how do I cut atlas o gauge track and then run the real heavy mth premier steam engines on my attempted hindged walkthru. for the hinged walkthru both my inner and outer tracks must end at the same point for the hinged setup to work. The two tracks, one from my elevated line and one from my lower loop run, come together near the hinged walk thru, but its 8 inches from the table"s end and I hate to cut the table top and its underneath benchwork. Cutting the o gauge atlas track is a better solution, but how. what blade? been struggling with this for almost 3 to 4 years because crawing under is really hard.
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Mark where the rails are, run brass screws into the deck with the height set so that the screws rest on the bottoms of the rails without forcing the track off the roadbed. Solder the rails to the screw heads.
Then cut the track with a dremel and a cutoff disk.
Obviously, you’ll need to make sure that several feet of track on either side of the opening are similarly immobilized with track screws, glue, etc…
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Depends on a number of factors,
have a picture of the area?
A Dremel tool w/ the 1-1/2” cut off discs works very well to cut track.
A small battery powered circular saw w/a narrow kerf grinding/cut off wheel works really well if you need to cut a bunch of track.
When I did the power lift-bridge and my swing-up bridge, I cut so there was a bit of overhang on the movable side that was raised.
Dremel with cut off wheel. Be prepared to go through a few. Sometimes you can cut a bunch with just one next time you can’t seem to get through one rail without them breaking. Wear eye protection
I bought this on sale for $30 at Harbor Freight, great tool for cutting track. If I'm cutting in place I use the Dremel with a 90 degree adapter and fiber cutoff wheels.
Hey John - Does the HF chop saw come with a blade ??? - can you recommend a blade for cutting track
Thank You
John, cool, can you put a picture of the 90 degree adapter. I have not seen one, Thanks for the tip.
That's the blade that it came with, it did my roughly 500 feet of track for my layout and it's still almost like new.
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To go along with the great suggestions above, no matter what you use, Get adequate eye protection! you only have 2 , it would be shame to lose 1.
Thanks John, that’s great, thanks for picture.
Hidden hinges!!
You go to Home depot or, a hard ware store...you look for the most expensive kitchen cabinet door hinges...check them out....
They are under the table, but lift clear.
A bit of a bother to mount.... Mount first; then cut the table top!
About 40 years ago, I found a "Diamond hacksaw blade"...It cost like ****, but you could cut an 022 switch on your knee!!
Get the Diamond one, not the lumpy one. The plastic cover should feel smooth....