Hi All
the sticking point of handbuilt track is generally perceived to be the good old Vee. After all all points need them and a layout without them isn't really that much fun!
In reality though theres nothing difficult about building them its just a cast of right tool for the job and knowing what to do - the final element being practice. After all without practice no amount of wishing is going teach you how its done.
There are many ways and what follows is mine, theres nothing new or original about it but it works for me.
If you are not going to build a lot of pointwork then you can just buy your vee ready assembled. If you are then the filing jigs available from the EMGS will pay back their initial outlay many times over. This is the larger one and I am using the 1 in 9 angle (it will go up to 1 in 12). Simply put you just pop your rail in and file off the bit that sticks out. You are supposed to file bend then file again but I dont bother as you cant see the end result anyway.
The same jig can be used to hold the rails at the right angle while you solder them together. As I am using plastic sleepers mostly I solder the Vee to a base plate of Nickel silver for ease and strength.
Again you can use the jig to set your angle for your checkrails, Once you have built a lot of points you tend to get very good at bending angles by eye! This angle was my initial bend with flat nosed pliers, not bad hu? It was a smidge out though so a gentle tap with a small hammer brought it spot on. Alway over bend and tap the bend to get it back.
Using a ruler for the alignment of the rail and a gauge to set the check rail gap the check rail is soldered to the baseplate.
The ruler cant be used for the other rail as the vee in in the way. I line this rail up buy eye. By using a base plate you can always unsolder the rail if its wrong and try again. Theres a lot of metal here and heat will sink away pretty rapidly so you will have to really go some to accidentally unsolder the vee
Finally the excess baseplate is gut away with a slitting disk in a minidrill. Holding the drill at an angle helps to hide the baseplate. I also gently tidy the vee itself with the minidrill so that there are no jolts on the sides. Dont forget to give it a wash so that any left over flux is removed. These views show the front and back.
One thing that crops up from time to time and seems to get overlooked by those who know how to build track is the orientation of the rail. With bullhead rail the fat bit is at the top not the bottom.
Including taking the pictures this vee took half an hour to put together. (well 32 mins actually!)
Hope this helps someone.
Jim