Michael, On my current layout I have ripped most of the lumber from cabinet grade plywood and am pleased with the results and the cost. No pilot holes needed. I am also using the same material for the subroadbed.
My decision to use flextrack was not based on speed or price, but on appearance. I prefer the more proper amount, location and size of the spikes, as well as the molded tieplates. Once the ties are painted, I think that they can be made to look as good as stained wood, especially after the stain is sanded off the wood to make the ties level! Flex is a pain to lay smoothly, but it can be done if you take your time, I've found. Fixed size turnouts are not a problem on my current layout since it is large enough to allow for adjustments to the alignment. Also, "ready made" turnouts (except for Whiteoaks) can be curved and adjusted to fit. Removing plastic ties from flex for realistic sidings and/or their connecting strips in order to curve it, especially on Tomalco, is not especially fun, so I do it while watching TV. Then there's the additional time for drilling holes to spike it down or weighting it down and waiting for the glue to dry, depending on your chosen method. I agree with you: my experience in both hand laying on my hirail layouts and installing flex on my current layout, tells me that a skilled handlayer, especially if equipped with a Kadee Spiker, can move faster. So far, I have no major regrets about what I'm building, except I would like a bigger space! Roger Nulton ----- Original Message ----- From: meldridge2000 To: [email protected] Sent: Friday, July 25, 2008 9:00 AM Subject: {S-Scale List} Re: Layouts - or who has what? > It's been quite some time since we talked about our layouts, so let us know what you have and why you built it that way (or how you plan to build it). What would you do differently if you could start over? Differently: I would have constructed all the benchwork from veneer core plywood ripped into 1x4's. > > I'm still evaluating handlaying vs. flextrack. Same: if I was in a hurry, I still wouldn't use flextrack. It is an even trade on appearance - the flextrack ties never look as good as stained wood ties, but the tie plates and spikes in the flextrack look better than what I can do with handlaid. In track that is not part of a switch, a spike every eighth tie or so works fine. Every time I bend flex track, I spend about the same amount of time realigning all the ties as I would putting a few spikes in. -Michael Eldridge [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
