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How to Cover Screw Ends

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How to Cover Screw Ends
Posted by FRRYKid on Wednesday, April 5, 2023 2:57 AM

Got another one for my Forum friends. On the bottom left of this picture (https://photos.app.goo.gl/opYnbUmzE2Ycpo9b8) you can see the ends of two screws. They are a required evil due to the design of the section. (It is a portable section as the room gets a little too tight if it were to remain at all times. It has legs that fold away along the long sides. The cross beam to support the top runs the long way as well to all the legs to fold up. The other leg bracket screws hide under the mainline track. Here is the listing for the brackets http://www.ebay.com/itm/321866360411)

What's a good way to cover the "evil" and make it look a bit more prototypical? The track in question is an interchange track if that helps any. As usual, any ideas would be most welcomed.

"The only stupid question is the unasked question."
Brain waves can power an electric train. RealFact #832 from Snapple.
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Posted by NVSRR on Wednesday, April 5, 2023 5:58 AM

Are they flush or protruding?   If flush, I just over with tape and scenic over.   If they are protruding, cut it off and scenic over.      The protruding part isn't doing any good any way. 
shane

A pessimist sees a dark tunnel

An optimist sees the light at the end of the tunnel

A realist sees a frieght train

An engineer sees three idiots standing on the tracks stairing blankly in space

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Posted by mbinsewi on Wednesday, April 5, 2023 7:15 AM

I'm with Shane, make sure they are flush, and paint to match the ties, or tape over and paint the tap to match the ties.

Mike.

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Posted by maxman on Wednesday, April 5, 2023 8:05 AM

Use shorter screws?  Fill excess holes with putty or other favorite hole filling goop.

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Posted by AEP528 on Wednesday, April 5, 2023 8:19 AM

Do you need access to the screws? If not, why wouldn't you just cover them like any other benchwork screws?

 

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Posted by dknelson on Wednesday, April 5, 2023 10:15 AM

If you think you'll need or want future access, and assuming you intend someday to scenic this area, I'd say cover them with some easily removable but plausible and realistic bit of detail.  A 55 gallon drum.  A shrub.  Old tires.

Dave Nelson

 

 

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Posted by York1 on Wednesday, April 5, 2023 10:23 AM

If I understand the OP, it is necessary every-so-often to access the screws, so doing too much scenery over the screw heads is not what he wants.

I will second Dave's suggestion that the screws can be hidden with objects that can be easily removed.  

York1 John       

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Posted by maxman on Wednesday, April 5, 2023 12:54 PM

York1
If I understand the OP, it is necessary every-so-often to access the screws, so doing too much scenery over the screw heads is not what he wants.

 

The included photo appears to show the threaded ends of the screw, not the heads.  And the photo of the hinge would seem to indicate that the screws are inserted from the bottom, not the top of the layout.

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Posted by AEP528 on Wednesday, April 5, 2023 1:31 PM

maxman

 

 
York1
If I understand the OP, it is necessary every-so-often to access the screws, so doing too much scenery over the screw heads is not what he wants.

 

 

 

The included photo appears to show the threaded ends of the screw, not the heads.  And the photo of the hinge would seem to indicate that the screws are inserted from the bottom, not the top of the layout.

 

All I noticed in the lower left was the screw head. The two shiny silver things right next to the track are the screw ends! At least I think so, after zooming in.

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Posted by York1 on Wednesday, April 5, 2023 1:32 PM

maxman
York1
If I understand the OP, it is necessary every-so-often to access the screws, so doing too much scenery over the screw heads is not what he wants.

 

Maxman, you're right.  Looking at the picture quickly, I saw the two screws that attach the plywood to the frame, and not the screws sticking up beside the track.  Sorry about that.

 

York1 John       

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Posted by FRRYKid on Wednesday, April 5, 2023 11:52 PM

York1

 

 
maxman
York1
If I understand the OP, it is necessary every-so-often to access the screws, so doing too much scenery over the screw heads is not what he wants.

 

 

Maxman, you're right.  Looking at the picture quickly, I saw the two screws that attach the plywood to the frame, and not the screws sticking up beside the track.  Sorry about that.

 

Exactly. The yellow lines are the screws in question.

dknelson

If you think you'll need or want future access, and assuming you intend someday to scenic this area, I'd say cover them with some easily removable but plausible and realistic bit of detail.  A 55 gallon drum.  A shrub.  Old tires.

Dave Nelson

I shouldn't need to need to remove the screws. At some point I am planning to scenic the section. As this amounts to a railyard, it won't have much for scenery. A bush on the screws seems a good idea and just scrub everywhere else.

"The only stupid question is the unasked question."
Brain waves can power an electric train. RealFact #832 from Snapple.
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Posted by NVSRR on Thursday, April 6, 2023 6:00 AM

I didn't see those either.     You can still cut them off.   The portion above the wood has no purpose Or utility.   No need to leave them

 

shane

A pessimist sees a dark tunnel

An optimist sees the light at the end of the tunnel

A realist sees a frieght train

An engineer sees three idiots standing on the tracks stairing blankly in space

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Posted by richhotrain on Thursday, April 6, 2023 6:07 AM

Leave 'em alone. They look good. Just another trackside feature.

Rich

Alton Junction

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Posted by mbinsewi on Thursday, April 6, 2023 8:45 AM

And I thought he was talking about the screws, or nails or whatever, that is in the middle of the track!  

Never mind!  Whistling

Mike.

 

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Posted by maxman on Thursday, April 6, 2023 9:55 AM

FRRYKid
At some point I am planning to scenic the section. As this amounts to a railyard, it won't have much for scenery. A bush on the screws seems a good idea and just scrub everywhere else.

I'm not sure that I understand the aversion to doing the job properly, which is either replacing the offending screws with something shorter or cutting them flush to the top.

And if it was your intent to just hide them then I don't know why there was a question in the first place.  Certainly it is your option to do what you want.

That said, I'm not a fan of having sharp unnecessary things sticking up from a surface.  And all a bush does is just hide those sharp objects, waiting for an unsuspecting hand or arm to sweep over them.

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Posted by Track fiddler on Thursday, April 6, 2023 10:32 AM

OUCH!!!

And as Dick has suggested, that sort of accedently happens even when you dont hide em.

If that situation was in my yard, I'd quit screwing aroundWink

 

TF

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Posted by Soo Line fan on Thursday, April 6, 2023 10:36 AM

Agreed, cut them with a side cutter and file flush, use a grinding stone and drill or the easiest is a dremel cut off wheel.

Jim

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Posted by AEP528 on Thursday, April 6, 2023 10:54 AM

I would either get metal screws or replace them with countersunk bolts fed down from the top surface.

Cutting metal on or near a model railroad is always a bad idea. No matter how well you cover things and vacuum, there is always the possiblity of tiny metal particles making their way into drivetrain lubricants, or worse, into the motor.

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Posted by Track fiddler on Thursday, April 6, 2023 11:01 AM

If you don't have the appropriate tools to deal with them in place, (running a magnet over everything after)Thumbs Up or have any shorter screws. 

Take them out one at a time, sinch them up in your vice, cut them off with a hacksaw, and stick them back in the same holeSmile, Wink & Grin

 

TF

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Posted by AEP528 on Thursday, April 6, 2023 12:18 PM

Track fiddler

If you don't have the appropriate tools to deal with them in place, (running a magnet over everything after)Thumbs Up or have any shorter screws. 

Take them out one at a time, sinch them up in your vice, cut them off with a hacksaw, and stick them back in the same holeSmile, Wink & Grin

 

TF

 

A magnet helps but it's not enough. Just don't cut metals, especially ferrous metals, around a layout.

Really, the best advice is don't cut anything around a layout if it can be avoided. Any sort of dust will cause issues down the road.

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Posted by BigDaddy on Thursday, April 6, 2023 5:30 PM

I think you could have given us a better picture but some lichen or bush type ground cover or or a pile of rail road ties should cover it.

Henry

COB Potomac & Northern

Shenandoah Valley

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Posted by FRRYKid on Friday, April 7, 2023 2:58 AM

BigDaddy

I think you could have given us a better picture but some lichen or bush type ground cover or or a pile of rail road ties should cover it.

The picture wasn't orignally intended specifcally for the exposed screws. I took it to figure out how to light the engine house and yard area. I figured I would use the photo in a second way.

The tie idea also has merit as the line was supposed to have had lots of deferred maintance from a prior railroad company that embargoed operations on the section.

"The only stupid question is the unasked question."
Brain waves can power an electric train. RealFact #832 from Snapple.
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Posted by FRRYKid on Friday, April 7, 2023 3:00 AM

mbinsewi

And I thought he was talking about the screws, or nails or whatever, that is in the middle of the track!  

Never mind!  Whistling

Mike.

FWIW I nail down my track as I tend to change my mind on arrangement at times. That's what's down the center of the track.

"The only stupid question is the unasked question."
Brain waves can power an electric train. RealFact #832 from Snapple.
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Posted by Overmod on Friday, April 7, 2023 1:18 PM

Ah, this has me shamefacedly chuckling, as I have Been There.

I mounted a couple of brackets to the basement ceiling of the house in Englewood.  And I made SURE the lags holding the brackets had a good, good bite into the wood...

and then found eight little helical 'sprouts' poking through the inlaid parquet flooring in the living room... EmbarrassedDunce

I carefully ground them off level with the lacquered surface and used selenium black to make them less... noticeable.  Paint that stuck to the ground ends would have worked, too.

The screws will then go in and out easily -- you might remember which one fits which hole, but that's likely OCD.  You could also grind the screws level, then take them out and grind a little more for a slight recess, then mud and tape as for drywall screws, just as you'd do with those other screw heads in the Masonite.

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Posted by FRRYKid on Saturday, April 8, 2023 2:37 AM

Overmod

Ah, this has me shamefacedly chuckling, as I have Been There.

I mounted a couple of brackets to the basement ceiling of the house in Englewood.  And I made SURE the lags holding the brackets had a good, good bite into the wood...

and then found eight little helical 'sprouts' poking through the inlaid parquet flooring in the living room... EmbarrassedDunce

I carefully ground them off level with the lacquered surface and used selenium black to make them less... noticeable.  Paint that stuck to the ground ends would have worked, too.

The screws will then go in and out easily -- you might remember which one fits which hole, but that's likely OCD.  You could also grind the screws level, then take them out and grind a little more for a slight recess, then mud and tape as for drywall screws, just as you'd do with those other screw heads in the Masonite. 

I actually destroyed the original end section of the mainline when I installed the other folding bracket. I had to scrounge in my track collection to find a replacement as it is a 6" section. Thankfully I had one.

"The only stupid question is the unasked question."
Brain waves can power an electric train. RealFact #832 from Snapple.
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Posted by reasearchhound on Saturday, April 8, 2023 9:06 AM

LOL... reading some of these reminded me of a time when a buddy of mine was undergoing treatment for some pretty aggressive cancer and his sense of balance was severely affected as a result of the treatment. I volunteered to put up some heavy duty grab bars in various places around their house. I was halfway through the installs and was ready to drill the holes for the next one when I realized that the place he and his wife wanted one was right on a wall where a pocket door was located. Luckily I noticed it (but just barely in time) before drilling any holes or installing the bar. 

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Posted by Medina1128 on Saturday, April 15, 2023 9:31 AM

I learned the hard way to insert screws from the bottom. It's a real pain to find screws installed from the top after you've scenicked/ballasted.

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