Dog Star
Western Thunderer
Some months back I wrote about the construction of a 7mm / S7 common crossing from first principles... which is another way of writing the "hard way". I say the "hard way" because the angle for that crossing was 1:8.25 and there is minimal trade support, in regard to jigs, for such odd-ball non-integer crossing angles. The relevant WT-topic is here.
This topic is about the construction of a similar piece of Switch & Crossing work using jigs from the S7 Group... this is the "easy way" to making your own crossings. This crossing is 1:8 (for a Left Hand turnout) and I use the appropriate vee filing jig and crossing assembly jig from the S7 Group Stores (see here for details on the range of jigs from the S7 Group).
The S7 Group Vee filing and Crossing assembly jigs can be used to produce crossings with left hand divergence and crossings with right hand divergence. As the head of bullhead rail is of a different section to the foot of that rail then the point rail for a LH lead is a mirror image of the point rail for a RH lead (similarly for the splice rail). The vee filing jig produces point and splice rails in either a LH form or a RH form; the point and splice rails need to be produced as a matching pair for making a vee with a LH point rail and a RH splice rail is possible and just wrong (a vee formed with a LH and a RH rail is going to have one rail with the "head" at the top and one rail with the "head" at the bottom of the vee). LH and RH rails are produced by placing the rail in the filing jig with the rail head in the correct position for the required divergence - this "placing" of rails is noted in the captions to the photos.
This photo shows a rail positioned to produce a LH splice rail, the rail head is to the bottom of the slot. I use permanent marker pen on the rail to show progress in creating the taper. I remove sufficient metal as to leave a web of approximately half the original thickness.
This photo shows the completed splice rail for a LH turnout.
A LH point rail is given initially a similar taper to a LH splice rail so rail head to the bottom of the slot. After creating the initial taper the rail is removed from the filing jig and the rail is bent, at the end of the taper, so that the taper is "moved" from one side of the rail to the other side. This photo shows a LH point rail after filing the initial taper and then bending the rail so the taper changes sides.
The point rail is then replaced in the vee filing jig with the rail head to the open side of the slot. The rail is then filed to produce a new taper where the end of the rail has a web thickness of circa 10 thou (the rail end forms the blunt nose of the crossing).
After the second taper has been created the point rail is ready for forming the notch which houses the splice rail. This photo shows the point rail after cutting the notch - the point rail is positioned in the groove such that the notch is cut immediately adjacent to the end of the taper. Use of permanent marker enables monitoring of progess when filing the rail.
This photo shows how the vee filing jig is used to hold the point and splice rail to check the fit of the joint.
The vee filing jig holds the rails at approximately 6mm above the base of the jig so I use some MDF offcuts to support the joint whilst soldering. I use 245 degree C solder for this joint to minimise the chance of the vee falling apart when soldering the wing rails (in the next step).
And the result... after soldering / washing and before cleaning off of the excess solder.
regards, Graham
[the next step in creating the common crossing is to form the wing rails and then place wing / vee in the crossing assembly jig... next time (well actually after I have found the 1:8 assembly jig, ho hum)]
This topic is about the construction of a similar piece of Switch & Crossing work using jigs from the S7 Group... this is the "easy way" to making your own crossings. This crossing is 1:8 (for a Left Hand turnout) and I use the appropriate vee filing jig and crossing assembly jig from the S7 Group Stores (see here for details on the range of jigs from the S7 Group).
The S7 Group Vee filing and Crossing assembly jigs can be used to produce crossings with left hand divergence and crossings with right hand divergence. As the head of bullhead rail is of a different section to the foot of that rail then the point rail for a LH lead is a mirror image of the point rail for a RH lead (similarly for the splice rail). The vee filing jig produces point and splice rails in either a LH form or a RH form; the point and splice rails need to be produced as a matching pair for making a vee with a LH point rail and a RH splice rail is possible and just wrong (a vee formed with a LH and a RH rail is going to have one rail with the "head" at the top and one rail with the "head" at the bottom of the vee). LH and RH rails are produced by placing the rail in the filing jig with the rail head in the correct position for the required divergence - this "placing" of rails is noted in the captions to the photos.
This photo shows a rail positioned to produce a LH splice rail, the rail head is to the bottom of the slot. I use permanent marker pen on the rail to show progress in creating the taper. I remove sufficient metal as to leave a web of approximately half the original thickness.
This photo shows the completed splice rail for a LH turnout.
A LH point rail is given initially a similar taper to a LH splice rail so rail head to the bottom of the slot. After creating the initial taper the rail is removed from the filing jig and the rail is bent, at the end of the taper, so that the taper is "moved" from one side of the rail to the other side. This photo shows a LH point rail after filing the initial taper and then bending the rail so the taper changes sides.
The point rail is then replaced in the vee filing jig with the rail head to the open side of the slot. The rail is then filed to produce a new taper where the end of the rail has a web thickness of circa 10 thou (the rail end forms the blunt nose of the crossing).
After the second taper has been created the point rail is ready for forming the notch which houses the splice rail. This photo shows the point rail after cutting the notch - the point rail is positioned in the groove such that the notch is cut immediately adjacent to the end of the taper. Use of permanent marker enables monitoring of progess when filing the rail.
This photo shows how the vee filing jig is used to hold the point and splice rail to check the fit of the joint.
The vee filing jig holds the rails at approximately 6mm above the base of the jig so I use some MDF offcuts to support the joint whilst soldering. I use 245 degree C solder for this joint to minimise the chance of the vee falling apart when soldering the wing rails (in the next step).
And the result... after soldering / washing and before cleaning off of the excess solder.
regards, Graham
[the next step in creating the common crossing is to form the wing rails and then place wing / vee in the crossing assembly jig... next time (well actually after I have found the 1:8 assembly jig, ho hum)]