4 Ways to Attach Kato Unitrack
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- Опубліковано 9 лип 2024
- In this video I cover four different ways you can attach Kato Unitrack tor your layout project. You can nail or screw your track down, use hot glue, latex caulk, and regular PVA (e.g. elmer’s) glue.
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Awesome video Steve - perfect for somone setting up first layout and each would have its own cost options from budget to more expensive and flexible vs very permanent.
This is exactly what I needed. I am starting my first layout in 25 years and am using Kato Unitrack due to Steve's previous videos as well. Thank you.
Your comments about the Elmer's Glue all is true! Several times I had to go back, rewet the Elmer's, take the track up, and fix something I didn't see when I first placed the track down. Great tips! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for commenting... I am starting a new small layout that I know I will be pulling up the track in about a year or two... so Elmer's glue wins. :)
Got plenty of hot glue. So I'll go easy on that. Great way to spend the 4th😂
White glue has always been my go to - cheap, easy, and reliable
I’ve just started on my very first layout. I have no idea what I’m doing but that’s not going to stop me.
That is the spirit! You learn the most by actually trying different things and seeing what works and doesn’t work for you.
Very useful, thank you!
Great Video for Kato Unitrack Fans and great tipps.
Thanks from Zurich, Switzerland
Thanks for watching!
So far I've built three N-scale layouts - two using Atlas sectional track, the third (my current layout) with Unitrack. So far I haven't used nails to fasten any of them down. I preferred using white glue with Atlas track, and one thing I found was that for holding the track in place while the glue dries, a push pin fits quite neatly between the rails. I fixed down my Unitrack with Liquid Nails, and would put stuff on top of the track to weigh it down while it dried. I also play guitar, and I found that a wah-wah pedal works really well as a weight! (That same weight also keeps it from sliding all over the floor while you're using it for its intended purpose.)
I use double-sided tape. I bought some small strips at the Dollar Store and they are precut and hold the track. If you want to remove the track it is easy and the Unitrack is undamaged. The tape also acts as an effective sound deadener. I attached the tape to an insulation board and it holds.
Good idea!
Thanks Steve! I secured my Kato track to plywood with small nails and painted the heads of them. The layout was running and all was well until I decided to ballast my Kato roadbed. After ballasting a short portion of track, I was horrified at the increased transfer of noise from the train to the plywood. I knew that Woodland Scenics grass mats reduced noise, and they are bacicaly sheets of vinyl with turf impregnated in them.
So I went to Home Depot and bought a roll of vinyl shelf/drawer liner. I cut strips of vinyl and and put glue on the side of the vinyl that lays on the plywood, and slipped the vinyl between the plywood and Kato track. After drying for a day I rebalasted the track. Sucess! The noise transfer was really minimal and well worth the extra work.
That is a good point. Depending on the combination of adhesives and materials you can get either an amplification or reduction in track noise. Having some material of a different density between the track and wood base helps a lot.
@@StevesTrains great video. You always impart knowledge
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and opinions. Practical advice for working with KATO Unitrack greatly appreciated!
Actually finding this video today is perfect timing as I’m about to start laying my 1st Kato Unitrack, on extruded polystyrene, and this definitely has helped. Thanks!
Same! Many thanks Steve
As I returned to model railroading I wanted something simple to test out my older equipment. Since much of my older locomotives were Kato (boxed for over 20 years) and was of the opinion that everything Barfman was junk I bought a selection of Kato track to put together a test layout. It was nice since the sections snap together with no need to do much fastening down on a temporary setup.
Recently I expanded some and placed everything on the floor so I can run longer trains on the wider curves. Also to help visualize the grades I picked up some bridge sections and did a dog bone with one leg passing over the other. The selection of Kato bridges is limited and I really liked the appearance of a certain Tomix bridge so I ordered two of them from Japan. Naturally it took some adapting to get Kato-Tomix connected but with the help of my 3d printer and an Exacto blade that was completed and here comes the point of my post. The bullet train I was running (DC only) was rather noisy, not really a problem since I also run Lionel where wheels on steel make a racket. However when I added the two Tomix 24inch arch bridges I noticed a serious drop in the noise level as the bullet trains moved from the Kato bridges and across that Tomix section. I'm not about to scrap all my Kato track and switch to Tomix but I'm curious if anyone else has noticed the noise differences. Bullet trains are something new to me but they distract the grandkids from sections I saved from my older switching layout.
Very helpful. Thanks. And there's Liquid Nails for Projects.
Yep, that works well too and I use that a lot for gluing foam board pieces together.
Thanks for the great ideas. I will use either Liquid Nails or silicone to secure my Kato N scale Unitrack.
Will likely end up using a mix of the two caulk methods, that way I can align layout-critical sections of track (ie straights parallel with table, etc.) using the screw holes and securely fasten joining sections by making a base of caulk
Good info! I'm a fan of hot glue and usually end up with strings of it all over me if not careful. I bought a Ryobi cordless glue gun and it works great.
A cordless glue gun would be super useful. I often plug it into a portable battery but the cord still gets in the way at times.
I used N scale Atlas and Bachmann tracks .
Nails for fixed the tracks.
Flex tracks code 80 Atlas.
For the big jug of white glue, there is a hand pump that can be screwed in like putting the top in the jug opening to make it easier to get out smaller,easier amounts of glue.And not as messy as pouring out of the gallon size jug.Better control with the pump.
Yeah, that would make life easier
I just started my T-Trak layout 3 months ago. I use Loctite Power Grab caulk which does not eat the foam. I put very little caulk on the base. I have changed my mind a few times and have been able to cut the track from the base and reuse the track and base after removing the caulk. If you use the caulk try not to get it on the joiners, it could make removing them difficult if you have to ever remove the track and joiners.
Very interesting and informative. I've purchased HO scale Unitrack for my layout and have plans to secure it to foam risers and inclines, but was wondering what I should use if I plan on disassembling the track at some point in the future.
Steve very informative! Easier gluing keto track to foam board then wood? Forget the nails with foam board verses wood ?
Yeah, nails aren’t going to help much in foam. Gluing isn’t much different either way, though it can help to lightly sand the foam surface so the glue can adhere better.
Great for attaching one piece but how do you do it when you have the rest of the track glued down and you need to put the last piece into the last space?
Yeah, you have to plan ahead with the unitrack and glue the last batch at one time. That is a good reason though to use white glue or similar where it doesn’t set right away so you have some time to get adjoining pieces connected properly.
Nails into foam can be problematic when they later work themselves out. I've also heard of hot glue used in attics letting go on a really hot day, as you say sectional isn't going to move far unlike flex track under tension.
Yep, nails aren’t going to work into foam. I have had hot glue give out in the garage during summer, but if you plan to ballast or do other scenery work along the edge of the track, that extra glue will solidly hold the track in place provided you get that far along before subjecting the layout to temps in the 100s.
@@StevesTrains … that’s exactly what happened to my layout over the summer( central California definitely over 💯 )The hot glue gave out and I lost a couple of structures to gravity. My layout is 3’x6’ and it folds up over my garage window so that I can still have a workbench. So I have been undoing or adding white glue to make it a little more permanent. Great video btw
Could you not just use latex caulk like you do hot glue - just dabbed in a couple of spots?
Yep, that is probably a better way to do it.
have you ever used or seen double back tape used for attaching track?
I haven’t, but I’ve seen people do that. I’ve just been worried it might grab too hard and be hard to reposition track without damaging it.
Good idea to put tape on the claw end of the hammer.It'll keep you later from having to explain to people especially ER doctors,nurses, and curious people in years to come why your son has large creases in his forehead.
Great video. I'm debating just leaving my Unitrack floating on my flat foam board. I don't anticipate any significant movement. The unijoiner and switch thru hole wiring thru the base will pretty much keep it aligned. I don't want to commit to any ballasting and I want the track to be removable if ever needed. I'm thinking of just laying out the track and lifting a few sections slightly and squeezing a little caulk underneath in a few spots. (maybe every 3-4 sections). Has anyone done it this way?
That is a fine way to go. Just tacking the track in place for easy reuse. If you use white/PVA glue, it is easy to soften it up with some isopropyl alcohol for easy removal. Maybe even getting some of that sticky tack stuff you can use for hanging posters and whatnot on walls might work. Wad up a ball of it and put it under the track every other section or so.
Excellent video. Was wondering what methods were available. Using the hot glue method, would it be fairly easy to remove the track say with a putty knife? Thanks.
You can do that relatively easily, but it depends how much you use. You can damage stuff easily if you have tons of it under the track. Latex caulk is similar. You can pry it up but depends how much you use. White glue is easy to soften with alcohol so that is the easiest to remove possibly, but takes the longest to set when putting the track down.
I haven't read all the other comments, but If you have your whole loop put together can you use the latex caulk over whole track area and then put the whole loop down, or will the caulk dry to fast? Also, what is your preferred method of the four?
Depends, I use latex caulk, white glue, and hot glue depending on what I’m doing and how fast I want things secured. I like hot glue less than I once did because the working time is so short. If you have things exactly where they need to be, it is helpful. Also the hot glue can be helpful when your base isnt flat since it can fill in dips and such and still adhere the track down.
Did you assemble the whole track and then hot glue it down, or did you glue one piece at a time?
I built your Super Simple (Inglenook) Switching Layout - which I really like, thank you! - but securing the Kato Unitrack was a challenge. As you demonstrate here, hot gluing one Unitrack piece is simple. But how do you glue and connect multiple pieces without jiggling or lifting or breaking the bond on what's already down? I chose to preassemble whole sections of the track plan, quickly dab the hot glue, and then quickly slap the whole thing down. That worked reasonably well but still needed a little lift-and-squirt touch-up.
How do you do the hot gluing for multiple Unitrack sections?
Yes, it can be tricky. I use a higher temperature glue gun so the glue stays liquid longer which gives more time to adjust things. But still, there ends up being places where you have to try and lift the track up and squirt it under the edges. I don’t usually worry about getting everything 100% secure since I generally go back and add ballast and other scenery material along the track anyway. The glue from that will secure things really well in the end.
i guess if you go with a glue solution, Elmers or caulk, you should commit to ballasting over the Kato track to conceal the overspread...
What made you become obsessed with Kato over the other brands? Would love to know 😊
With N scale I just had random problems in the past with other track. It is harder to get smooth joints on tight curves with flex track, and while other brands do have some variety of sectional track, Kato has the most so you can work most designs. I just use flex track in HO scale, however.
Just try working with other brands. Other brands just sort of evolved copying other stuff. Kato seems to be designed from zero to do a job properly without copying anything. It is a complete solution. With others add in the cost of nail, roadbed, ballast and $tupid expensive rail joiners.
Why do you use unitrack instead of flex track? I've never built a layout and I have been considering it so it would be helpful to know why one is better than the other.
I use flex in HO scale but flex track in N scale can be tricky if you have tighter curves. With larger curves it is easier to use. But it is harder to make sure all your rail joints are smooth with flex track, especially with aging eyes. It isn’t a huge deal but unitrack is just so easy to use and everything runs well on it.
@@StevesTrains how significant is the cost difference on a layout project? I've just recently gotten into N scale so I don't have a lot of background information. I'm thinking about building a layout either using your method with the sculptamold or another method that I saw on UA-cam where he crumpled up foil and then put plaster tape across it which seemed to be a very quick and easy way to build mountains and scenery. I'm not sure how durable it is though it seems maybe you make choices based on making the layout more durable.
Kato track is going to cost more, but it depends on a lot on size, number of turnouts, etc. obviously the bigger the layout the bigger the cost difference. As far as scenery, I used to do the newspaper, plaster cloth thing, but I like have a solid scenery base to make it easier to plant trees, etc since there is more than just a thin shell. If you are doing something like puff ball trees or whatever it doesn’t matter. You can also do plaster cloth over newspaper or whatever and then add a layer of sculptamold or plaster to make it thicker so you have more there to help hold up tree trunks and the like. Using sculptamold does make things a lot heavier, however, which is a downside. It is pretty durable but the weight can be a consideration.
I'm doing a Kato Unitrack layout in HO scale but I have foamboard down. I see comments saying that nails wont work with foamboard but I'm wondering if nails that are long enough to get to the plywood would work? Anyone have thoughts on that idea?
I’ve done that before but mainly to hold it in place while glue dries. If you put long nails in the track will still have some side to side play because the nails will be able to move in the foam some even if they are into the wood below. That might not be an issue of it is half inch foam or the like but if you try to do that through a couple inches of foam it may be hard to keep the track in place. I would recommend just trying it out on a piece of scrap wood using the foam thickness you want to use and see how it goes before deciding.
Steve does keto make track nails like atlas?
I think only for their flex track. The Kato track can be screwed down from the bottom, or you can drill out those holes and use a small nail if you want.
Steve.. What size screws?
Not sure exactly since that isn’t something I normally do. Something around 1/8” diameter or a bit smaller and long enough to get through what ever material you have plus a bit under a quarter inch (for the track part)
What about 2 in pink foam board ???
That is a great base and I use that type of foam for most of my projects. Nails won’t help you but the other options will. Also foam safe construction adhesive can work.
Have you ever used Hot Wire Foam Factory’s “StyroGoo?”
No, I’ll have to check that out.
@@StevesTrains I haven’t either, but I got some for Christmas and as soon as I can get the rails on my Kato Unitrack to line up perfectly on all my turnouts, so my Atlas GP40 will traverse them, then I will try some. Thanks!
The Only Time People Do That is When They Take it to Train shows.
Yes my obsession is very unhealthy
Those are ridiculous amounts of adhesive with sloppy application. Just wick some white glue under the edge of the track. Maybe use hot glue if you are time constrained but for the most part, 2 drops at the end of each piece but well away from the joiners. The highest load on the track will be from thermal expansion.
Yeah there was a lot used here, but there wasn’t much need to be conservative on a small sample. Usually I spot glue the track with hot glue since the track is firmly secured with the loads of glue applied when ballasting.
@@StevesTrains I did learn a good bit from your video so thank you for posting.
I’m Sorry My wife And I Don’t glue Or Nail Our Track down people Want to Do That It’s Their Layout go For it your Call.