Post by fr8kar on Aug 13, 2015 21:47:41 GMT -5
My friends and I are building new Free-mo modules, some of which require large radius curves. Laying out small curves isn't too difficult, but curves ranging from 60" radius on the small side all the way up to 200"+ are next to impossible. When you're dealing with 10 foot radius curves, a yardstick and Sharpie just doesn't cut it.
We use Micro Engineering flextrack, which will more or less hold the curve you form in it before you lay it on cork or homasote. The trick then is getting close to the desired curve formed, then lay the track down and fine tune it in place.
I've tried paper and cardboard curve templates in the past, but they just didn't hold up well. The paper and cardboard templates weren't strong enough to form the curves around them, which resulted in a lot of trial and error bending the curve and testing the template for a good fit between the rails. Invariably the template would get torn up and bent by the time you'd formed only a few pieces of track.
In my quest for something more durable, I realized I could 3D print a tool for this purpose. I decided to give it a handle to make it easy to slide up and down the track. I made one of each of the curves we need for our modules and placed an order. Here's a video of me forming a section of ME code 83 flextrack using the 48" radius tool:
I brought the 48" radius tool over to the airplane hangar where we build, test and set up our modules last night and invited a couple friends. Without showing him or describing how I used the tool, I watched our resident Rock Island fanatic (every group has to have one, right?) take a piece of flextrack fresh from the box and slide the tool along the track from one end to the other in a quick back-and-forth motion. In about 30 seconds he had formed a section of flextrack into a nice, smooth curve. I had only done a quick test of a couple short sections of code 70 and code 83 track, so I was pretty surprised to see it done this way this quickly.
The idea of getting this close to the finished curve so quickly was unthinkable before using this tool. The three of us are sufficiently impressed to order several of these tools ranging from 42" radius to 270" radius to straight track. Since we also have a couple more curve modules in the works, I worked up an easement transition tool from straight track to 48" radius (the minimum recommended radius for Mainline Free-mo modules) in both left hand and right hand versions.
Those of us with home layouts don't have many opportunities to use very many of the large radius tools, so with that in mind I created smaller radius versions in one inch increments ranging from 24" radius to 42" radius, then in two inch increments on up to 52" radius.
All these tools are available at my Shapeways store in the Tracklaying Tools section:
www.shapeways.com/shops/he6agon?section=Tracklaying+Tools&s=0
If laying track is in your future, I encourage you to try these tools out.
We use Micro Engineering flextrack, which will more or less hold the curve you form in it before you lay it on cork or homasote. The trick then is getting close to the desired curve formed, then lay the track down and fine tune it in place.
I've tried paper and cardboard curve templates in the past, but they just didn't hold up well. The paper and cardboard templates weren't strong enough to form the curves around them, which resulted in a lot of trial and error bending the curve and testing the template for a good fit between the rails. Invariably the template would get torn up and bent by the time you'd formed only a few pieces of track.
In my quest for something more durable, I realized I could 3D print a tool for this purpose. I decided to give it a handle to make it easy to slide up and down the track. I made one of each of the curves we need for our modules and placed an order. Here's a video of me forming a section of ME code 83 flextrack using the 48" radius tool:
I brought the 48" radius tool over to the airplane hangar where we build, test and set up our modules last night and invited a couple friends. Without showing him or describing how I used the tool, I watched our resident Rock Island fanatic (every group has to have one, right?) take a piece of flextrack fresh from the box and slide the tool along the track from one end to the other in a quick back-and-forth motion. In about 30 seconds he had formed a section of flextrack into a nice, smooth curve. I had only done a quick test of a couple short sections of code 70 and code 83 track, so I was pretty surprised to see it done this way this quickly.
The idea of getting this close to the finished curve so quickly was unthinkable before using this tool. The three of us are sufficiently impressed to order several of these tools ranging from 42" radius to 270" radius to straight track. Since we also have a couple more curve modules in the works, I worked up an easement transition tool from straight track to 48" radius (the minimum recommended radius for Mainline Free-mo modules) in both left hand and right hand versions.
Those of us with home layouts don't have many opportunities to use very many of the large radius tools, so with that in mind I created smaller radius versions in one inch increments ranging from 24" radius to 42" radius, then in two inch increments on up to 52" radius.
All these tools are available at my Shapeways store in the Tracklaying Tools section:
www.shapeways.com/shops/he6agon?section=Tracklaying+Tools&s=0
If laying track is in your future, I encourage you to try these tools out.
