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can I use a fixture to build the frog for such a turnout (of course it would need to be the same frog angle as the fixture then), then lay the rest of the turnout as I'd do with a frog helper? Or would I be better off buying the frog helper too?
Hi,
This is an interesting idea. I have not tried using the fixture to construct just the frog portion of a turnout and use it on the TwistTies, so I can not say 100% if it would work or not. The one difficulty I see is that some PC boards will still need to be used, and therefore some of the wood ties of the TwistTies would have to be removed, but this should not be too difficult to do.
The fixture will also work as a Frog Helper tool, as the grooves used to hold the frog point rails in place are the same on both tools. If you have a #5 fixture, you will not need a #5 Frog Helper tool.
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How does the building time compare between the frog helper and twist-ties as opposed to the fixture and quick-sticks?
It is much quicker to build a straight turnout using the fixture, and easier too. For a curved turnout, it is better to use the TwistTies, but will take a bit longer, and does require a bit more effort to ensure good results.
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If using twist-ties for a curved turnout, is it possible to substitute PC board ties for selected wooden ones and solder instead of using ACC and spiking?
Yes! This works well, and I wrote a newsletter outlining this very process. It can be found here...
http://www.handlaidtrack.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=278(!empty($user->lang['QUOTE'])) ? $user->lang['QUOTE'] : ucwords(strtolower(str_replace('_', ' ', 'QUOTE'))):
Finally, I'd like your thoughts on just why I'm considering hand-laying. It seems that, with some practice, I could produce high-quality turnouts (comparable to Micro Engineering or Shinohara for instance) for the cost of lower-quality turnouts (like Atlas), that I'd probably spend as much time tweaking an Atlas turnout for reliability (like adding jumpers) as I'd spend building my own, and that I could correct future problems with a turnout easier, after all I built it in the first place. Reasonable?
Exactly! I believe this is the reason most handlayers choose to build their own trackwork. Plus there is also the "I made it" effect. Nothing like the satisfaction of creating something that works well.
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