They say theres a fine line between genius and insanity. The only way I'm likely to find it is to move from idiot through insanity and sneak up on genius while its not looking.
Tonight I started on that road by soldering up the first piece of hand laid track I've ever made. I started off by taping a piece of paper to a piece of MDF. a line was drawn and then the steel ruler placed on it. Some PVA was applied and then the sleepers were glued down using the mk 1 eyeball for alignment and spacing. A heavy weight was then placed on top till the glue set.
I made up a card guide with 2 slots cut in it at a 9mm spacing, and with a nik for the track center line. The various bits of metal were pre-tinned with solder, and then the first rail (code 55) was soldered down. Hmm, it all seemed to work OK. I then used the card jig to solder down the second piece of rail. To my surprise it actually worked. Here it is compared to a bit of commercial code 70 stuff (its cheap from gawd knows where).
The crap photo is the best I can do tonight. Its probably best for all concerned if everything stays slightly blurry, as it makes everything look so much better.
3 comments:
Ahh yes....but does it thrill you enough to want to make more??
quite possibly. the wider sleepers look better, and the smaller rail is a big plus too.
we'll see if i get a chance to make a point or 2.
Yes, a slip or similar will be the true test.
But the photo does look promising, it has to be said.
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