"Paul Newhouse" <newhouse@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:HJOdnZsgrtcSm9vVnZ2dnUVZ_uWdnZ2d@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> 1/2" GOOD GRIEF what do you need a open pit hole that big for????
'Cause I'm going through 3/4" spline subroadbed, 1/4" pine roadbed,
and
the 1/4" mounting pad our tortoise machines are screwed to with a 0.039"
dia. piano wire. The wire flexes and needs some room to do so. It also
cannot hang on the sides of any hole or you will get undesired operation
(jerky movement, etc.).
> Drill a 1/16" (or 3/32") hole put a piece of 1/16" (or 3/32") OD tube in
> the
> hole cut it flush to each surface (push it down until it's flush with
the
> top,
> cut off the underside) run a piece of brass wire (or piano wire) inside
> the
> tube. Bend to hook into the point bars (grr can't remember the correct
> name).
> The top bend is much more easily made before puting it into the tube
form
> the
> top (put a weight on it or have someone hold it in place). On the
bottom
> (where you are going to attach the tortii or whatever) bend the wire to
be
> parallel with underside of the plywood (laminated subroadbed ...
whatever)
> create an oblong loop (parallel to the underside of the plywood and the
> elongated loop on the same line that runs through the center of the 1/16
> or
> 3/32 tubing)) replace the tortii lever bar (not the fulcrum) with some
> piano
> wire (as large a diameter as you can make fit) attach the tortii so the
> new
> lever wire fits into the loop of the decending switch wire. If you use
a
> U
> shaped piece of wire to hold the points half thrown and the tortii at
mid
> throw, you can get the tortii positioned correctly with the loop.
Attach
> the
> tortii to the plywood.
Or, I could just put a long piece of piano wire into the Tortoise,
feed
it straight into the center of the throw bar from the bottom, center it,
secure the Tortoise, test it, then snip off the excess wire, then trim the
rest of the wire down to the surface of the throw bar with a Dremel
cut-off
wheel (if needed). No tubes, no bending wires, no hidden linkges under
the
bench, and it can be done by one person.
Besides, why would I want a visible linkage on top of my layout? My
club's way is faster, cheaper, and looks better, too. Not to mention
easier
to maintain and adjust.
> 1/2" GEEZZZZ!!! Throw the installation instuctions for the tortii
away.
You do know that with the two point ties and the throw bar covering it
that you can't see the 1/2" hole? Unless someone is ****ning a spot light
from underneath the layout, no one would ever know that there's even a
hole
there. Especially with Walthers/****nohara switches (which is what my club
uses...when they aren't handlaying them).
And about the instructions...why not throw them away? We throw their
0.020" wire away as it is all but useless.
> At the club we mounted the tortii on some standard size (our standard)
> wood
> blocks and attached the wired to some molex connectors to we can pop off
> the
> connectors and replace the tortii in minutes should the need arise.
Ever replaced a Tortoise because it failed? We haven't. We've been
using Tortoise machines by the hundreds for years. The only one I've ever
replaced was one that got lobotomized when some knucklehead drilled down
through the top of it and went right through the motor windings (you think
he would have stopped when he hit green plastic, but noooo...).
We do mount ours to mounting blocks made in a jig from 1/4" MDF. We
used 2-56 bolts and nuts to hold the Tortoise on to the block, and use 1"
drywall screws to mount the board to the layout. The blocks are roughly
U-shaped, with two "fingers" that are on either side of the throw wire.
First, after adding our wire harness, we mount the machine, then add the
long 0.039" wire. This is fed from the bottom through the throwbar, then
the machine is screwed the benchwork with a 1" drywall screw through the
pad
on the centerline of the machine and to the rear. This allows the machine
to be turned slightly to adjust it. Once set, another screw is added to
one
of the "fingers" to lock the machine in place.
We thought of using edge connectors, but we determined it was wasting
time and money. Each machine has an 8-conductor cable soldered on the
machine on the bench (which would have to be done anyways for an edge
connector). Once the machine is installed, this cable is then routed to a
terminal strip. If a machine needs to be replaced, we undo the 8 terminal
screws, unscrew the two mounting screws for the machine itself, and drop
the
Tortoise. An edge connector would make sense if these machines had to be
constantly replaced, but Tortoise machines are very dependable. Our club
has installed hundreds (literally) on our layout that will eventually fill
a
6300 sq. ft. room, and we even had ones on our old layout (pre-1998). We
have never had one fail due to wear and tear (just drilling). FYI, our
club's website is www.ssmrc.org
Paul A. Cutler III
*************
Weather Or No Go New Haven
*************
|
