My Update

prodigy2k7

Member
Dec 17, 2006
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Quick Update:
This is my VERY FIRST layout FYI.
I have never soldered or used flex track or anything!
Well I used bachmann ez track under my bed and around the x-mas tree on DC, but thats it.
MAN I LEARNED A LOT AND IT WAS FUN!!!!









Man I had a crazy messy garage. I moved stuff around to allow room for my table. I got some cheap legs as you can see but they word.
Cheap folding legs, that is... lol

Its 4x8 btw...
I dont currently have a picture but I will show my wiring and soldering of feeders tomorrow. I am done with wiring of those. I think my next step is to wire up my switch control box's to my under table switch machines. That will be fun! lol...

I cant wait to start my scenery!!!
My Zephyr is on the way...

MAN THIS IS MY FIRST LAYOUT EVER AND IM SO EXCITED!!!
balloon6balloon6balloon6

UPDATE:
3/16/07



 

berraf

Member
Oct 29, 2006
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Odeshog, Sweden
www.fasth.de
I understand your excitement prodigy :)
Building a planning layout is so fun and gives so much in return.
I can still remember the first time I soldered a feeder to some Peco track. A good memory :)
Looking forward to see more from your progress on the layout.
Does it have a name?
 

YmeBP

Member
Dec 3, 2006
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Southern New Jersey
www.skyersfamily.com
Your layout looks awesome!! I'm starting one for my kids today on teh same type of wood couple quesitons:

Did you use the smooth side or the rough side?

What type of glue did you use to get your cork to stick?

How did you hold the cork in place while the glue dried?

How did you measure your curves, they look like .... perfect :) hhhahaha i have snap track that that doesn't look that concentric!

I'm stuck in the middle of a foam sub-bed no foam sub-bed dillema i'm headed off to home depot later ... dunno what to do. I have foam roadbed and it's going to be difficult for me to pin into plywood, but i don't want to spend where i don't need to.

Sorry for all the q's this will be my seocnd attempt at creating a layout and it's for my 2 sons and they don't have much patience for things falling off the rails etc so i'd like to get it as close to yours as i can, yours looks top notch.
 

prodigy2k7

Member
Dec 17, 2006
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YmeBP said:
Your layout looks awesome!! I'm starting one for my kids today on teh same type of wood couple quesitons:

Did you use the smooth side or the rough side?
Smooth Side

What type of glue did you use to get your cork to stick?
I forgot the brand, DIP?
Dynaflex 230 clear
(something like that)...

How did you hold the cork in place while the glue dried?
I use push aluminum push pins (so I could hammer them in, the plastic ones broke, my wood was too dense to push in)

How did you measure your curves, they look like .... perfect :) hhhahaha i have snap track that that doesn't look that concentric!
I used the meter/yard stick with a screw/nail in one end and a hole with a marker in the other to measure the turn radius in inches.
I'm stuck in the middle of a foam sub-bed no foam sub-bed dillema i'm headed off to home depot later ... dunno what to do. I have foam roadbed and it's going to be difficult for me to pin into plywood, but i don't want to spend where i don't need to.

Sorry for all the q's this will be my seocnd attempt at creating a layout and it's for my 2 sons and they don't have much patience for things falling off the rails etc so i'd like to get it as close to yours as i can, yours looks top notch.

jasbourre said:
Your track looks good. One question what are the visegrips used for on the fourth picture?
They are for the "suitcase" connectors, I have them perfectly tight (the screw thing on the back) so when i squeese them together the metal goes in far enough for it to close.... If you know what I mean.
I have a hard time looking at it while i squeese it to see if closed enough so I can put the locking flab over it. I just use this so when I squeese it and the visegrips lock I know its all the way lol....
 

Triplex

Active Member
Aug 24, 2005
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Calgary, Alberta, Canada
How did you measure your curves, they look like .... perfect
smile.gif
hhhahaha i have snap track that that doesn't look that concentric!
From the thumbnails, I thought it was sectional track!
 

Jim Krause

Active Member
Apr 7, 2005
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Polson, MT
YmeBP: Try looking up some of prodigy's posts of the last two months. He was asking the same questions concerning establishing curve radii. Several suggestions were given and I don't remember which one he used. If you are using a 4X8 piece of material; two feet in from the ends and two feet from the side will be the point where your radius center point is at. This will allow you to use a track radius of 22 inches (the center of your roadbed) Any larger radius will put your track too close to the edge of the table. Mark the 22 inch radius on your table with a fine tip felt marker. Place your roadbed with the centerline on the mark and glue one half of it in place. After the glue dries, add the other half of the roadbed. You have to cut the roadbed apart on the centerline before gluing it in place.
 

prodigy2k7

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Dec 17, 2006
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I used the yard stick method.
You stick a marker in a drilled hole in the wooden stick. At the 19" mark (18 inch radius)
Put a screw/nail in the 1" march and that is your pivot point.
And then just move the marker and u get a curve