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I use tubular track, and clean it by running the train. The train makes a very narrow polished strip on the very top of the rail. I find that running the train is a lot more fun than polishing track on a wheel. Just MHO.
After researching it, I believe this is a good tool for burnishing railheads, especially those already in place on the layout:
http://drillsandcutters.com/8-hss-jobber-length-drill-bit-blank/?gclid=COXrk6vV28ECFZNbfgodXkEAbw
Note that carbide gives a rougher finish, this is less brittle and smoother.
I'm picking one up, only $2.07
With Aloha, Will
Burnishing is, according to Wikipedia, "the plastic deformation of a surface due to sliding contact with another object. Visually, burnishing smears the texture of a rough surface and makes it shinier....Burnishing is not always bad. If it occurs in a controlled manner, it can have desirable effects....[Burnishing] prevents corrosion and stress corrosion...[and] closes porosity...."
But: "The wire brush is primarily an abrasive implement...". It has been reported on the forum that American Flyer track is not plated and therefore may be cleaned by abrasion without making it more likely to corrode. While I doubt that this is true, I know that Lionel and other three-rail track is plated, probably with tin, which can be removed.
Bob Nelson
The O-gauge track you started with looks a lot better than most of the track I have!
This is for the O Scale Guys, that want to clean (burnish) there own track. I will not talk about the make of track, because I just work with and on American Flyer......and I have friends that collect everything from G, O, S, HO, N etc. I will just till you what worked for me in burnishing the three rail track, and what did not work for me or I had a problem with. I went ahead and burnished all three sections of track (the good, bad, ugly.I only burnished the left side of each section of track, but all three rails.The burnishing of the rails was not the problem in any three sections.The problem that I found was I could not get between the rails of the O gauge track being narrower then S gauge. This was because of three rails rather then two rails.The next problem I found was because this is O gauge, the rails are higher compared to S gauge track and could not get far enough under the rails. After taking these photos, I got the idea of getting out my hand held 10.8v Dremel with the small wire brush attachment. This cleaned up all the rust and corrosion underneath the rails that I could not get at with the burnishing wheel. The good track I did not wire brush the sides of the rails, because I liked the looks of it. The bad track I did wire brush under the rails and it came out just like new. The ugly track I also wire brushed under the rails. To my surprise it came out looking more weathered. I myself would just seal the sides of the rail with a clear paint spray and re-burnish the tops of the rails to get any over spray off. The track was still very much usable. The burnishing wheel doing its job on top and sides of the rails, and the Dremel wire brush doing its job under the sides of the rails. In all I think we found a right combination for all track cleaning and burnishing no matter two or three rails.AZ-FlyerFor photos and up dates go to: http://sgaugers.blogspot.com/p/burni...ain-track.htmlNote: Just go to the bottom of the page where I RED-LINED-IT!
“Tell me and I’ll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I’ll understand.”
AZ-Flyer@American Flyer Cabinet-top Layout (5'x16'): http://az-flyer.blogspot.com/
I have added a hyperlink to the site of the location where you can purchase the 2”x8” inch Burnishing Wheel. This may be more than an individual would want to pay for this wheel. But as for a organization or club, it would be a good investment for all individuals together.
Yep, but it works pretty well. I cleaned about 20 tracks with it, and it's still in very good shape, ready for 30-40 more before it requires replacement.
I have tryed this way. Make sure you ware good eye protection and GOOD LUCK!
I release the picture to the public domain, use it freely. FWIW, since we had this little discussion, I decided to try to scale up my idea, so this is a 5" model that I put on a 1/4" mandrel and stuck into my drill press. Note that I used two thicknesses of ScotchBrite pad here as you can see. Works fine for polishing track, I should have done this sooner. Since I have a bunch of boxes of ScotchBrite, I have lots of raw materials to make more wheels.
John,
I like your version of a "burnishing" tool. It will do the same job as either wheel will do, and yes, it is a lot cheaper. I use the deburring wheel primarily for it's design purpose- deburring machined metal in my shop at home. (Part of my hobby with trains is making live steam locomotives, and a deburring wheel makes quick work of sharp edges). Burnishing track is a side benefit of the wheel. I mentioned the deburring wheel only as a locally available alternative to the special order Tycro wheel.
With your permission, I will copy your picture for future reference. When I need to get into a tight spot, your tool will come in handy.
Larry
YIKES! $77 buys a lot of track!
As far as doing small "burnishing" jobs, you can do it a LOT cheaper. I use little pieces of ScotchBrite in a Dremel tool mandrel, works great. You can cut a bunch of them and just pop a new one on when the first one gets used up.
Burnishing the track sure makes it look nice, and extends the life of track you would probably throw away. I use a 6"x 1" Scotch Brite unitized, aluminum oxide, fine grit, medium density, non-woven abrasive deburring wheel in a drill press. See MSC Industrial Corp. here for details:
http://www1.mscdirect.com/cgi/NNSRIT2?PMAKA=00674176&PMPXNO=2698538&cm_re=ItemDetail-_-ResultListing-_-SearchResults
The wheel is a bit pricey, but it will clean up and remove light rust on anything you touch to it. If you cut, drill, or machine metal in any way, these wheels will deburr the rough edges most of the time without having to use a file. The wheel is used in a similar manner to the Tycro wheel in the video. Clean the track of all dirt before using the wheel. Track pins held in a pliers can be burnished and cleaned of rust also. After cleaning off all loose dirt, locomotive and rolling stock wheels can also be polished and have light rust removed. Great for getting that spot of rust off a metal tender or other rolling stock frame. Now if only I could find a wheel small enough to fit in the end of the track where the track pins go...
Great, but we still don't know where to get this wheel.
I just finished burnishing 90 sections of train track in less than 1 1/2 hours. All the American Flyer train track look better than new. Tomorrow I will insert the A. F. track into roadbed that I just finishing cleaning up, by putting the rubber roadbed into washing machine with large bath towels on just the wash and spin cycle. They come out looking almost like new! This is a project you have to do when the wife is out of the house.
I will be contacting the two companies that import the Tycro wheel to the United States. When I hear something back I will let you know. I am checking If you can buy in lessor quantity than 6 at a time. An if a individual person can buy them, or you have to have a business account established with them.
You can view updated pictures and video here at this site:
http://sgaugers.blogspot.com/p/burnishing-american-flyer-train-track.html
Again, where do you actually buy these wheels?
I generally follow what the manufacture recommends for there make and style of wheel, and type of machine its should to be used on. Now that is said.
I uploaded the video to YouTube so you can watch it if you like watch?v=hGGve4fosrc:
That wheel would fit on a bench grinder or rather a polishing mandrel, or you could mount it in a drill press. I use a wire wheel in my drill press all the time.
You were talking about using a shop smith, which is sort of like a lathe, from what I understand. They are very expense and would be hard to justify unless you were also in the wood working business. Could you also use a bench grinder?
Thanks
George
The Tycro burnishing wheel is next impossible to find unless you are in the orthotic prosthetic business. They are imported from China (well isn't everything).
View this site with pictures: http://sgaugers.blogspot.com/p/burnishing-american-flyer-train-track.html
I've used them for years when I was in the orthopedic business. They come 2"x8" inches, with no attachment. They sell for around $80.00 when you buy 6 or more at a time, plus shipping. Now that my son is in the business he gives me the worn down Tycro wheels. As you can see by the ones in the photo. The one I'm using now is going on 5 years old and burnished hundreds of feet of track , plus other projects. I'm working on editing the video now so you can get a better idea how this works. I can clean a section of track in less then a minute. But you need a steady hand and good eye protection.
Thank you for your interest.
Chuck
It seems the Tryco stuff is impossible to find, I sure can't find their products.
What type of burnishing wheel are you using?
Earl
A similar discussion about "Gleaming" AF track is discussed here:
http://cs.trains.com/TRCCS/themes/trc/forums/thread.aspx?ThreadID=195363
Modeling the D&H in 1984: http://dandhcoloniemain.blogspot.com/
Burnishing in a controlled manner can have desirable effects on American Flyer model train track and (switches) turnouts. That is why I use my Shopsmith Mark V with the mechanical speed control dial set at 700 rpm for burnishing any model train track and turnouts. With the 2”x8” inch Tycro burnishing wheel I can make old metal train track look and work better than new. With all the talk of track cleaning, the advantages burnishing gives me far superior performance. The results are dramatic with very little gunk accumulating on the model train track and better conductivity thru out my American Flyer Cabinet-top train layout.
Yes, you have to burnish the track before you lay the track on your layout. It’s been going on four years without any track layout problems. As they say: Its was the operators error! In that case it was.
I have used the burnishing processes in orthopedic field of manufacturing to improve surface finish, or surface hardness metal. The benefits of burnishing include: prevents corrosion, eliminate visual defects, closes porosity, creates surface compressive residual stress and superior conductivity when it comes to metal train track.
I will be adding video when editing is complted
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