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28/07/06: Round and Round


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Click here to see a short (14 second)Quicktime video. (Warning! 4.13MB in size)

Over the last month the guide wire has been laid on the first two boards and the remainder of the grooves filled with plaster. It is imperative to get a smooth finish as any lumps, bumps or depressions will cause unreliable running later on. The grooves were cut using a Dremel tool with a router attachment. The depth was set to be a whisker over the diameter of the wire. The resulting channel is about 4mm wide giving a bit of leeway when actually placing the guide wire in position.

Once the groove for the wire has been cut it needs to be sanded down to remove any splinters. The guide wire is placed along the groove and held in place with stategically placed Scotch Magic Tape. I use Magic Tape because it is far easier to remove later on. To test run you will need to cover the whole groove with magic tape.

Once you are happy with the alignment of the wire you can remove the excess tape just leaving the pieces needed to hold the guide wire in position. Now run some EvoStick Resin W wood glue along the groove, level it with your finger, then wipe the excess off with a wet cloth and leave it to dry.

Once the Resin W has dried you can remove the Magic Tape. Now fill the groove with plaster. I used ready mixed fine Polyfilla from a tube for ease of application. Run a piece of plastic card along the roadway to clear off any plaster proud of the groove. You should end up with a neatly filled groovr and little or no plaster anywhere else. Once the plaster is dry you can test run again.

A full tutorial on junction mechanisms can be found here. I laid the guide wire first, held in position with tape, then built the junction mechanisms and test ran before doing the plastering.

I am now testing the roadway before I add the top surface - once that is on it will be too late to change anything. The magnetic stops, hall effect switches and RFId readers will be added later.

And that strange green bus? It is a stock Faller Mercedes Benz O.302 (ref.161624) deputising for LS18 5237 which has been laid up by the motor coming loose from the chassis. The red bus is S17 5612.

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