WHEN CUTTING FOR THE HELIX DO YOU CUT COMPLETE CIRCLES OR SECTIONS. I NEED TO BUILD A DOUBLE TRACK N SCALE HELIX. I AM AWARE OF THIS MONTH'S ARTICLE BUT I CANNOT DETERMINE IF COMPLETE CIRCLES ARE CUT AND THEN SPLIT OR COMPLETE CIRCLES CUT THEN HALFED,ETC.
THANKS
MOSEMAN
I think it depends on the construction you are doing. In my case I cut half circles because I had lengths between each end of the helix so my helix was oblong and not a circle.
I too model in N scale.
Tom
You would create a lot of wasted "dougnut holes" using complete circles.
I recommend using 1/3 or 1/4 of a circle nested on the plywood sheet to save waste. I would use 1/4 inch ply and cut two sets. By gluing them together offset by 1/2 of the arc, you will have a very strong assembly of a continuous grade.
Assemble each tier, lay the rail and then keep going up.
Jeff But it's a dry heat!
I cut mine in arcs out of the 1/8 Lauan (sp?) plywood. Using AutoCAD, I generated a pattern that resulted in little (but some) waste. The trapezoids method is more plywood efficient but results in more glueing/clamping than I wanted to deal with. Using my method allows me to get about 1 1/2 turns or so out of a 4x8 sheet.
Here's a link to my helix under construction. It's a three level layout with the helix taking the middle level up and down. The first pic is the plywood pattern I used to cut out the sections. Page down to see the heliz construction and also the second page. These arcs are laminated together using carprnter's glue and clamped until the glue sets up. I built the entire helix in about a week over the Christmas holiday.
http://s226.photobucket.com/albums/dd247/robby-ky/CV%20Subdivision%20Layout/
Robby
Robby Modeling the L&N CV Subdivision in 1978 http://s226.photobucket.com/albums/dd247/robby-ky/CV%20Subdivision%20Layout/
I built my helix with semi-circles of 1/2" plywood. You can see one here, run up to the top of the threaded rods I used as supports, and one at the bottom, ready to be run up:
I used semi-circles because, with a 46" outside radius on the subroadbed, I could just get one semi-circle from each 4X8 sheet of plywood. The inner half-doughnut hole is big enough that I cut it into strips for straight subroadbed in some spots, and the scraps I use as splice blocks.
Here's my helix construction thread: http://www.thecbandqinwyoming.com/CM%20-%20Behemoth%20Helix.htm
Mark P.
Website: http://www.thecbandqinwyoming.comVideos: https://www.youtube.com/user/mabrunton
All great suggestions....one more though...PLEASE STOP USING ALL CAPITAL LETTERS IN YOUR POSTS....some here may be hard of hearing, but we can see just fine.
Thank you in advance.
For my N scale helix I used full circles. I know there is more waste this way, however a friend of mine owns a cabinet shop and cut the circles on the CNC machine. Each circle is exactly the same, it made laying out the helix much easier.
To support it, I am using threaded rod with 1/16" steel between them. I also put a nut above and below each plate so that it would be easier to fine tune the incline. The reason I decided to use the threaded rod vs. cutting spacers is that I thought it would speed up assembly because I wouldn't have to set up a stop block and cut all the spacers then screw them all in.
Each circle is 5/8" plywood. To connect the ends together, I just glued and pocket screwed them, that way I wouldn't have an additional 1/4" splice underneath each joint.
Oh, and for those of you who are worried about the waste from cutting full circles, fear not. They are perfectly round and will make great pub tables with the addition of a pedestal and some paint.
ldrake26 wrote: For my N scale helix I used full circles. I know there is more waste this way, however a friend of mine owns a cabinet shop and cut the circles on the CNC machine. Each circle is exactly the same, it made laying out the helix much easier.