Say Ken & Rzw: Like Waltr, I also just use FT's printed templates adhered to a piece of plywood/chip board etc. and then covered with clear pack sealing tape. This allows me to use a light tack adhesive like glue stick, which is meant for paper, to adhere the various lengths of PC strips over the template at whatever position I want.
The main thing in using their templates like I'm explaining is to build your actual frog point section [>] first with the lead in rails cut to about the proper length. Then once this soldered in place, gauge your stock rails off the > rails and then again down to where the stock rails again narrow down to the single track gauge. The point rails need to to be ground on an long angle so they can be positioned together to form the [>] point of the frog but they do not have to meet exactly at the point, a little ways back is acceptable. It's also a good idea to champfer the leading rail head end so the loco and car wheels don't meet a flat edge but rather an angled \ .
The inside and outside of the bottom rail web that lays along each side of the > needs to be filed or ground into a [v] on each side to allow the legs along the point to be easily bent to the right angle and of course if your building a curved turnout, run the rail through your fingers while holding on to the sides of the rail to get the approximate curvature so the rail lays in place fairly naturally. Hence the term rail bende.
Getting back to FT's templates, be aware though that their tie spacing especially, where the long switch machine throw Ties extend out are no where near wide enough apart to be able to mount a Caboose Industries Switch Stand on. You may require this though? The long ties need to be spaced out almost to where the next tie would be to get the proper spacing to mount the stand securely unless you added an additional tie along side of the longer tie and you may need more width yet?
Also be aware that I've found that the printed template Rail Spacing is also off and you'll need to use some rail gauges to hold the rail in proper alignment and spacing while soldering. I like a three point type of gauge like the older Kemtron Brass 3 point ones for code 70 but others are available now too and I think the ones I have are by Micro Engineering for the code 55.
Once you get your rail in position a small block of wood to press down on the rails while soldering saves burnt fingers. I scrub the surface of the copper PC strips and pre-tin them with solder and also clean the base of the rail web and pre-tin it so then when held in position with some heat applied they solder together very easily.
Using just the template as I do allows me to custom design or tweak the turnout to what is needed for the particular situation as well. This is the beauty of building your own switches as you can custom fit them in the space you have and tweak them as is necessary. Also don't feel that all switch need to have points if your space is fairly tight as a Stub switch can save a lot of space. The trick there is routing power via a switch of one sort or another.
Back to my Curved turnout. As an example, just last week I finished building a #6 Right hand curved turnout which has an outside radius of 30"s with the inside being 21". Notice in the picture that as I needed the outside rails to start to bend outward to make an easier curve into the Engine yard on the Left I bent them to start a Left hand curve in that direction. This is the beauty of hand laying your own rail as it gives you so much more flexibility.
Kindly note my actual wood tie spacing is not corrected in this picture and looks rather odd but then again I don't try and get everything aligned perfectly as I want the look and feel of an old rural back woods railroad, but the ties here are too far off.
Notice that I place my PC strips where I feel they are going to supply the most structural strength which is double PC strips right where the actual Point of the frog is as well as double strips again leading into the frog section. This gives me a very secure frog section, I also only solder the point rails to the two PC strips just before the [>] section of the frog to allow added flex of the movement of the points.
My entire turnout is one solid piece and I even use a metal [code 55 rail bent ']' ] to solder across the points along with a brass throw rod. Your probably saying that's not possible, sure it is as I don't connect my turnouts to any of the existing block sections. They are free standing on their own, like using insulators on all connections, I use rail gaps, and I route power to the outside Stock rails and let the points deliver the proper current to the frog section. Yes all PC strips need to be gaped between the rails and those near where the points throw and actually back to those that connect near the Frog should be gaped in in three places. For about 4 or 5 PC strips back toward the Frog from the point rails & throw arm, I gap these in three places. on either side of where the point rails travel as well as again in between the point rails. This way there can be no transference of current between the + or - connections and I solder the power wires to the outside on one of the PC strips. I can't see how this same method wouldn't even work for DCC ?
Ken: With all the trouble you were having to cut the frog rails before and after using the scroll saw method, if you were planning on building many turnouts using that method it would pay you to get a small saber saw with a fine metal blade something like Micro-Mark sells. I'm not trying to plug for them but they are the only ones I know of right now that has something like that. You might have to make a little table to lay the switch on so it wouldn't jump and down but it might be a lot easier in the long run.
I hope this has been a help and easily understandable?
