oldline1 It's quite theraputic and was a great stress reliever from my intense job.
That is why I painted so many miniature figures!
It was great therapy from a stressful job.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Kevin,
I understand but once you get used to it it goes fairly fast. It's quite theraputic and was a great stress reliever from my intense job. I just used a pair of needle nosed pliers with the tip flattened for driving the spikes home better. Back when the Spiker was available it was way out of my budget.....still is apparently!
oldline1
oldline1I'm glad to see they are releasing them again and hope this gets folks doing their own track again.
Making my own track has always been a "back-of-the-mind" interest of mine. It is something I would like to do, but I have so much else to do that it seems like it would delay layout construction.
In the day they were also expensive and often purchased by clubs or a group of guys who shared the cost for their private layouts. The Spiker was a great tool for the handlayer but it required some adjustments and finesse to produce good track without those up and down kinks and other issues. It was often needing to be adjusted before it didn't damage rails. Once adjusted it made putting down the rails easy(er) and fast(er).
I'm glad to see they are releasing them again and hope this gets folks doing their own track again. Handlaid track just flows and allows turnouts to be built anywhere you need them just like the real railroads rather than having to design your track plan to follow what the manufacturer throws at you.
PC101 I thought this Kadee staple thing was a late April Fools joke. I don't remember one even existed. Never really needed one. I once used that red block with four holes in it to hold the spikes then use that wood handled push thing with one or two rods (???) sticking out to set the spikes. I just can't throw anything out. Switch machines to boot.
I thought this Kadee staple thing was a late April Fools joke. I don't remember one even existed. Never really needed one. I once used that red block with four holes in it to hold the spikes then use that wood handled push thing with one or two rods (???) sticking out to set the spikes. I just can't throw anything out.
Switch machines to boot.
No thanks. The original Kadee spiker nicked the rail head and bent the rail. One of my friends used one to hand lay some track and noted how much damage was being done to the code 70 rail. The rail curled up when he disassembled the layout (with a nice bend at each spike location), and it was essentially unusable for the next one.
I wonder if the new tool improved on the failings of its predecessor. The writeup on Kadee's site doesn't say much.
Rob Spangler
dknelsonFor the same reasons I don't think there would be much market now for the TruScale roadbed that featured not just milled ties but also the milled ties had simulated tie plates that were raised wood on the tie, in exact gauge.
Interestingly, in the new product announcement, Kadee mentions it works well with Tru-Scale roadbed materials.
I wonder how many modelers have a big stash of their roadbed.
I never cared for the look of handlaid track, as the install 2 spikes, skip 4 or 5 ties, install another 2, and skip a few more always looked unfinished to me.
That said, I have scratchbuilt a few turnouts, and used the same process. While they worked well, they also looked unfinished.
Of course, we've also seen flex track and sectional track with moulded-on spike heads the size of HO scale grapefruits, too.
Were I to build another layout, my choice would be Central Valley tie strips, which I've used on some of the partial upper level of my layout.
Wayne
I seem to recall that one of the issues Kadee originally had with the Spiker, way back when, was oddly enough with the chrome plating on the body peeling off, not with the mechanical operation of the tool. If I remember right, it is in essence a staple gun, and the spiker chews out the middle of the staple so that the two "7" shaped ends of the staple spike the rail in place, simultaneously on both sides of the rail.
I think these days there ARE still those who hand lay track but they are now super prototype realism sorts who want the smallest scale sized spikes that will work, perhaps even with tie plates. The Kadee Spiker's staple-ends may do the job in terms of holding rail to ties, but not offer the realism that is valued.
For the same reasons I don't think there would be much market now for the TruScale roadbed that featured not just milled ties but also the milled ties had simulated tie plates that were raised wood on the tie, in exact gauge. That is how I first hand layed track back in the 1960s. It was thought to be wonderful but the milled on "tie plates" look like shoe boxes, even bigger than the shoe boxes on Atlas plastic track.
Dave Nelson
rrebellIn its day it was a real breakthough for some but I am afraid its time is gone.
I think you are right, hand laying track is certainly a thing of the past for the vast majority of modelers.
Kadee only lists ten in stock. I wonder if they are just making a special limited run to satisfy the handful of people that really want one.
In its day it was a real breakthough for some but I am afraid its time is gone.
I don't know why this excited me to read, because I am not wanting one. Kadee just announced the 3.0 version of the Twin Spiker is available and in stock.
Somehow, just having the twin spiker available again makes me happy.
I wish Kadee would post a video of it in action.
At $500.00, it is a pricey little gadget!