Product Review: code 332 Aristocrat railbender

[FJ and G]

At $99 (St Alban) this wasn't cheap; but figured that code 332 might need something more than muscle to bend. And up front, I'll tell you I'm happy I purchased it.

That said, it apparently is only good for one thing in life: bending code 332 rails, one at a time. If someone has devised other uses for this, I'd sure like to know about it!

The biggest advantage IMO to having this device is that it bends rails continuously from one end to the other and it doesn't twist the rail. When you bend by hand, you will tend to twist the rail and also the bend won't be perfectly smooth and continuous, even though you think it is (I've bend lots of rail by hand).

One of the drawbacks of the bender is lack of tips on how to use it. It just came with a paper telling how to put the handle on and feed the rail. Not much in the way of instructions.

Trial and error and I was bending and rebending rails.

It just takes a minor turn of the screw to change the radii. And, there's no markings to show you what radii you get. Inevitably, you will need to run the rail thru multiple times. Once you get the setting, advise grabbing the other rail and running it thru or you won't have the exact setting.

The 2 screws are sort of confusing and they twist counterintuitively. You'll know what I mean when you try it.

I had my doubts about turnouts (see related post on my first turnout on this page), but the railbender exceeded my expectations. It even did the DIFFICULT wing rail on the frog, which is an opposite turn on the curved closure rail. You simply set the rail in where you want to bend at the wing. Then, using the hex, tighten down that one spot (don't roll the rail thru) until the desired bend is obtained.

Despite the drawbacks mentioned, I recommend this product for anyone using code 332 "flex" track.

[piercedan]

I have been using the aristo bender for years.  Track can twist if you bend in a horizontal plane, but in a vertical plave it does not twist.

If  another person is available to hold the track up, horizontal bending will be OK.

Also, I roll the track back and forth to get a good bend and I do this in small steps.