August 5, 2021
Description
added V2 for #2, 4, 6 and 8 turnouts - adds a small 0.15mm space for the rail base
Only for 0.15mm or smaller layers. Fits the rails better and better filed ends
added caps to both ends for fast consistent rail placement
changed #8 block so the caps are all in same place
There are two time consuming and fiddly tasks in the making of hand laid model train tracks and turnouts: cutting and gapping the ties and filing the stock, diverging and frog rails to shape. Watch the video on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/14XzOY1sicQ I've published my Tie Cutter and Gapper here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4918428 and this is my answer to the second task - filing the rails in half as much time. By putting the two rails back to back you can file both at once for the same results in half the time and effort. Here are the frog and point (diverging rail) for the #2 Wye I designed as well as the more common #4 Turnout and #6 Turnouts and now #8 as well. The bottom piece with the nuts works better printed with support but will also tend to work without. The plastic is sacrificial but you should try to not file it away or the blocks will lose shape and need to be reprinted. 25mm M8 screws, washers and lock nuts complete the tool. I'm using Micro Engineering code 55 N scale train rails and PCB board copper ties from FastTracks to make the track skeleton. The tie beds are my own design which I 3D print as well. Would love to see what everyone makes with the tools - please post links in the comments!
License:
Creative Commons - Attribution