The Fast Tracks jigs are a real help, but the fixtures I find the most useful are the point shaping tool and the frog jig. They really make creating those pieces go fast.

Every commercial brand of turnout has some issue that will need to be addressed to get flawless performance. The Code 55 Atlas turnouts are no different. You may find you will want to to sharpen the point rails to eliminate the blunt end they have. Plan on sanding the bottom of the turnouts before installation, there are frequently casting marks that interfere with the turnout laying flat. The frog area should be checked to make sure all the flange ways meet NMRA specs. They may need to be adjusted with a file. Lastly, set the turnout on a dead flat surface, like a pane of glass. Check for bowing. Hold the turnout flat, and run a straight edge across the frog. Atlas Code 55 turnouts are notorious for having too high frogs. This too can be filed down. That said, I like and use the Atlas Code 55 line of track and turnouts myself. But here's the point: All commercial turnouts take time to inspect and correct the issues they have. This could be a few minutes or hours depending on how much needs correcting. Building your own turnouts correctly the first time may not be as time consuming as this three hour time frame makes it sound. And you will have a much better product when you are done.

Thanks! Is there anything specific you have questions about?

@@ModularRailroading I'd love to see more about any problems or difficult/complex things you may have run into and how you solved those problems.

I see. Other than making sure that the surfaces of the PCB ties are clean before soldering nothing comes to mind right now. Hand laying track really is mostly a patience game once you get the basics down.

Theoretically, you should be able to build a turnout to scale by using scaled length rails. Most railroads have and use standard turnouts or use the AREA designed ones.

Thanks! I think the problem with the solder joints isn't really heat related. I try to use as little solder as possible and sometimes it's just not enough to withstand the vibrations while cutting the rail. At least I didn't have the problem with any joints that hat a good old blob of solder 😀 I haven't used the reinforced disks for cutting rails. I've picked up the diamond disks at a local store a couple of years back because they are really thin. It says 0.2mm on the packaging, so a little less than 0.01". I guess at the end of the day the type if disk doesn't matter all that much. The types you mentioned are all good options I think.

Can you please explain this more along with your reasoning?

@@andrewlaverghetta715 The fine tip of the vee one of the more delicate areas of a turnout and also the most critical for smooth operation. It must be in exactly the right place. A fraction of a millimeter off, and it'll cause derailments. Thus, it should be properly anchored with a soldered tie so that it cannot get bent out of position. Furthermore, if it or one of the wing rails are slightly out, it's a lot easier to correct with a file if it doesn't flex with every file stroke. I've built hundreds of turnouts using the fast-tracks jigs and have developed methods to get around this design oversight, but it would still be better if the jigs included a copper tie under the vee.

I added a second copper tie along the frog path so that short rail has two soldered joint and not just one. I designed and 3D printed all my jigs for N scale after first starting with FastTracks #6 3 Way and #4 turnout jigs. Always wanted curved turnouts!

Never thought of shining the rail bottoms! Thanks!

Thanks! I think the difference between two consecutive turnout numbers is not that drastic and building turnouts on paper templates leaves enough wiggle room to adjust for specific situations. That's one of the reasons why I like to build turnouts right in the spot where they are needed. If I needed a turnout for a spot where the incoming track is already in place I'd probably just print out the templates for different turnout sizes and eyeball which one is the best fit. If you solder the frog rail for the diverging route to match the existing track the turnout should work just fine. As long as track alignment, gauge and flange ways are on point you can get away with quite a lot. I've accidentally build turnouts that weren't even properly straight and they work just fine.

I use solder with a flux core from Stanol. I don't think the exact type matters that much. So no additional flux. Having clean surfaces before soldering is important though. The PCB ties get shiny from sanding the ties after glueing them. But the underside of the rail might be a bit gunky. A quick pass with fine sand paper or file should fix that. I also crank the temperature of my soldering iron way up, because it's relatively low power and the rail can quickly move the heat away. I have it running at 450°C(840°F) and work as quickly as possible.

I'm using the blue point switch machines from micromark to actuate the turnouts and power the frogs. They're a bit costly but a lot less finicky than the home made mechanisms I used to build out of SPDT switches mounted to angle brackets.

I haven't heard of resistance soldering until now, so I haven't tried it. I looked it up, but I'm not entirely sure if it would make things neater. Judging from the images the equipment looks a bit bulky. But as I said: I don't have any kind if experience with it so I don't really know what I'm talking about.

Yes, those are 3 point gages made by micro engineering. They have an entire range for many combinations of track gauge and rail sizes. I know that modeltrainstuff.com carries them, but they should be available at a lot of other shops as well. These gages aren't super precise though, so you should double check with an NMRA gage.

I looked a bit around. Apparently cross jaw tweezers or holding tweezers are also names used for these tools: www.knipex.com/products/precision-tweezers/universal-cross-jaw-tweezers/universal-cross-jaw-tweezers/929590

@@ModularRailroading I know them as hemostat. Is a medical clamping instrument.

@@ModularRailroading Thanks for suggesting these 8 months ago. I picked up something very similar not long after that. I've made a couple N scale turnouts trying like this but I wasn't really good at it yet. I've worked with the Fast Tracks fixture and I've gotten a lot better with everything, including soldering and testing, so I'm curious if I could go back and try it like this again and be better at it. It's funny, but I also ended up buying fixtures in HO scale and it's so much easier, of course being twice the size. I'll eventually go back to N scale and make some turnouts, but I wanted to finish some for my upcoming HO scale switching shelf layout. The N scale, if I have the room for it, will be much more involved, and I'm in no hurry with that.

That's a silicon carbide grinding bit. These bits have a very smooth surface so they don't leave deep grinding marks in the rail.

I use flux core solder, so I don't need additional flux. Rosin core solder is probably better than acid core solder because there is less risk of corrosion over the years. I'm still using solder containing lead which is easier to work with. It'll be harder to aquire in the future because the industry is moving to use lead free solders that have a higher melting point. I don't see this to be too much of a problem though since soldering rail is more forgiving than tiny electronics.

@@ModularRailroading Thanks for explaining that. I think it's about time to invest in some much better soldering equipment and supplies and take the dive into learning to hand lay turnouts and basic track. Appreciate your channel, thank you for your efforts!

I don't know of an ebay store that sells all the items. I got most of the stuff from a mail-order in Germany and some things directly from fast tracks in Canada.

@@ModularRailroading ok thanks. I did find some rail and ties on ebay and some turnouts without the ties. I also looked at the fast tracks website. Thanks for video, it inspired me to try myself.

Fast tracks has a library of track templates on their website: www.handlaidtrack.com/track-templates

I don't attach them at all. Even Code 40 rail is strong enough to stay in place after it's soldered to the PCB ties.

I solder the feeder wire for the frog while working on the frog. That's why I drill the hole for the wire at 2:35