In the rear of the May-June 2010 N Scale Railroader is a review by the editor of a tool sent to him by a seller/retailer/ exclusive supplier, whatever. It is a tool for doing all things with various code rail joiners- pulling, pushing, adjusting, inserting, removing, etc.. The punctured finger pads and broken and gouged nails were bad enough on Code 80, but is incrementally worse with Code 55. There is a tool variation for joiners of different codes. From the photos, it looks like it is about the size of a golf pencil. The price is $14.95. That is the good news. The bad news is that shipping is $10.95. I will not comment on the shipping charge other than to say it makes the whole purchase about $26.00. Frankly, if it keeps my fingers dainty and pretty, it is worth the combined price. I will be joining rails, according to the supplier, by the weekend. I will keep us advised with my own review, for what that, in itself, will be worth.
I just use a sewing thimble for stubborn rail joiners and in the case the track is already laid or hard to reach with the thimble, I have an old jewelers flat head with a notch carved out of it. I look forward to your review though. Maybe a picture or two?
Once I found that FoamTack holds ties so tightly, I stopped using rail joiners. My NTrak modules are now over a decade old, still working fine without joiners...
I sure would be interested in that tool as well. Have not received my copy of N Scale Railroader N magazine yet. Maybe today!
Here is the tool our Ntrak club uses. It's called a chip lifter and is a miniature pry bar. Works great too! Go here:268 Chip Lifter Pry Bar We use the one with the red handle for hi-visibility reasons. When we got ours they were only $2.95.
I use feeders. If you don't want to use a bus wire, just use the feeders to jump from one side of the gap to the other. In NTrak, you have a feed from a bus anyway. Trust me, the rail joiners are a real pain, a lot less reliable than feeders. Just be sure to trim the rail end up-close to the nearest tie, then just glue it down with FoamTack butt up against the end of the last rail section (also trimmed up short against a tie). With FoamTack and the lack of joiners you can lay an medium sized layout track in one evening. Miraculous stuff. Works great, less filing! :mcool:
I agree that the filing is a complete pain. Bottom, sides, and top X 2, one of the preceding for each rail and if joining two pieces of flex track (if you can get it) X 2 again. Since I have tossed the $26.00 into the pot, we shall see what we shall see.
I wonder if an upholstery staple remover would work? http://www.tooltopia.com/tool-aid-8...=cse&utm_term=SGT87820&utm_campaign=nextag_r1 I use them all the time...helping a friend in his upholstery shop. I just know they are sharp!!! If your other hand is in front of the tool...holding something...and the tool slips...you are going to need stitches ! I speak from experience....:tb-wacky: .
Put it down, it disappears syndrome? I know about that one.... 'Where did I leave the....?' :tb-wacky: Boxcab E50
The tack puller prongs may be too wide. With the chip lifter the two prongs fit very neetly over the rail and both prongs can contact the rail joiner. Plus the prongs can be inserted into the rail joiner to pick up or slide the joiner onto the rail.
I built my own tool just get some brass tubing slightly larger than the jointer and a brass rod that fits snug inside. Insert the rod 1/2 the length of the jointer in question and hold in place till all drilling is done. take a drill the same size as the rod and make a counter sink careful not go any deeper than to (hold center) on the next step Find a drill bit just bigger than the end tab on the jointer and drill hole slightly deeper Finalize you measurements and crimp in place under rubber cap cut the new tool off to a good length and wrap electric tape for filler and a 1/4 3/8th rubber cap on the end With care on choosing your material you should have enough to make several them Good Luck Have Fun ~AlanC
I don't have the "N Scale Railroader" and I’m confused. Do you have URL or a photo of this tool so that I can compare it? How can the chip lifter do all those things?
Fotheringill, I hope you have better luck with yours than I have with mine. I am using it with PECO track and turnouts. Pushing the joiner on at an angle as illustrated in the instructions works fairly well but sliding the joiner using the fully slotted tool end(procedure #3) does not work well and may gouge the rail as the rail is a lot softer than the steel tool. Inserting the joiner on the rail with the hole in the opposite end of the tool does not work at all as the PECO joiners are too small for the hole and aren't held tight enough to keep them aligned with the rail web. I have better luck with a Craftsman nail puller for sliding the joiners and a filed down screw driver to hold and start the joiner on the rail. OTOH, may be it's just my natural klutzieness. Ernie C
I had an old friend tell me a trick I've used with success.......( I used to mangle!! my fingers ) Take a short piece < 2 to 3" > of scrap rail, solder it into another short piece of brass tubing that is a snug fit, taper the end of the rail flanges slightly so a joiner will start to go on, then use this little 'tool' to open the joiner, then slide on rail. Since I solder all my joiners anyway, it's all I've ever needed. Sometimes a small flat-blade screwdriver helps also.
Alan- Still no tool. If it doesn't arrive over the next two days, I will inform my credit card issuer to reverse the transaction and will try it your way. If and when it arrives, I will take some pictures and post them. If it gouges the rails, it will be another lesson learned and its use will be limited to the other functions. I really don't want to solder all of the rail joints since, with ballasting, the rails won't move anywhere. I normally have a short fuse, but have learned with retailers to sometimes expect delays. In this case, 2-3 day business day delivery was promised at the website. Obviously not correct. My fuse is getting shorter.
