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[collectors]

I have some flat planking that i want to make a raised track corner from, for an R3 & R1 bend/curve. I assume an 8, 10, or 12 sided would work for the, with the 12 being a smoother curve. Now an R1 has a 600mm radius & an R3 is 1175mm from point to centre of track. Would you know what length C or D should be & what degree to set the chop saw at for A & B ??. Thanks. "I think its 150d for 12 sided. but wasn't sure on length of C or D to get the right 1/2 curricle diameter.

 

[Paul M]

It would probably be easier to lay down the track and measure it!

 

[The Shed]

Simple Wooden Roadbed

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[maxi-model]

It would probably be easier to lay down the track and measure it!

You have not actually stated how you will employ the R1's & R3's and what the total number of degrees are in the arc(s) you are proposing. As Paul says, make up the curve(s) as intended and then produce a card template from which to work. You can then work out how to arrange the base elements and work out the individual angles, or a constant, to set your chop saw to.

I once had a loft conversion done. The builder informed me the straight run staircase design, for access to the loft area, could not be used due to planning regs. He then proceeded to produce an enclosed "spiral" arrangement, that even my sofa could be brought through, that satisfied the regs. Each tread was hand cut and the entire structure completed in 2 days. That was done as described above. Max

 

[Rhinochugger]

I have some flat planking that i want to make a raised track corner from, for an R3 & R1 bend/curve. I assume an 8, 10, or 12 sided would work for the, with the 12 being a smoother curve. Now an R1 has a 600mm diameter & an R3 is 1175mm from point to centre of track. Would you know what length C or D should be & what degree to set the chop saw at for A & B ??. Thanks. "I think its 150d for 12 sided. but wasn't sure on length of C or D to get the right 1/2 curricle diameter.

View attachment 309997

I cut a large template from a bit of wallpaper, by laying the curve on the wallpaper.

I was running my line on sleepers - that was the old WWSR

 

[idlemarvel]

I have some flat planking that i want to make a raised track corner from, for an R3 & R1 bend/curve. I assume an 8, 10, or 12 sided would work for the, with the 12 being a smoother curve. Now an R1 has a 600mm diameter & an R3 is 1175mm from point to centre of track. Would you know what length C or D should be & what degree to set the chop saw at for A & B ??. Thanks. "I think its 150d for 12 sided. but wasn't sure on length of C or D to get the right 1/2 curricle diameter.

View attachment 309997

I'm not sure I understand the requirement. Are you trying to make a double track curve with R1 and R3 track? R1 is 600 mm radius not diameter, and the difference between R1 and R3 radius is greater than 140 mm which is the width of your plank. Or are you making two separate curves, one R1 and one R3? I think a sketch of the desired end result would be useful. It would then be possible to do the maths.

 

[korm kormsen]

I have some flat planking that i want to make a raised track corner from, for an R3 & R1 bend/curve. I assume an 8, 10, or 12 sided would work for the, with the 12 being a smoother curve. Now an R1 has a 600mm diameter & an R3 is 1175mm from point to centre of track. Would you know what length C or D should be & what degree to set the chop saw at for A & B ??. Thanks. "I think its 150d for 12 sided. but wasn't sure on length of C or D to get the right 1/2 curricle diameter.

View attachment 309997

first off - you make the very common mistake to mix up diameter and radius.
a R1 circle has a radius of about 600mm (from middle between rails to centerpoint of circle
and a diameter of about 1200mm from middle between rails to middle between rails.

from your plan i suppose, that you plan to make a "U"turn of 180° - meaning, that all four track-connections are upwards from "C".

as you have to set a prudent radius plus overhang of 1225mm minimum for R3, you will need nine of your 140mm boards.
the longest of these (at your line "C") needs to be 2450mm long.
to calculate the exact angles of the individual boards (cuts "A" and "B") is definitely above my paygrade.
multiplicating my thumb with Pi, i can give you an estimated guess of about 80mm for the shortest board (line "D")

i would recommend, to nail down longer boards, and use a padsaw/jigsaw after having marked the ubication of the track.
(or. if you like it complicated, lay out the boards on the floor somewhere and using a nail in the middle (1225mm) of the longest board plus a string of the same length with a marker.)

 

[collectors]

first off - you make the very common mistake to mix up diameter and radius.
a R1 circle has a radius of about 600mm (from middle between rails to centerpoint of circle
and a diameter of about 1200mm from middle between rails to middle between rails.

from your plan i suppose, that you plan to make a "U"turn of 180° - meaning, that all four track-connections are upwards from "C".

as you have to set a prudent radius plus overhang of 1225mm minimum for R3, you will need nine of your 140mm boards.
the longest of these (at your line "C") needs to be 2450mm long.
to calculate the exact angles of the individual boards (cuts "A" and "B") is definitely above my paygrade.
multiplicating my thumb with Pi, i can give you an estimated guess of about 80mm for the shortest board (line "D")

i would recommend, to nail down longer boards, and use a padsaw/jigsaw after having marked the ubication of the track.
(or. if you like it complicated, lay out the boards on the floor somewhere and using a nail in the middle (1225mm) of the longest board plus a string of the same length with a marker.)

Ah! well spotted on the radius part. Its a shame i can only change my post & not the reply copy's. I think laying it out on two big garden tables i have might be the trick & experiment with 8x600mm lengths. I have a good angle finder to help with this. It would look better to have the track boards all in one direction. The alternative is to run the boards across the track to make the corners like a fan. Start of the track below with an angle finder.

 

[collectors]

You have not actually stated how you will employ the R1's & R3's and what the total number of degrees are in the arc(s) you are proposing. As Paul says, make up the curve(s) as intended and then produce a card template from which to work. You can then work out how to arrange the base elements and work out the individual angles, or a constant, to set your chop saw to.

I once had a loft conversion done. The builder informed me the straight run staircase design, for access to the loft area, could not be used due to planning regs. He then proceeded to produce an enclosed "spiral" arrangement, that even my sofa could be brought through, that satisfied the regs. Each tread was hand cut and the entire structure completed in 2 days. That was done as described above. Max

Hi, i think that's the way i will aim for with my angle finder. Laugh! i fitted a spiral in my last place to the loft for an office. Great for 8 months of the year, but gee it got hot in the summer.

 

[collectors]

I'm not sure I understand the requirement. Are you trying to make a double track curve with R1 and R3 track? R1 is 600 mm radius not diameter, and the difference between R1 and R3 radius is greater than 140 mm which is the width of your plank. Or are you making two separate curves, one R1 and one R3? I think a sketch of the desired end result would be useful. It would then be possible to do the maths.

Ah! Sorry. Its was meant as two separate items as i will have mainly R3, but one part will have some R1's. But not together.

 

[PhilP]

Are you over thinking this?
If you are using set-track R3 curves, then you have the radius to track centre, and the angle of degree for each piece of curve.
You probably want the joins between each piece of track in the middle of each of your boards. Measure the length (centre to centre) of an R3. This gives you the centre-length of one of your boards. Cut first angle. Measure length along centre, then cut the other end.
Once you have one correct, you can set up a stop, to get them all in the same.

However, if you want to use set-track for both inner and outer tracks, then one (or both) will have to be fudged, as the set geometry will not be correct.

If you are going to use flex-track, then you can set your own radii, and form the curves to fit.
Just a matter of deciding how close to the edge of each segment, you want the track to get.
Work to a constant angle of curve, for each segment of board (say 15 degrees?).

Otherwise, on curves, arrange supports, and use the boards across the supports.
Problem may be the boards are too wide, so gaps between each piece may be a little unsightly? - you would need to arrange to cover these, if you wish to ballast the track.

PhilP

 

[Gizzy]

Don't forget that the arc angle for R1 is 30 deg, so 12 to a circle.


R3 is 22.5 deg, so 16 for a complete circle.


Might be useful to know when you cut your planks....

 

[Greg Elmassian]

Actually, having board joins lining up with the sectional track joints is worst, because you are "encouraging" the track to dip or hump at that exact spot to a degree greater than the track alone. As wood or composite "moves" it will be a joint to flex about.

I also like the "fan" idea on the curves, this puts the possible variations at right angles to the track, not to mention no need of precision cutting or angles required.

Greg

 

[Rhinochugger]

I have some flat planking that i want to make a raised track corner from, for an R3 & R1 bend/curve. I assume an 8, 10, or 12 sided would work for the, with the 12 being a smoother curve. Now an R1 has a 600mm radius & an R3 is 1175mm from point to centre of track. Would you know what length C or D should be & what degree to set the chop saw at for A & B ??. Thanks. "I think its 150d for 12 sided. but wasn't sure on length of C or D to get the right 1/2 curricle diameter.

View attachment 309997

I remember how I did it now.

I cut two pieces of paper template the width of the timber sleepers that I was using.

I then set the up in an obtuse angle configuration underneath a curved piece of track. When I got the appropriate angle of intersection, I marked them, and cut them as templates for the cut angle that I needed to make on the timber

 

[collectors]

This might help anyone with this query .. But note 75mm was added to the radius as these were LGB centre of track radius.
Handy calculator for this & just need the radius. Calculator.​

​

​

 

[idlemarvel]

The CAD drawing below more or less corresponds to the R1 / 12 segments answer in the chart above, except I have used 140mm wide board as the OP wanted, and I have allowed 10mm each side of the sleepers to allow for ballast or underlay.
The drawing shows the rail joints in the middle of each piece. If your 15 degree cuts are accurate, rather that taking a 351mm rectangle and throwing away two triangular cut-offs, you could make one 15 degree cut then flip the board round, make the next cut 351mm along, flip it again and so on.

 

[collectors]

The CAD drawing below more or less corresponds to the R1 / 12 segments answer in the chart above, except I have used 140mm wide board as the OP wanted, and I have allowed 10mm each side of the sleepers to allow for ballast or underlay.
The drawing shows the rail joints in the middle of each piece. If your 15 degree cuts are accurate, rather that taking a 351mm rectangle and throwing away two triangular cut-offs, you could make one 15 degree cut then flip the board round, make the next cut 351mm along, flip it again and so on.

View attachment 310141

Ah, nice one. If the weathers ok in the morning i will be trying some experiment on some old wood as the 140mm composite decking i'm using is a little expensive to make mistakes on. The LGB R3 curve i am using is around 485mm long & looks like i should aim for a 16 segment "hex decagon" at 495mm outside straight edge. This will be 4 to get a 90d bend, with 2 x 11.25deg cuts on each piece. Link to good calculator.

 

[dunnyrail]

I did make a 2/3 circle out Of wood and I think I used the LGB angle for R4, but some of the sections worked out not quite right so I had to recut some of the angles. But I was using 8 inch wide timber so had plenty of play space. Your test method is sound policy.

 

[justme igor]

Download "templot" do what ever you want how you want before even cutting up a board or piece of track.

My two cents

 

[collectors]

I did make a 2/3 circle out Of wood and I think I used the LGB angle for R4, but some of the sections worked out not quite right so I had to recut some of the angles. But I was using 8 inch wide timber so had plenty of play space. Your test method is sound policy.

I have made up an R3 corner template to help with bends & also on the back i am using 50mm plastic pipe to support the track bed & will hopefully use this to bend the pipe with some hot sand inside. "We will see"

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