I'm curious what others use to fit a piece of flex track between two other pieces of track that are already attached to the layout? I like using a razor saw with a miter box.
I prefer a motor tool with a cut-off disc. If the one you're using has a fairly small-diameter disc (as do most Dremels or other modelling-type motor tools), then cut the rails a bit longer than needed, since the smaller disc usually means that the cuts will be on an angle.Once you have the needed piece free from the main part of the donor track, you can make new cuts to square-up the original ones and trim the rails to the exact lengths needed.Keep in mind, too, that if the piece being added will be curved, or those already in place on the layout are already curved, then a mitre box may not always be the best choice, especially if the rails on the new piece need to be of different lengths.
Wayne
Well I guess what ever works! razor saw, Xuron rail nippers, Dremel, maybe even a small hack saw, if that's all you have.
I was expecting a question on why one would choose flex track, for any track laying.
Mike.
My You Tube
Dremel/cutoff blade. The few times I used a saw, ended up tearing rails out of ties
Very helpful answers Wayne and Uncle! At the present, I have been able to set things up so I am custom cutting/fitting a straight piece between two other fixed straight pieces. I can see the advantage of using a Dremel with a cutting disk when joining a curved piece. What's the best bang for the buck Dremel tool? So many choices out there but it seems Dremel is the preferred brand and cordless are nice but more expensive for an infrequently used tool.
I use a Dremel with cutoff blade.
But..
I will also use a piece of snap track from Atlas snap track assortment rather then cutting a section of flex.I have also used a 9" section to fill a gap..
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
doctorwaynesince the smaller disc usually means that the cuts will be on an angle.
You need the right angle adapter.
I have the right to remain silent. By posting here I have given up that right and accept that anything I say can and will be used as evidence to critique me.
I use the 8050 Micro.
https://www.dremel.com/en_US/products/-/show-product/tools/8050-micro
About $70. I get it right from Dremel. Their office and shop is in Racine WI., about 25 miles from me.
I just noticed on their web site, they do have a large selection!
Did you edit the title of your post? or did I totally read it wrong? (which happens more than I want to admit!)
EDIT: That price is the same as the retailers.
mbinsewi I use the 8050 Micro. https://www.dremel.com/en_US/products/-/show-product/tools/8050-micro Did you edit the title of your post? or did I totally read it wrong? (which happens more than I want to admit!) Mike. EDIT: That price is the same as the retailers.
Thanks for the link Mike! No, the title was not changed. No problem, you've always been helpful.
Thanks, guys! I expected to read that a variety of tools are being used. Mel, I agree, I have a Xuron cutter which works well plus a little filing. Brakie, how did you know? I do have some old atlas snap track straight pieces that could be used if the gap is 9" or less. Carl, the right angle attachment looks to be a very wise purchase. Thanks again!
UNCLEBUTCH Dremel/cutoff blade. The few times I used a saw, ended up tearing rails out of ties
Prior to acquiring the flex cable for a Dremel tool, I tore out the rails with a cut off disk. It's easier to get into existing trackage than a razor saw in many instances.
I overlay a suitably long piece of flex, use track nails to hold it in place along a curve or tangent as necessary, and then mark the rail to be cut with a permanent marker. Important, though, to use joiners at the other end so that the end is aligned and that the rest of your track to the overlaid part is 'true'.
Using a nipper, I cut the rail(s), and then replace as before. To get the fit I need from long to 'just right', I keep kissing the ends of the cut rail with the side of the spinning cut-off disk. This must be done with focus and control because the disk is not designed to flex. So.......don't make it flex!! Just a series of short gentle touches until the rail slips into place. Add a joiner if you wish at that time.
Once you have a Dremel - it becomes a FREQUENTLY used tool. Well worth it - though I do not bother with cordless, they are more bulky.
Amazon has some large diameter dimond cutoff wheels that are a lot cheaper option than buying a flex shaft or right angle attachment, and are larger in diameter than the Dremel tool itself, allowing vertical cuts.
But, most of my cutting for fitting is done with Xuron rail nippers. Just make sure to apply the blade to the rail in the correct orientation - one side of the cut is very clean with minimal touching up with a small file necessary, the other side tends to be more mangled - usually if the leftover piece is still long enough to use elsewhere, i will turn the nippers around and cut off the ugly cut end to make a clean cut end to start the next fitting. Just never use the rail nippers to cut anything heavier than brass or nickel silver rail. They are not hardened and cutting things like music wire used for Tortoise linkage will put a great big ugly notch in the cutter and it will no longer make smooth rail cuts.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
LION use MOTOR TOOL:
ROARING!!!
PURRfect cuts every time
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
When did Lion get job on real railroad? Him not mention this before.
IDRickBrakie, how did you know? I do have some old atlas snap track straight pieces that could be used if the gap is 9" or less.
Rick, I used a white plastic school ruler to measure the distence between the two sections of flex. I simply place the ruler along the side of the ends of the rail and measure the gap.
Those rulers works like a charm.
BTW.. If there is any numbers left of the zero on the ruler I cut them off.
Lay the track over the other, then I use a razor saw to score the rails evenly as a cutting mark. I use a Xuron rail nipper to cut.
I'll often cheat the razor line to the long side just to ensure I don't cut it short. Then nip the second time for a perfect fit.
- Douglas
I've gone through a motor tool (don't recall the brand) which probably appeared around the same time as Dremel, in the '30s (it belonged to my father), and two Dremels.The one I'm currently using is a variable speed model from JobMate, and it's equipped with a flexible shaft. It takes any of the Dremel accessories, but can also handle some larger stuff, too.
I probably use it more for working with a cut-off disc than for anything else.
Drilling is usually done with pinvises or, when necessary, my cordless Dewalt impact driver. It has good low-speed capabilities, and by supporting it in the drawer of my workdesk and manipulating the work-piece, I get good results even with #79 or 80 drill bits.
I use a corded "dremel" from harbor freight, it was only about $30.
Harrison
Homeschooler living In upstate NY a.k.a Northern NY.
Modeling the D&H in 1978.
Route of the famous "Montreal Limited"
My YouTube
To cut flex track I use Snap-On flush cutting heavy duty pliers. About 5 times the cost of a Xuron tool and 10 times as good.
.
Measuring the length of the piece can be a problem if it is curved. I like the suggestion of using a flexible rule.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
For length I do what Doughless does, lay the piece over and mark it. Also cut long, I can either take another nip if it's still way too long, or file the cut end if it's close. That takes care of curve or straight. If I'm in a hurry I will often just pinch the rail where it needs to be cut, lift it off, and cut up against my finger nail. Another thing I often do where the track has to curve, is cut one rail to fit, the outside one, and then refit the section and mark and cut the inside rail, rather than trying to cut both at the same time.
I dunno about 10x as good a Xuron, Xuron is top notch stuff, not cheap Chinesium tools. Highly respected in the electronic industry for their cutters - which is what most of their "railroad" tools are. In fact I use one of my rail nippers to cut leads on circuit boards - an alternative use that is not dangerous to the tool, since copper lead wires are even softer than nicek silver rail. I have a pair of heavy duty hardened diagonal cutters to cut music wire for turnout linkages, final trim I use a cutoff wheel, but to take pieces off a long section I use the cutters. While there's always a chance that you bend to Dremel and shatter the cutoff wheel, the cut off piece tends to fly out to the side, compared to cutting a short piece off with a cutter, which tends to shoot it straight up - please always wear eye protection no matter which way you do it.
DoughlessLay the track over the other, then I use a razor saw to score the rails evenly as a cutting mark. I use a Xuron rail nipper to cut.
Last time I cut a full piece of flex to fill a short gap I found I needed that full piece elsewhere so,I started using snap track in assorted pieces since there is the same amount of joiners.
For me 9" or less snap will work anything above 9" then I will use flex unless its at a end of a industrial siding then snap track will work.
rrinker When did Lion get job on real railroad? Him not mention this before. --Randy
'Eh? LION cut out that picture a year ago and was just waiting for a tread to use it in. I am surprised that it ook so long to get one.
ROAR
Awesome discussion and most helpful! Thanks, guys!
Not having used a Dremel tool before, I spent some time on youtube and other sites looking at various models. Interestingly, all the demonstrations showed significant sparking when cutting through metal. My layout has 1-inch foam board over plywood. Does the sparking damage the foamboard or is there a potential fire risk? What do you use to prevent damage (if it is a problem)? Which cutting wheels do you recommend? Thanks!
Lion won the thread with his man-sized cutter! LOL
Rick, I use the 426B 1 1/4" reinforce fiberglass cut off wheel.
If it's a short section say 4" or less I use individual rails and ties. For a drop in you have to cut ties off to slide the joiner all the way on and then put ties under the rail any way, so the individual rail/ties isn't much different. Also, I find it easier to get each rail the exact length when doing them one at a time.
Otherwise for longer gaps, I use rail nippers to cut off a section of flex track.
Another way to get a 90 degree cut with Dremel is to use their flexible shaft.
Paul
I don't believe anyone has mentioned that cutting flex track depends in part on what brand you use. Atlas is famous for its easy flexing, but it tends to straighten back out. Never used Peco. But with ME flex, bend it and it tends to stay in the shape you changed it into.
What this means it that ME can be shaped to fill your gap, then easily cut with the Xuron or other cutter. I prefer to cut to fit, than to measure then cut. That's something that Atlas track has a problem with, because it wants to spring back toward being straight again.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
Never been a prooblem for me. I put the piece in place, mark where it needs to be cut. After that, who cares if it springs back? Doesn;t change anything, the cut mark is where it needs to be cut to fit when it is curved in place. Easy peasy. Peco flex is slightly stiffer than Atlas but nowhere near as stiff as ME. I still say you will NEVER get as smooth flowing curves with ME as you cna get with Atlas, Atlas naturally forms easements. For a beginner especially, MUCH easier to use Atlas, where having smooth trackwork is the most important thing, the track that is easier to do this with is easier for the beginner. To get the same kind of smooth easements with ME track, you need to lay out the easement by drawing a centerline in some fashioon, using a bent stick or similar, and then bit by bit curve the track to line up. With Atlas - just offset the centerline of the tangent track by a couple of inches, and have the curve centerline marked - no need to draw the actual easement part. Attach the tangent end, bend the far end around to meet the curve centerline, and done. If you nail the track down, no difference. If you use caulk, might need a couple of push pins to hold the Atlas which wouldn;t be needed for ME, but I put pushpins even in straight track and turnouts while the caulk dries.
I mean - Joe Fugate has a whole video on how to curve ME track. Don't need that much instruction to get smooth curves with Atlas.
IDRick I'm curious what others use to fit a piece of flex track between two other pieces of track that are already attached to the layout? I like using a razor saw with a miter box.
I tried using a razor saw to cut track many years ago; granted I was a noob, but it didn't go well for me. No thank you.
I do what most others here do, a combination of Xuron rail nippers and a Dremel with a cut-off wheel.
I use the Dremel on almost all my rail cuts because I can dress the end with a nice clean end. I use needle files also where needed to dress ends.
Never been a prooblem for me. I put the piece in place, mark where it needs to be cut. After that, who cares if it springs back? Doesn;t change anything, the cut mark is where it needs to be cut to fit when it is curved in place. Easy peasy. Peco flex is slightly stiffer than Atlas but nowhere near as stiff as ME.
I've always found Atlas springy flex track to be super easy to work with and get a smooth flowing curve with a minimum of effort.
I still say you will NEVER get as smooth flowing curves with ME as you cna get with Atlas, Atlas naturally forms easements. For a beginner especially, MUCH easier to use Atlas, where having smooth trackwork is the most important thing, the track that is easier to do this with is easier for the beginner. To get the same kind of smooth easements with ME track, you need to lay out the easement by drawing a centerline in some fashioon, using a bent stick or similar, and then bit by bit curve the track to line up. With Atlas - just offset the centerline of the tangent track by a couple of inches, and have the curve centerline marked - no need to draw the actual easement part. Attach the tangent end, bend the far end around to meet the curve centerline, and done. If you nail the track down, no difference. If you use caulk, might need a couple of push pins to hold the Atlas which wouldn;t be needed for ME, but I put pushpins even in straight track and turnouts while the caulk dries. I mean - Joe Fugate has a whole video on how to curve ME track. Don't need that much instruction to get smooth curves with Atlas. --Randy
Preach it brother! Everything you say about Atlas is dead-on. The springy nature makes it soooo easy to layout easements as well.
You know, so many talk about the virtues of ME "stiff" flex track but after building 3 layouts with springy flex track, I love the stuff.
I have some "stiff" shinohara code 70 flex, which I believe is similar to ME flex, and it's always a ROYAL pain in the arse to work with. Massage, massage massage and more massage. For folks to like that kind of thing, more power to you, but for me and my RR, no thanks.
I am interested in trying Peco if it is somewhat springy and their code 83 looks better than Atlas code 83 flex, it may be worth trying despite the higher cost.
There is one thing I don't like about Atlas code 83, the top of the rail looks just about as wide as the Atlas code 100. Sure, it's code 83 which is a measure of the height of the rail, but how do we view rail mostly? From the top, and when it looks almost the same as code 100 rail from the top, then in that regard Atlas code 83 disappoints. Shame really because otherwise - price, ease of use, smaller tie detail etc, it's pretty good.
I'll be giving Peco code 83 a close look for my next layout, although the cost is higher. I'm already stock piling Peco electrofrog turnouts to replace my Walthers and Atlas turnouts.
I do use Atlas track nails and ME spike to secure the track down, until ballast is in place so I don't use caulk.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
riogrande5761You know, so many talk about the virtues of ME "stiff" flex track but after building 3 layouts with springy flex track, I love the stuff.
Jim,I built mt first ISL way back in '62 or '63 using "stiff" brass flex track with fiber ties so using ME flex came natual to me.
I won't go back to floppy flex track ever again.
If I could finish my HO Slate Ceek I would use Code 70 instead of '83.
I decided on my N Scale ISL to use Code 55.