Understood your reasoning behind the way you chose to do it but THAT MODEL RAILWAY GUY video seemed much easier and more positive for connecting modules together. Maybe worth a look at. thanks, Rick the Bulldog
Wow, I’m so glad to come across this. I just never thought about spacing the two sections before cutting to remove the gap. I was trying to use a small sectional piece, but it’s too difficult pushing them together without breaking them. This is going to help me a lot, thanks so much for sharing this.
Solder flows toward the heat source, so, may I recommend that you apply your soldering iron on the inside of the rail, and apply the solder to the outside of the rail. You may find that it is a much cleaner, stronger solder joint.
I like the spacer put in before cutting the slots but I would use metal pins for my units to give me a perfect alignment. I understand that it would be hard to have the pins perfect in other's units, but in mine I would use the pins.
PC board ties have a copper coating on each side so you can solder rail to them. I've gotten mine at Fast Tracks (stamped to 2" long), but there are other vendors out there like Clover House (who has 12" lengths, and thus "cuts down" on waste). Good stuff, no butts about it.
im using a flex shaft on a dremel with a slightly larger cut off wheel so i get less of an angle when i cut the rail. i didnt know gorilla glue would work that well.. im doing this in O scale 2 rail.
Have you considered using dowels, glued only on one half, to align the two halves of the yard? It should align the two halves quickly and hold them until you put the clamp on.
@9:25 -- if you buy the Dremel flex shaft extension, you can make vertical cuts, as the end of the wand is small diameter. No motor housing to get in the way. Usually $25 to $30 shipped and well worth it. images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41EwdQ4z0rL._SY355_.jpg
+Jimi Killz Individual Free-moN modules are pretty wiggly jiggly when standing by themselves. However, once you clamp multiple modules together--even a few curved ones, & we have 30+ modules at shows--the entire layout becomes as stable as any island layout.
Are you refering to soldering the rails to the PC board ties? Yes, you need to cut an isolation gap in the PC board tie between the two rails. I use the Dedeco Thin separating disc on my Dremel, but you can use a triangular file as well. It's a good idea to check everything with a multimeter as you go and before you power up the rails ;)
The PCB ties are there to have a solid foundation for the rails at the joint. (The plastic ties have clips that slide for the flex track) Yes, you need to cut an isolation gap in the PC board tie between the two rails. I use the Dedeco Thin separating disc on my Dremel, but you can use a triangular file as well. It's a good idea to check everything with a multimeter as you go and before you power up the rails ;) American Tie & Timber used to offer pre-made "GapMasters" in multiple scales that are easier to use than the PCB ties, but not sure if he's still in business: americantieandtimber.com/4.html
@@mcfujiwara925 aha - so you use that type of sleepers so you can solder the rails to them to stop the rail from sliding (flex track) - understandable .. and I assume you break the connection across to the other rail, right?
Interesting method. However this will only work well, if the Free-moN layout is assembled in the same configuration every time. Or the layout is a permanent stationary layout. .On our Club layout, the Inland Pacific, we have a different configuration layout for every train show
Yes-this is for joints of an interior section of a 3-section module. The endplates of the module are standard Free-moN centered single-track butt joints. Side note: the interior section of this module has the same track spacing on either side, so the curved center piece could be used either direction, thus bending the long yard one way or another 15º.
Hi M.C., Can I ask you what the advantage is of using PC ties instead of just using a regular piece of flex track? The PC ties get glued down, and so would a regular piece of track. I would say that a regular piece of track has more gluing surface than a couple of PC ties, so I'm not sure why you would go the PC tie route..? I have used your method in the past btw, and it works very well! But I'm redesigning my layout and started to wonder about the extra work this method requires. Thanks, Kay
With flex track there's too much wiggle (thus the "flex"), and the plastic clips holding the rail in place are too fragile, to establish a reliable interface after you cut the rails. (I found this out the hard way on my Shoo-fly module: had to go back & replace the ties on either side of the section with PC board ties & solder). Soon after filming this video (of course) I discovered "Gap Masters" by American Tie & Timber: www.americantieandtimber.com/4.html (Scroll down for the N scale versions) Not only are they very very very easy to use (gorilla glue & done!) but they're the same thickness as flex track so no shimming involved. You can see how I used them on the new "wye insert" I built for the yard here: model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/10399#comment-136665 Really you only need two ties on each side of the gap (unless for a highly-mobile & bumpable module), so not as expensive as you think. Feel free to email if you have further questions: mcfujiwara@gmail.com Cheers!
Thanks for the quick reply MC! I will keep using your PC tie method then. Nothing wrong with learning from (someones elses) experience! :) The Gap Masters look like a very neat solution. A tad pricey for me though. The Dedeco cutting disks you mentioned in your video are awesome btw! I have been using them for a while now and I love them. Not cheap, but well worth it. Now I cringe every time I see someone cutting rails with a regular Dremel cutting disk, leaving a large gap in the track. Best regards and sincere admiration for your modelling skills, Kay
Glad you've benefited from the videos & recommendations! & glad you like the Dedeco's as much as I do. Yes, the Gapmasters do seem a little pricey, but when taking into consideration the time & effort it takes to get the PC board ties glued evenly at at the correct height--totally worth it! & the 4-tie gapmaster can straddle a gap with only 2 on each side, so only one necessary for each gap. But whatever works for you!
nice video..just want to ask,what is the the material that you soldering at the butt track ends,it'is non-conductive? planning to built a layout and be able to bring it at some train exibitions and seraching a way to do nice butt track ends
For this module I used PC Board ties (Gorilla Glued to the wood & gapped in the middle), but since then I've used "Gap Masters" by American Tie & Timber: americantieandtimber.com/4.html Easy to secure, they're level, same height as plastic rails in flex track, pre-gapped--I very much recommend!
I might add, use a bigger tipped iron, shucks, I've even used a 100 watt iron so I can heat up the rail quicker so I can get off quicker. The way this is done it's possible to get a cold solder joint! Again, ask me why I know this? Matter a fact, check out how the Sipping & Switching Society of North Carolina anchors the rail at their module frontiers! They solder to galvanized screws!
Do not heat up the PC board, if you put your iron on the board to long, the cladding will pop separating it from the resin board...ask me how I know this?! Put the iron on rail only...when soldering, heat till melting point, then get off.
I have a better idea, it beat all this work you guys put into it. Shave or grind or file the rails in 45 deg. angles and the will join together over the gap (2 sections/dioramas)
of course he missed to explain that the PCB ties should be serrated (separated) at least in the middle in order to avoid short circuits everywhere on the layout or in the house
Understood your reasoning behind the way you chose to do it but THAT MODEL RAILWAY GUY video seemed much easier and more positive for connecting modules together. Maybe worth a look at. thanks, Rick the Bulldog
Excellent demonstration. The tip on adding the styrene to the gap for filing is perfect.
+snidley62 Remember it only works with track perpendicular & straight across the gap :)
Wow, I’m so glad to come across this. I just never thought about spacing the two sections before cutting to remove the gap. I was trying to use a small sectional piece, but it’s too difficult pushing them together without breaking them. This is going to help me a lot, thanks so much for sharing this.
Solder flows toward the heat source, so, may I recommend that you apply your soldering iron on the inside of the rail, and apply the solder to the outside of the rail. You may find that it is a much cleaner, stronger solder joint.
I like the spacer put in before cutting the slots but I would use metal pins for my units to give me a perfect alignment. I understand that it would be hard to have the pins perfect in other's units, but in mine I would use the pins.
Cutting with a piece of plastic in the middle is very clever.
PC board ties have a copper coating on each side so you can solder rail to them.
I've gotten mine at Fast Tracks (stamped to 2" long), but there are other vendors out there like Clover House (who has 12" lengths, and thus "cuts down" on waste).
Good stuff, no butts about it.
Brilliant!
im using a flex shaft on a dremel with a slightly larger cut off wheel so i get less of an angle when i cut the rail. i didnt know gorilla glue would work that well.. im doing this in O scale 2 rail.
Thanks.👍
Have you considered using dowels, glued only on one half, to align the two halves of the yard? It should align the two halves quickly and hold them until you put the clamp on.
@9:25 -- if you buy the Dremel flex shaft extension, you can make vertical cuts, as the end of the wand is small diameter. No motor housing to get in the way. Usually $25 to $30 shipped and well worth it.
images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41EwdQ4z0rL._SY355_.jpg
that wiggly jiggly bench would drive me nuts
+Jimi Killz Individual Free-moN modules are pretty wiggly jiggly when standing by themselves. However, once you clamp multiple modules together--even a few curved ones, & we have 30+ modules at shows--the entire layout becomes as stable as any island layout.
Are you refering to soldering the rails to the PC board ties?
Yes, you need to cut an isolation gap in the PC board tie between the two rails.
I use the Dedeco Thin separating disc on my Dremel, but you can use a triangular file as well.
It's a good idea to check everything with a multimeter as you go and before you power up the rails ;)
I've been trying to understand why the use of the PCB at the joint. What is the purpose of it? Does it not short both rails??
The PCB ties are there to have a solid foundation for the rails at the joint.
(The plastic ties have clips that slide for the flex track)
Yes, you need to cut an isolation gap in the PC board tie between the two rails.
I use the Dedeco Thin separating disc on my Dremel, but you can use a triangular file as well.
It's a good idea to check everything with a multimeter as you go and before you power up the rails ;)
American Tie & Timber used to offer pre-made "GapMasters" in multiple scales that are easier to use than the PCB ties, but not sure if he's still in business: americantieandtimber.com/4.html
@@mcfujiwara925 aha - so you use that type of sleepers so you can solder the rails to them to stop the rail from sliding (flex track) - understandable .. and I assume you break the connection across to the other rail, right?
Great demo!
Interesting method. However this will only work well, if the Free-moN layout is assembled in the same configuration every time. Or the layout is a permanent stationary layout. .On our Club layout, the Inland Pacific, we have a different configuration layout for every train show
Yes-this is for joints of an interior section of a 3-section module. The endplates of the module are standard Free-moN centered single-track butt joints.
Side note: the interior section of this module has the same track spacing on either side, so the curved center piece could be used either direction, thus bending the long yard one way or another 15º.
Hi M.C.,
Can I ask you what the advantage is of using PC ties instead of just using a regular piece of flex track?
The PC ties get glued down, and so would a regular piece of track.
I would say that a regular piece of track has more gluing surface than a couple of PC ties, so I'm not sure
why you would go the PC tie route..?
I have used your method in the past btw, and it works very well! But I'm redesigning my layout and started
to wonder about the extra work this method requires.
Thanks,
Kay
With flex track there's too much wiggle (thus the "flex"), and the plastic clips holding the rail in place are too fragile, to establish a reliable interface after you cut the rails.
(I found this out the hard way on my Shoo-fly module: had to go back & replace the ties on either side of the section with PC board ties & solder).
Soon after filming this video (of course) I discovered "Gap Masters" by American Tie & Timber: www.americantieandtimber.com/4.html
(Scroll down for the N scale versions)
Not only are they very very very easy to use (gorilla glue & done!) but they're the same thickness as flex track so no shimming involved.
You can see how I used them on the new "wye insert" I built for the yard here:
model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/10399#comment-136665
Really you only need two ties on each side of the gap (unless for a highly-mobile & bumpable module), so not as expensive as you think.
Feel free to email if you have further questions: mcfujiwara@gmail.com
Cheers!
Thanks for the quick reply MC!
I will keep using your PC tie method then. Nothing wrong with learning from (someones elses) experience! :)
The Gap Masters look like a very neat solution. A tad pricey for me though.
The Dedeco cutting disks you mentioned in your video are awesome btw! I have been using them for a while now and I love them. Not cheap, but well worth it. Now I cringe every time I see someone cutting rails with a regular Dremel cutting disk, leaving a large gap in the track.
Best regards and sincere admiration for your modelling skills,
Kay
Glad you've benefited from the videos & recommendations!
& glad you like the Dedeco's as much as I do.
Yes, the Gapmasters do seem a little pricey, but when taking into consideration the time & effort it takes to get the PC board ties glued evenly at at the correct height--totally worth it!
& the 4-tie gapmaster can straddle a gap with only 2 on each side, so only one necessary for each gap.
But whatever works for you!
hey soldering the to rails would short out ?
nice video..just want to ask,what is the the material that you soldering at the butt track ends,it'is non-conductive? planning to built a layout and be able to bring it at some train exibitions and seraching a way to do nice butt track ends
For this module I used PC Board ties (Gorilla Glued to the wood & gapped in the middle), but since then I've used "Gap Masters" by American Tie & Timber: americantieandtimber.com/4.html
Easy to secure, they're level, same height as plastic rails in flex track, pre-gapped--I very much recommend!
thank you :)
hey what type of gorilla glue did you use???
if you weld the rails on cross-bar, the electrical system is not short-circuited?
+Andrea Fabbrucci I file a gap in the copper coating between the rails.
I might add, use a bigger tipped iron, shucks, I've even used a 100 watt iron so I can heat up the rail quicker so I can get off quicker. The way this is done it's possible to get a cold solder joint! Again, ask me why I know this? Matter a fact, check out how the Sipping & Switching Society of North Carolina anchors the rail at their module frontiers! They solder to galvanized screws!
What is PC board? Is that what the ties you are soldering to made out of?
Do not heat up the PC board, if you put your iron on the board to long, the cladding will pop separating it from the resin board...ask me how I know this?! Put the iron on rail only...when soldering, heat till melting point, then get off.
You want to heat the rail to draw the solder to the rail....not the opposite way!
Atlas Code 55.
I have a better idea, it beat all this work you guys put into it. Shave or grind or file the rails in 45 deg. angles and the will join together over the gap (2 sections/dioramas)
when you solider joints, it doesn't make shorts
The copper goes all the way across the PCB tie. You have to scrape off a gap with the Dremel tool. If you don;t do this, yes, it will short.
of course he missed to explain that the PCB ties should be serrated (separated) at least in the middle in order to avoid short circuits everywhere on the layout or in the house
Ahhh caulk jokes.. great video!