11-26-2010, 09:31 AM
Welcome to Big Blue BL2.
About how many turnouts are you planning to use on your layout? I was in the same predicament a few years ago. I designed a switching layout with about 16 turnouts. When I added up the cost of these turnouts, (I was planning to use Medium Cd 83 Peco) my jaw just about hit the floor. I came across the Fast Tracks site by accident and figured the cost of building 16 turnouts as opposed to buying factory made ones would be far cheaper after making the initial investment in one of their # 5 T.O. kits. An added bonus is that once you purchase the jig, you can make as many turnouts as you want with it. The more turnouts you build the more the individual cost of each turnout made comes down. It is a learning curve though. The first couple of turnouts you build won't probably be your best. For my part I was able to crank out a good reliable turnout on the third try. It just takes time and some patience. After building about 30 plus of them I can now crank out a good turnout in less then an hour. Once painted and weathered they look great to boot, better then most commercial turnouts I've come across. The skills I learned also gave me the courage to try hand laying a # 6 Double X-Over and a Double Slip on nothing more then paper templates from the FT website. They both came out quite well and I'm still using the Double X-Over on the latest incarnation of my Layout.
That said, if I were to purchase a turnout kit all over again, I'd pick up a Double X-Over Jig. Just as Randy mentioned it is a more versatile jig and can be used to make more then just one track configuration.
Just my two cents.
S.
About how many turnouts are you planning to use on your layout? I was in the same predicament a few years ago. I designed a switching layout with about 16 turnouts. When I added up the cost of these turnouts, (I was planning to use Medium Cd 83 Peco) my jaw just about hit the floor. I came across the Fast Tracks site by accident and figured the cost of building 16 turnouts as opposed to buying factory made ones would be far cheaper after making the initial investment in one of their # 5 T.O. kits. An added bonus is that once you purchase the jig, you can make as many turnouts as you want with it. The more turnouts you build the more the individual cost of each turnout made comes down. It is a learning curve though. The first couple of turnouts you build won't probably be your best. For my part I was able to crank out a good reliable turnout on the third try. It just takes time and some patience. After building about 30 plus of them I can now crank out a good turnout in less then an hour. Once painted and weathered they look great to boot, better then most commercial turnouts I've come across. The skills I learned also gave me the courage to try hand laying a # 6 Double X-Over and a Double Slip on nothing more then paper templates from the FT website. They both came out quite well and I'm still using the Double X-Over on the latest incarnation of my Layout.
That said, if I were to purchase a turnout kit all over again, I'd pick up a Double X-Over Jig. Just as Randy mentioned it is a more versatile jig and can be used to make more then just one track configuration.
Just my two cents.
S.