12-03-2018, 11:54 PM
While any of those razor saws will cut a gap in your rail, I prefer to use a cut-off disc in a motor tool (Dremel, etc.).
I've found that the saw can "catch" on the rail, and that often results in the rail being pulled from the moulded-on spikeheads on both sides of the gap, removing many of those spikeheads. You then need to straighten the rail and then use real spikes (in the appropriate scale, of course) to re-install the errant rail.
Some people eschew the cut-off disc method because it makes the cut on an angle due to the size of the motor tool, but there's no particular need for the gap to be vertical. Once it's filled with plastic (I prefer Plastruct's ABS, as it's not only tougher than styrene, but it's also dark grey - needs no paint, and therefore won't change colour due to normal track cleaning or having trains constantly running over it), nobody'll notice if the cut is angled.
In the photo below, there's a gap, filled with ABS plastic, in each of the two adjacent rails...
![[Image: Shinohara%20turnout.jpg]](https://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/doctorwayne/Layout%20views%20-%20upper%20level/Shinohara%20turnout.jpg)
If one is really bothered by an angled cut, a flexible shaft drive is available for most motor tools, allowing the cut-off disc to be at 90° to the rail. I use a cut-off disc a lot more than I use a razor saw, and for all sorts of jobs besides cutting rail gaps.
Wayne
I've found that the saw can "catch" on the rail, and that often results in the rail being pulled from the moulded-on spikeheads on both sides of the gap, removing many of those spikeheads. You then need to straighten the rail and then use real spikes (in the appropriate scale, of course) to re-install the errant rail.
Some people eschew the cut-off disc method because it makes the cut on an angle due to the size of the motor tool, but there's no particular need for the gap to be vertical. Once it's filled with plastic (I prefer Plastruct's ABS, as it's not only tougher than styrene, but it's also dark grey - needs no paint, and therefore won't change colour due to normal track cleaning or having trains constantly running over it), nobody'll notice if the cut is angled.
In the photo below, there's a gap, filled with ABS plastic, in each of the two adjacent rails...
If one is really bothered by an angled cut, a flexible shaft drive is available for most motor tools, allowing the cut-off disc to be at 90° to the rail. I use a cut-off disc a lot more than I use a razor saw, and for all sorts of jobs besides cutting rail gaps.
Wayne