RAIL BENDING

Ian Powell said:
Saw this on a tour in Colorado

Arco Mine 3A Railbender.JPG

Yes - that's a Jim Crow - the bigger the rail, the bigger the bender (until you need a crane to position it!).
Mick
 
KeithT said:
muns said:
I bought a rail bender from Garden Railway Specialists - will bend 1 rail at a time unlike the Massoth one wich does both together. Costs around £50 - the GRS one that is.

I bought a GRS (allegedly) railbender a couple of years ago but for the life of me can't make it work.
It was claimed to be LGB compatible but the roller profile doesn't match LGB, Accucraft, Aristo, Train-li or Peco!
I will post a photo perhaps someone can confirm if it is GRS or not.

EDIT: On second thoughts I won't post a photo. I appear to have put it somewhere "safe". :-

The rail bender has materialised!
When I bought it it had been modified with a handle "to feed the rail through more easily".
Perhaps it would if only there was enough friction to feed it through.
All I can achieve with it is to kink the rail.
9d10652e6fc9423bb9f6a4735f0ec64b.jpg
 
You need one of these....
 
Zman said:
trammayo said:
Rhinochugger said:
ROSS said:
how do YOU bend track and get a decent curve?

Belly bending :laugh::laugh::laugh:

It'd have to be large radius then?

MIck

There's large, and there's large ;) :laugh:

Wot you mean - send my mum round I will. I'd have you know I've had to cut out the pies, cut out the Yorks Puds, cut out the quiches, cut out the biscuits, cut out the fried stuff - gosh when you see it written down is life worth living without these little treats?

Mick (officially on a diet as from last Monday - sympathy accepted [pork pies in a plain wrapper please]).
 
Gizzy said:
You need one of these....
I would get better results with a lumphammer!
 
trammayo said:
Mick (officially on a diet as from last Monday - sympathy accepted [pork pies in a plain wrapper please]).


Now, do I report you for an offensive four letter word, or let you off for two accepatble ones? ;) :laugh:
 
KeithT said:
KeithT said:
muns said:
I bought a rail bender from Garden Railway Specialists - will bend 1 rail at a time unlike the Massoth one wich does both together. Costs around £50 - the GRS one that is.

I bought a GRS (allegedly) railbender a couple of years ago but for the life of me can't make it work.
It was claimed to be LGB compatible but the roller profile doesn't match LGB, Accucraft, Aristo, Train-li or Peco!
I will post a photo perhaps someone can confirm if it is GRS or not.

EDIT: On second thoughts I won't post a photo. I appear to have put it somewhere "safe". :-

The rail bender has materialised!
When I bought it it had been modified with a handle "to feed the rail through more easily".
Perhaps it would if only there was enough friction to feed it through.
All I can achieve with it is to kink the rail.
images

Weird that one!! all the benders I've seen (STOP SNIGGERING JENKINS!!!) have the handle on the centre roller? they do kink if you try to get too much bend at once better to have four or five gentle passes and support the rail as it comes through, dont let it sag or it will kink!!
 
minimans said:
why can't we have a little whip round and buy say the massoth one (being good quality an all that) and have it as a on loan item? the overall cost would'nt be that great I'm sure Jeremy or one of the other traders will give us a good deal on one? and then everybody could benefit from it.
Because Paul, welcome to the real world.
Do you let anyone borrow your tools? And in your case I think we're talking expensive tools. I don't lend anything out, not even a 10mm spanner, costs tuppence ha'penny at the local DIY megathing, but the slags don't bring anything back. Sad but true.
 
Some of us bend brass flexi track with with nothing more than our bare hands, following a template. I originally started drawing pencil lines on the patio using a wooden lath as a trammel, a nail at one end fitted into a joint in the paving and a pencil at the other end in one of two holes drilled for the inner and outer radius. The lines smudged, people and pets got in the way, it rained, so I came up with the idea of drawing and plotting full size guide lines on A1 with marks to join sheets together. I know not everyone uses Cad and has access to a large format plotter at work, but this really works, bending at short intervals and comparing the results with the lines on the paper to make accurate curves. I found molgrips help to bend the bits close to the ends, avoiding the 'Threepenny bit' or 50 pence piece flats near joints.

Final adjustment of the angle at the end of a curve and forming transition curves can be done on site. I have built up a library of paper sheets with different radii which can be used again to make progress with the current track laying project when its too wet or dark outside. Its basically the same method suggested by Korm Kormsen but without a fixed fulcrum point to lever against, I use that method for taking kinks out of trodden on, mainly second hand track bent in the other direction, its much harder to bend rail in the vertical direction. We have a coffee table with elephants head carvings at each corner and very useful looped trunks, usually closer to hand than the Black and Decker workmate.

Geoff the garden navvie
 
pugwash said:
minimans said:
why can't we have a little whip round and buy say the massoth one (being good quality an all that) and have it as a on loan item? the overall cost would'nt be that great I'm sure Jeremy or one of the other traders will give us a good deal on one? and then everybody could benefit from it.
Because Paul, welcome to the real world.
Do you let anyone borrow your tools? And in your case I think we're talking expensive tools. I don't lend anything out, not even a 10mm spanner, costs tuppence ha'penny at the local DIY megathing, but the slags don't bring anything back. Sad but true.
Well up here at the race track we lend each other tools, parts, whatever anybody needs Coz were a small community with the same goals in mind. Sort of like the garden train people?
Maybe am being to trusting but for the cost of a railbender I think its worth a try?
 
minimans said:
KeithT said:
KeithT said:
muns said:
I bought a rail bender from Garden Railway Specialists - will bend 1 rail at a time unlike the Massoth one wich does both together. Costs around £50 - the GRS one that is.

I bought a GRS (allegedly) railbender a couple of years ago but for the life of me can't make it work.
It was claimed to be LGB compatible but the roller profile doesn't match LGB, Accucraft, Aristo, Train-li or Peco!
I will post a photo perhaps someone can confirm if it is GRS or not.

EDIT: On second thoughts I won't post a photo. I appear to have put it somewhere "safe". :-

The rail bender has materialised!
When I bought it it had been modified with a handle "to feed the rail through more easily".
Perhaps it would if only there was enough friction to feed it through.
All I can achieve with it is to kink the rail.
images

Weird that one!! all the benders I've seen (STOP SNIGGERING JENKINS!!!) have the handle on the centre roller? they do kink if you try to get too much bend at once better to have four or five gentle passes and support the rail as it comes through, dont let it sag or it will kink!!
Paul
I never considered that. It should be easy enough to swap the rollers.
(The problem I have is that the rail will not feed, the roller slips because there is insufficient friction)
Watch this space!
 
All those things are too fiddly and not that good really,,[/H4]
I got a radius curve thing ten years ago from Marcway, it worked every time, I got a Gauge1 one from them two yesrs ago smae style as the O gauge one nothing could be simpler and it stops laying track with 'about this radius' and it is a definate and proven way, also if you cant bend it then its cant be flexible track,, try spraying with WD40 or similar first, it really helps
 
thats what local clubs are for ,the skilss and help are there just waiting and as most members are more than willing to help out I do not understand why there numbers are dropping, and as most are dieing on there feet it would seem logical to join, the people who join them and actually contribute find that the rewards are there, but as most people seem to be insular and reclusive nowadays , not to mention $£ etc, then perhaps its the case.[/H4]
There are also Clubs that are so insular and unfreindly that it becomes a political battle to find where the clubrooms are and what night they meet, makes joining the masonic lodge a walk in the park (no offence intended to anyone this is a disclaimer offered under UK PC rules)
 
dragon said:
minimans said:
Not much good to you lot but I have a single rail bender that I use over here works a treat. But the reason for this post is, we have a pretty tight little community here at GSC why can't we have a little whip round and buy say the massoth one (being good quality an all that) and have it as a on loan item? the overall cost would'nt be that great I'm sure Jeremy or one of the other traders will give us a good deal on one? and then everybody could benefit from it. I know I thought I would never need one..............until I did!!!!!!!

This idea was put forward on GSM but nobody took it up and it died a death. Is is however a good idea.

Yes, indeed, and I offered up my, now surplus to requirements, ARistocraft railbender. Was even going to meet someone in London to deliver it, but the trip fell trough, and nothing more came of it.
Going to the 'Spirit of Speyside' Whiskyfestival this week though, if anyone can collect there.
Staying at the 'Highlander inn', that is, if the planes are allowed to fly.
 
Westcott said:
But can you pronounce 'Craigellachie'?
But of course, it's not really pronounced like a 'posh englishman' would pronounce it at all, the pressure is all wrong, infact I think trying to say it like the locals would cause irreperable damage to any 'stiff upper lip'.
The language may be called English (is it?), but with a bunch of Gaelic (I think) and Norwegian words thrown in for good measure.

The fun thing is that they all seem to think we are from Sweden, but the retort is of course that we just love it 'here in England' ;)
 
hagen said:
The language may be called English (is it?), but with a bunch of Gaelic (I think) and Norwegian words thrown in for good measure.

Sorry to keep off topic, but yes, it is a sort of 'English' - the local dialect is called 'http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid_Northern_Scots < Link To Buchan'.
It does indeed contain many Gaelic and [STRIKE]Swedish[/STRIKE] Norwegan words.

Enjoy your stay, and only drink too much if you really want to.
 
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