New Product for handlaying turnouts

[Anonymous]

In the New Products section of this site, dated March 8, there is a laser cut jig for handlaying turnouts. When you click on the item to get some information, it just tells the name of the German manufacturer and provides a picture of the product. Does anyone know anything about this product or where I can get more info? Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Hi Wayne,

For more information about the turnout jig, you can call the manufacturer in Germany directly at (0221) 39 77 77 or e-mail Hans Hopp at [e-mail].

Hope this helps.

Jim Schulz
Associate editor, Trains.com

[Anonymous]

Thanks - I just sent him an email. I've thought of trying to design something like this myself to make building turnouts more automated / consistent / accurate / easier. Right now, every turnout I build is a whole new project and I'm not getting any better or faster as I go.

[Anonymous]

Jim: thanks for the address.

Wayne: I sent Hans an e-mail last nite and got a reply this morning along with some pictures. The way he explained it sounds like the jig itself is glued to the subroadbed then the switch is built on top of it and you can not re use the jig. I do not know if he sent you the same reply and pictures or not. On the pictures it appears as though he has a few jigs beside the switch, they appear to be for making the frogs etc. Those are what I am interested in. He does not give a price for shipping but figures around $8.00 US, thats about $13.25 Canadian, not much of a savings if you add in shipping, for a #6 jig, says depends on how many I require and size ( I think he is refering to #4's, 6's etc.) If he is going to send a piece of plywood for each jig it will get expensive in the shipping alone due to the size and weight.
I was using photocopies of the NMRA switch templates. I began making a few years ago, was having trouble with the throw rails, too stiff, then when cutting them had difficulty keeping them snug with rail joiners, so did not continue. Someone informed me that it is much easier if using code 83 or 70 so am willing to give it a try again, code 83 was no available when I first started, only code 100. What do you think of their product?
Ron..

[Anonymous]

He must have sent me the same email he sent you. It appears to me that what he's selling is a set of ties with the rails marked on them and holes drilled for spikes. Not exactly what I'd call a jig. I was hoping to find some sort of adjustable jig that would hold the rail in place while I soldered everything together, yet would be movable to work for any frog angle.

I've been using code 70 and it's fairly easy to work with, so you might try that if it fits with your desires.

[Anonymous]

It is ironic of how topic come up, last week I was working on a small expantion of my small layout and was hand laying some track and though about trying to make my own switches again as I require two for my expantion. I agree with you what they are selling is not exactly what I was looking for neither.
I was thinking, ohhh thats scary!!, some where I have in my boxes of supplies a jig that I got from a person in the US to make me. I was down visiting some railroad friends who happen to know of this person who had a large basment layout so we went over, he handlays all track and makes all his own switches. He also has a metal milling machine so he made himself a small jig out of aircraft illuminum, soder will not stick to it. it is about two and one half inches long and about an inch and one half wide and very thin, maybe about 40 thou thick. Being aircraft stuff it is extremely light. You file your frog rails to the points then stick it in this jig, clamp the rails down and do your sodering. Again the soder will not stick to the aircraft alluminum. You pull it out and do your final filing of your gaps where the wheels run and you have a precice frog. He made me one and I have it somewhere. Tried to contact him again, no luck some of his friends say he got moved by the company that he works with. we have a small airport locally,and on the weekend, found a place that does small aircraft repair and I managed to talk him out of a few scraps of aircraft illuminum. I have a friend locally that has a small metal shop and he has a large milling machine along with ther large metal manufacturing machinery. He said that if I can find the origional jig that he could easily make me another one. Unfortunately he is very busy this week but if I can find it he will see what he can do next week. I have one of the old copies in the old binders of the NMRA standards and I am going to look up the specs for a number four and six turnouts and if it can be done will get a couple made. We do not as yet have a digital camera so I can not send you any photos when I find it. Although we recently purchased a scanner so I will try to take some pictures and scan them to you, first I have to find the jig. I do not know if this is what you are looking for or not. Let me know.
Well got most of the housework done and animals fed so it 1:15pm here, have an hour before the wife come home so may just go down and do some searching for the jig.
Ron.

[Anonymous]

Wayne, forgot to ask, where is Alzie,Tx? I am assuming it is in Tesas somewhere, just wondering as wife and maybe I are going to go to Houston Tx in August, she want to go to some large meet there involving salt water aquariums. We will only be there for a weekend or so, any good rr clubs to visit??
Ron, Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada..

[Anonymous]

I'd be interested in a jig like you describe. I just wi***here were a way to make it adjustable so it could be used for any turnout. Write to me at [e-mail] and I'll tell you more about model trains in Texas. I live just northwest of Fort Worht and work in town.

[Anonymous]

Wayne: for some unknown reason I keep getting the mail that I have sent to you back undelivered. Says it does not recognize the last part. Have tried several times and different ways and no luck. Try mine: [e-mail] Ron.

[Anonymous]

You might want to take a look at the July 1972 MR if you have access to one. There's an article on page 46 called "Turn out turnouts by the dozens" with instructions on how to make a simple jig out of aluminum. They're not adjustable but fairly simple in construction. The first think I had ever hand laid was a turnout using these jigs and I was very pleased with the result.

Paul.