Styrene Roads

[willy6]

I plan on using .030 styrene for my roads / streets. On my last layout all of my roads were straight, on the layout i'm currently building, i have to curve some of my roads. What is a good template to use to cut the curve on the styrene?

[hon30critter]

Hi willy6:

If you want even radius curves you can make a trammel with a straight piece of wood like a yard stick and a push pin or small nail. Drill a hole in one end for the pin and mark off the radius (radii) along the stick. You can hold a pencil next to the stick to draw the curves, or better still, drill holes at the various radii that you want to work with. You can make the trammel as long or as short as you need.

If you want irregular shapes then a french curve will allow you to draw tightening or expanding curves. They are available at most art supply stores or you might be able to print off this template. You will have to sign up for Pinterest to do it but it is free:

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/412431278351839569/

Cutting the curve can be done by hand. The easiest tool to use is a carpet knife (box cutter), or you can use a #11 blade. You don't need to cut all the way through. Once you have a decent score line just bend the styrene and it will snap along the score line.

Dave

[gmpullman]

Dave has some good suggestions. Of course, a pair of dividers or a compass will give you a nice radius and for the larger curves, the trammel as Dave suggests.

I happened to recall seeing one of these flexible rulers...

https://www.google.com/search?q=flexible+curve+ruler&biw=1344&bih=766&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiJkamB9KbQAhUMTSYKHbqcDD4Q_AUIBygC

so you could wrap it around something curved or round, say a soup can, chair leg, a cat or such and transfer your curve to your styrene. Sort of like a variable French curve.

Have Fun, Ed

[Lone Wolf and Santa Fe]

I use a drafting compass (the kind with the needle point on both legs) to scratch a line into the plastic and then break it on the line.

[markie97]

I made a curved road on my layout and free handed one side on a piece of cardboard and then drew the other side making sure it was evenly spaced to the first freehanded side. Cut it out of the cardboard, made sure it fit and used that as a template. One thing I did differently was to use black foam core for the road and painted it dark gray primer and then carved in cracks that appeared very black. Foam core is cheap and easy to obtain from my local AC Moore.