Just to make my own post clear, I bought the #6 jig, the point-form tool for a #6, and the Stock-aid tool from Fast Tracks. You can get just the jig, which makes the outlay smaller and the payback quicker, but I found the other two tools extremely useful. The stock-aid tool (for filing the stock rails where the point rails make contact) can be used for any turnout number. The point-form tool technically is just for the #6 points, but I found that by altering how much of the rail you allow to stick out for filing, it could be used for making points from a #4 to #8. Both these tools are expensive, and make the overall initial outlay higher, but were very useful in both learning the processes and making the actual final product quicker and more precise. In fact, I bought the entire #6 "starter" kit, which includes everything except the Stock Aid tool (it includes bulk rail, PC ties, their "quick sticks" wood finishing ties, Pliobond for gluing the wood ties, etc. - again, I found all this stuff very useful to start out; after that, I bought some of the supplies elsewhere, like Clover House for PC board ties and Proto87 for bulk wood ties and bulk rail). The other things you need are at least two 3-point track gauges (I got three), an NMRA standards gauge, a good 8" or 10" ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ mill file, a 35-watt soldering iron with either a pencil tip or a small and very sharp screwdriver tip (I found the pencil tip on a Weller 35-watt iron easier to work with), solder (I used silver-based solder which makes a bit stronger joint), flux (Bob uses SuperSafe flux; I tried both this and regular paste flux and ended up liking the regular paste flux better - it seemed to give quicker and better solder flow, but the SuperSafe flux prevents any problems with leftover flux acid eating away at the joint years down the road), bulk wood ties, pc board ties (the ones from Fast Tracks are very nice; the ones from Clover House are cheaper and work fine), a Dremel or similar tool with a very thin cutoff wheel (which I prefer to using a jewelers file to cut rail gaps; I also ended up using this to cut electrical gaps in the PC board ties), bulk Code 55 rail, some sort of adhesive to glue on the wood ties to finish the turnout (Pliobond or gel CA both work), and whatever paint you want to use to paint the finished product. Again, I found that just following the tutorials on the Fast Tracks site for the first few turnouts produced excellent results, and then you can tweak your methods however you like once you develop your own "rhythm" for construction. (For example, I ended up adding a couple more PC board ties to make the whole assembly seem more rigid). I did not use any method to hinge my points, even on my #4 turnouts, and so far they have held up to the stresses of being thrown by Tortoise switch machines with beefier throw rods with no signs of problems. And did I say they operate flawlessly? As an example, I can run my Athearn Big Boy through my #4 hand made turnout as smoothly as the proverbial hot knife through butter. I can't do this with a stock Atlas #5. I just wish I had discovered turnout-making before investing in 70 Atlas Code 55 turnouts . . . John C.
+1 Nothing quite like seeing your engines and cars glide through turnouts you've made with your two big hands without a twitch, or a shudder....and knowing that turnout cost you less than three bucks is just icing on the cake... Cheerio! Bob Gilmore
Ordered my Fast Tracks items today. I went with a #6 turnout fixture and various other items that caught my eye. I figure once I get the hang of this I can make some custom turnouts. Thanks for all the input everyone.
I listed 14 used code 55 Atlas #7's on eBay yesterday and they sold within an hour. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Go ahead rub it in! I am glad that I took the leap into building my own since everyone says they should be more reliable. Plus I find when I get that involved in something I understand what is going on better and that will make it more reliable.
