then look at the space between point and stock rail, then with your eyes follow the point rail down towards the frog to the point where the point tool didn't remove any material. (thus the rail head is full width)

When you found that point, thats pretty close to where you need to tweek the rail to get it to fit flush against the stock rail.

How your going to "tweek" the rail is with a pair of "flats" needle point pliers. You do this by grabbing the head of the point rail, just about where the filing started, and give it a twist, (very slight one) you want to angle that point rail by about the same amount distance as the distance between the stock and point rail. Its not very much, if you do it and its worse, guess what? you went the wrong way.

Once thats done correctly, the point rails should be flush with the stock rail at least an inch or more in N scale. and probably more in the large scales.

Rob


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