Ballast spreaders for ballasting

I use a table spoon and a steady hand.Nick

rockstars1989 posted:

I use a table spoon and a steady hand.Nick

Add a medium stiff bristle 1/2" brush and that's all the tools you need to spread ballast; no need for gadgets,

I do a 7 step process:

Apply ballast

Spread ballast

Smooth ballast

Apply wetting agent

Apply 50/50 mixture of glue/water

Cleanup excess glue

Clean glue off rails (this is a staged shot-I wear gloves)

Pour it on, spread it with a brush, wet it and glue it...done.  As stated already, no need for anything fancy.

mwb posted:

rockstars1989 posted:

I use a table spoon and a steady hand.Nick

Add a medium stiff bristle 1/2" brush and that's all the tools you need to spread ballast; no need for gadgets,

Second THAT! That's how our whole layout was ballasted.

Here's one I'm looking at when I ballast my nine miles of track.

Easy Ballast Spreader

CAPPILOT are you really using shower cleaner or is that a re-purposed spray bottle?

We used the Ballast King for over 300' of track. Makes it quick and easy.

After seeing a ballast spreader on this forum I decided to make my own; I cannot share the design as it MIGHT be a patent issue; even though my design is different and has nothing to do with the other ones.

Here is the problem with a spreader machine: 1) to hold enough ballast to be useful it must have a large ballast container; 2) if it's that large it wont fit under any bridges or near any vertical supports that are too close to the track being ballasted.  Further, if using Ross switches, take care as you don't want ballast to go in places that may impede the switch or connecting rods or getting small dust into switch machines.

So any machine has limits on usage; hand ballasting seem a better way to go.

lshark21 posted:

CAPPILOT are you really using shower cleaner or is that a re-purposed spray bottle?

It is a re-purposed spray bottle; I have a lot for various uses.  There are different types of wetting agents available, some mentioned above.  I use 91% isopropyl alcohol (the bottle in the background).

you should always spread ballast by hand. use a little less than on regular track. I always add a few drops of oil to the moving parts of the switch to prevent the glue from sticking to these parts. many people don't put ballast on their switches, but even the real railroads do, we should too  

Agreed

Laidoffsick posted:

I always had a few drops of oil to the moving parts of the switch to prevent the glue from sticking to these parts. many people don't put ballast on their switches, but even the real railroads do, we should too  

That's an interesting tip, I am going to have to remember that one.

CAPPilot posted:

lshark21 posted:

CAPPILOT are you really using shower cleaner or is that a re-purposed spray bottle?

It is a re-purposed spray bottle; I have a lot for various uses.  There are different types of wetting agents available, some mentioned above.  I use 91% isopropyl alcohol (the bottle in the background).

I figured that was the case, but thought maybe I missed a new wetting agent.  lol