Copperclad sleeper gapping jig.

For my 006 pizza I'm going to use copperclad sleepers, cut from strip using my NWSL Chopper. Copperclad does of course need 'gapping', making a cut through the copper in the middle of the sleeper to electrically separate the two running rails. For this job I used a razor saw and a simple plasticard jig;

No accuracy or finesse needed here! It just needs to hold the sleeper steady and guide the saw blade.

To save any future problem solving, i.e. chasing shorts, each sleeper was checked with a multimeter after cutting.

Paul.

Drystone Moss: a 006 pizza - baseboard

 I've finally decided to not only build a layout but also to realise a long standing ambition to build one in 006, that is 4mm scale using a track gauge of 6mm to represent 18" narrow gauge.

The baseboard itself couldn't be simpler, just a 14" diameter piece of 1/2" MDF, badly cut from an odd offcut with a jigsaw;

The three screws hold the feet in place, these being drawer handles bought cheaply (damaged packaging) from a DIY superstore;

They're beech, and I gave them a coat of linseed oil. Also to be seen is a bracket made from aluminium angle, screwed in place and drilled for two banana sockets, which sorts out the electrics rather neatly.

The MDF was first undercoated, to seal it, then sprayed with Rustoleum Painter's Touch matt black. This is perhaps a bit overkill, but at least the underside will look smart if the track and scenery don't go as planned!

The next job will be cutting up sleeper strip and laying track, but first, a brew;

Paul.

Rail bender

I need a rail bender for a project, to suit code 40 rail. As far as I can tell nothing is available to suit code 40, so I made my own. I already own a KB Scale bender, but this is made to be used with code 83 for building O14 track, and is designed to give specific radii. As I had it already I made a replacement set of rollers to suit the finer rail, just as an experiment. My rollers worked well enough but as can be expected the bender didn't give the amount of curvature that I require. It did however provide a basic design that I could adapt for my own use.

Here's the KB tool, fitted with my code 40 rollers with the KB rollers next to it;

I started with a length of 25mm x 5mm aluminium bar, cut and faced to 50mm long. I chose 5mm thick bar as it will be easy to hold in my bench vice when in use. I then marked out positions for the centre slot (mine is designed to be adjustable) and two separate hole positions, at 26 and 34mm centres. This is for adjustability, whether I will need the inner holes or not I will only know when I start using it. Once the bar was marked out it was held in a machine vice and the holes and slot machined, the holes being drilled 1.8mm to suit 8BA and the slot had a series of 1.7mm holes chain drilled before being milled 2.2mm wide (again to suit an 8BA bolt).

New rollers were machined from brass, to the same dimensions as before but drilled and reamed 6mm dia. Hubs for the rollers to spin on were machined from silver steel, drilled 2.2mm (8BA clearance) and turned to suit the rollers allowing them to spin freely when the hubs were tightened up. The middle adjustable roller is held in place in the slot by means of a thumb nut underneath the baseplate.

The unit assembled;

Here it is in use;

It appears to work well enough, but I do need to test it properly.

Notes on design;

The rollers should ideally act on the web of the rail (the thin middle section), the KB Scale one certainly does, but with code 40 being only 1.1mm tall that is impractical as the web is tiny. So, my rollers act on the head of the rail, with an undercut at the bottom of the roller to suit the wider foot of the flat bottom rail (the KB Scale rollers also have an undercut). I also copied the upper flange of the KB Scale rollers, this holds the rail in place as it moves through the bender. Hopefully the fag-packet sketch below will give some idea of how the rail sits;

I've not added any dimensions, the sketch is just there to give the general idea and hopefully can be adapted to suit other rail profiles.

Paul.

Thumb nuts.

Thumb nuts are oversized threaded nuts designed to be finger-tightened and are usually knurled. Most of us will have used them at some time, they're usually found on pairs of compasses for example where they're used to hold the lead/point in place. For a project I needed an 8BA thumb nut, and being unable to find one online I decided to make my own.

I had a rough idea of the size wanted, and started by milling 8 flats on a length of 1/2" brass bar;

For this I used a dividing head. I cut flats as I wanted to be able to tighten the nut with my fingers but I dislike knurling, I never enjoyed knurling when I worked as a turner and I feel that it can put undue stress on a small lathes like my Unimats.

I just cut what looked right, in fact the measurement across the flat is 12mm but that was just by chance.

Once the milling was done the bar was finished by turning a step front and back and drilling and tapping 8BA;

There's also a recess turned in the centre, this is so the clamping force is concentrated around the outer face where there's more friction.

The finished nuts (I made a spare);

Don't they look smart!

Paul.

3 point track gauges

I plan to make a small 006 (6mm gauge, 4mm scale) 'pizza' layout, and for that I will need a pair of three point gauges to lay the track with. As nothing is commercially available for this gauge (as far as I know anyway) I've made my own.

This type of gauge not only holds the rails parallel to each other but, more importantly for my intended use, automatically gives gauge widening on curves.

I started with a length of 20mm x 5mm aluminium strip, which had the ends machined square before being marked out with the hole positions, noting that the two in-line holes are twice the track gauge apart, in this case 12mm. Also note that the distance between the in-line and single holes, that sets the gauge, must be set at the gauge plus the width of the slot, that is if the slot is, say, .6mm then the holes must be drilled gauge plus .6mm apart, that is 6.6mm in this case. Then, with the Unimat 3 set up as a mill the strip was clamped down and three holes drilled 2.8mm then reamed out to 3mm, using the machine to index the hole positions rather than my marking out (which was done just as a guide);

Once drilled each part was sawn off the strip, and machined to size. I also machined angles on the sides;

I ended up with these;

For the 'pegs' that hold the rail in position I used 4mm brass rod. Each peg had a .6mm wide by 1mm deep slot milled in the end, to suit the code 40 rail that I plan to use;

A gentle touch is needed here, I took a series of .1mm cuts using the fine feed attachment.

The other end of the peg was turned down for a sliding fit into the baseplates, to allow for adjustment on assembly. Here's the parts ready, with the baseplates cleaned up;

Each peg was glued in place with a smear of 5 minute epoxy, to allow time for adjustment. The two in-line pegs were aligned using an off-cut of rail;

The single peg was just set by eye.

Here's the finished pair;

Now all I need to do is cut some wood and lay some track.

Paul.

Update - some measurements have been changed and additional information added. Slots are now .6mm wide rather than .5mm.