Has anyone used micro screws instead of track nails to secure track to wood surfaces?
The advantage, as I see it, is the ability to secure track without the risk of nailing the track too deep and pulling it out of gauge.
Rich
Alton Junction
As expensive as small screws are, I wouldn't. I use small screws to hold my Caboose ground throws. McMaster Carr has the best prices on most hardware, but tiny sheet metal or wood screws are still costly. Many modelers are using clear latex caulk. I tried it on my current layout and think its the way to go.
Long time ago small screws have been available in most LHS here in Germany.
I did use them on one of my German layouts but they had no real advantage. It toke longer to lay the track, was more expensive and is was a pain to dismantle the track with all the glue from ballasting in the head of the screw.
I am using small nails to fix the track but it is actually the ballast that holds the track in place later. I do often pull the nails later when ballasting has completed.
Reinhard
TA462 slammin: Many modelers are using clear latex caulk. The only problem with using caulk or any type of glue is that once it's down it's down for good. If you need to adjust, fix or tweak a section of track your in for a bigger job then if it was just nailed down to start with. This is what I do and I'm sure someone will disagree but when I lay track I like to glue down the cork and nail down the track. Run it for a few months and decide if I'm happy with it or if I need to improve it. If it's good to go then I will start with the scenery around it and then ballast it last. Basically your gluing it down last instead of first.
slammin: Many modelers are using clear latex caulk.
Many modelers are using clear latex caulk.
The only problem with using caulk or any type of glue is that once it's down it's down for good. If you need to adjust, fix or tweak a section of track your in for a bigger job then if it was just nailed down to start with. This is what I do and I'm sure someone will disagree but when I lay track I like to glue down the cork and nail down the track. Run it for a few months and decide if I'm happy with it or if I need to improve it. If it's good to go then I will start with the scenery around it and then ballast it last. Basically your gluing it down last instead of first.
TA,
Do you remove the nails after ballasting or just leave them in place?
I use track nails, but I drill the holes first using a bit slightly smaller than the nail. Using a nail set and hobby hammer, I lightly tap the nail into place.
The black thin head is almost invisible since the ties on my flex track are so dark.
Enjoy
Paul
I can see no advantages to screws in this application, Rich. It's also possible to drive a screw too far. I use track nails (Atlas, I think) but install them using pliers rather than a hammer. Even if they accidentally get pushed in too far, I simply re-grasp them and pull them out. I can't recall ever pushing them in far enough to affect track gauge. I leave the nails in place after ballasting, as the empty holes would probably be as noticeable as the nail heads.
Wayne
doctorwayne I can see no advantages to screws in this application, Rich. It's also possible to drive a screw too far. I use track nails (Atlas, I think) but install them using pliers rather than a hammer. Even if they accidentally get pushed in too far, I simply re-grasp them and pull them out. I can't recall ever pushing them in far enough to affect track gauge. I leave the nails in place after ballasting, as the empty holes would probably be as noticeable as the nail heads. Wayne
Well, that does it. If Wayne is using nails, then I am using nails. LOL
Seriously, though, I use nails now and I have never driven them so far as to pull the track rails out of gauge. However I have broken ties by striking the nails too hard and deep.
I had thought about using a pin vise to pre-drill pilot holes and then use micro screws for better depth control. But, I think you all have convinced me to stick with nails as a better alternative to micro screws.
I used nails and push pins with white glue, once the glue was dry I removed the push pin and nails, the nails will show up in pictures. If I need to make any adjustments (and I have, misting the track softens the glue so it can be moved, caulk works the same way (unless you used Liquid Nails) Joe Fugate uses caulk, it is not permanent.
Lance Mindheim offers a great tutorial on how he approaches it, it may be worth a read.
http://www.lancemindheim.com/track_laying.htm
"The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination."-Albert Einstein
http://gearedsteam.blogspot.com/
Maybe you could reserve use of screws only to any really troublesome section of your trackage, which might develop in the future and nails won't correct the problem. My 2 cents..... papasmurf
TA462 The only problem with using caulk or any type of glue is that once it's down it's down for good. If you need to adjust, fix or tweak a section of track your in for a bigger job then if it was just nailed down to start with.
The only problem with using caulk or any type of glue is that once it's down it's down for good. If you need to adjust, fix or tweak a section of track your in for a bigger job then if it was just nailed down to start with.
I use acrylic/latex sealant for track adhesive. Track is easy to remove and re-position; just slide a putty knife under the ties and change as needed. Caulk that's intended as a permanent adhesive is another story, and definitely hampers attempts at rearranging track.
Rob Spangler
Rich,
For your new layout plan, why don't you want to use foam? It works great. Just secure the roadbed and track with cheap acrylic caulk (grey). Cork roadbed is my preference.
I use 3" drywall screws on the outside of the rails on curves, to keep the track down, while I solder the joints also.
Michael
CEO- Mile-HI-RailroadPrototype: D&RGW Moffat Line 1989
WOW! A 3 inch screw?? That is a very long screw. Most roadbed material is not thick enough to hold a 3 inch screw. You working on a foam base roadbed ?
LOL, oops sorry, I meant I use a 2" screws. Just temporary until the caulk dries. I don't screw them down tight, just enough to hold the rails in place.I have a 2" foam base, and cork roadbed.
Here's photo of what it looks like....
I use Walthers Shinorha Code 83 flextrack, and find that even only soldering a single joint, I have a hard time bending it. It doesn't matter if it's the inside or the outside rails, I've tried both ways.
Maybe it acts different than Atlas flex?
That's why I solder all joints, after the track is in place. It works for me anyways.
Sir, May I offer you a small piece of advice? Thank You? Save the screws for another project; Take the hammer and hit yourself on the head about three or four times, Observe what happens next. You will WANT to use either track nails or caulk to secure your track to your roadbed. Now, you will be pleased with the results, I am sure.
Jimmy
ROUTE ROCK!
Gracias a Wolfie y Stein Jr. , Tambien
Motley I use Walthers Shinorha Code 83 flextrack, and find that even only soldering a single joint, I have a hard time bending it. It doesn't matter if it's the inside or the outside rails, I've tried both ways. Maybe it acts different than Atlas flex? That's why I solder all joints, after the track is in place. It works for me anyways.
For soldered joints I cut the rail joiner in half. That reduces the stiff straight portion at the joint and makes bending easier. For really tight curves a third or a fourth of the joiner might be needed.
Motley I use Walthers Shinorha Code 83 flextrack, and find that even only soldering a single joint, I have a hard time bending it. It doesn't matter if it's the inside or the outside rails, I've tried both ways.
Michael,
Stop using Shinorha Code 83 flextrack and switch to Shinohara Code 83 flextrack.
That Shinorha stuff is an illegally produced clone.
Rich is right: nowadays, knock-offs are everywhere. Caveat emptor!
@Wayne... Can't hardly see them...
I second TA and Doctorwayne. Nails are more versatile and gives you the opportunity to modify the layed track after. My tool of choice: a long-nose plier... Also, using nail makes laying turnouts easier and you can recuperate them without risk after. Easier to clean ballast than caulk (I know want I mean!).
Years ago, when I first heard about caulk, I took a tube of construction glue (the beige stuff used to glue styrofoam to anything - PL300) and glued some track!!! Ahaha! You can't imagine the joy I had when I pulled out the track a year after! Live and learn! Shinohara Code 83 turnouts barely survived this experiment and went directly to the junk box... were they belong.
Matt
Proudly modelling the Quebec Railway Light & Power Co since 1997.
http://www.hedley-junction.blogspot.com
http://www.harlem-station.blogspot.com
doctorwayne Rich is right: nowadays, knock-offs are everywhere. Caveat emptor! Wayne
Wayne, that is too funny. Is that for real?
SailormatlacYears ago, when I first heard about caulk, I took a tube of construction glue (the beige stuff used to glue styrofoam to anything - PL300) and glued some track!!! Ahaha! You can't imagine the joy I had when I pulled out the track a year after! Live and learn!
It's because you used the wrong caulk, which has been mentioned several times over. You chose to use a permanent construction adhesive
When you should have used
Specially formulated siliconized latex provides maximum adhesion and flexibility for a watertight seal. Paintable. Easy water clean-up. Low odor. Backed by a Crack-Proof Guarantee.
A bad choice leads to a bad experience which leads to bad advice.
This has been well documented through this forum and others.
http://cs.trains.com/TRCCS/forums/p/155477/1715214.aspx
Anything that would bond concrete and bricks together should have tipped you off
richhotrain doctorwayne: Rich is right: nowadays, knock-offs are everywhere. Caveat emptor! Wayne Wayne, that is too funny. Is that for real? Rich
doctorwayne: Rich is right: nowadays, knock-offs are everywhere. Caveat emptor! Wayne Wayne, that is too funny. Is that for real?
Well, sorta. There's a thread on it HERE with more info and photos. There are also several other threads in the same Forum on the same general topic, as there are currently over three dozen people modelling GERN in some form or another.
GERN brand flux is an imaginary product dreamt-up by my brother over fifty years ago. When I got around to building my current layout, I knew that I needed to include a GERN complex. Here's a view of part of it:
The "flux" is not so much like that used in soldering or metal refining, but more along that referred to in the expression "in a state of flux". It's a product with a multitude of variants and uses, as shown by the sampling of ads, below:
An early billboard:
Something from a magazine:
And some more info on another product:
I use GERN (always all caps) as a traffic generator, as my operation has three separate loading tracks and handles boxcars, covered hoppers, and tankcars. Many modellers have cars lettered for GERN, but you could just as easily ship and receive using any suitable cars from any railroad. And, if you're stuck for space, you can simply have a GERN car or two in transit, although there are some plants not much bigger than a 'phone booth which handle many carloads per day. Budding CEOs can name their operation (mine is the Gibson Works, named for the original flux magnate and all-'round bon vivant Charles (Cookie) Gibson, and, if they wish, develop new products, keeping, of course, in the same tongue-in-cheek vein. While the products are fanciful, the modelling of the operation can be done in a prototypical manner, so it can fit into just about any layout and in any era (that ad with the airliner and the late-'40s/early-'50s Studebaker is from a magazine popular in my late '30s modelling era, so you know this stuff is really versatile). As their slogan says: "If It's GERN, It's Good!".
Wayne, that is awesome ! Rich
Wayne, that is awesome !
Thanks for reviving this old thread, which allowed me to replace the missing photo and update the link to the other site.
and to laugh again at the jokes :)