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I used these homemade (inexpensive) jigs to hold O gauge track for cutting with a hacksaw. One for straight, one for curved.

1. Cut grooves in a block of wood to accept a straight track. Make the block about 6 or 8 inches long, a couple of inches longer than you need for the straight piece.

2.  Saw two one-inch sections off one end.

3. Glue or screw back sides of the two one-inch sections to another block with the curved track inserted on top, to keep the sections aligned. Keep the sections fairly close together in case you will need to cut an already short piece of curved track.

4. Insert track, place a block over the track, clamp it all in a vise to hold it, and hacksaw as needed.

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rk7323-base_1_1540567293I like the Rockwell Bladerunner 2 for cutting Fastrack - it has a miter gauge and rip fence and uses a jigsaw-type blade which is typically thinner than a standard table saw blade. And it's on a Black Friday sale on Amazon for $84.00 (and free two day shipping if you're a Prime member). It's also great for other model railroad uses.

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Last edited by Richie C.
DocMcKay posted:

I used these homemade (inexpensive) jigs to hold O gauge track for cutting with a hacksaw. One for straight, one for curved.

1. Cut grooves in a block of wood to accept a straight track. Make the block about 6 or 8 inches long, a couple of inches longer than you need for the straight piece.

2.  Saw two one-inch sections off one end.

3. Glue or screw back sides of the two one-inch sections to another block with the curved track inserted on top, to keep the sections aligned. Keep the sections fairly close together in case you will need to cut an already short piece of curved track.

4. Insert track, place a block over the track, clamp it all in a vise to hold it, and hacksaw as needed.

I do the same thing but I used blocks of 2x4 wood, so I never cut all the way through the block.  Been using the same blocks for years. 

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