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SN&E The baseboard is finished - ready for the next step Journals/Blogs
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Regular poster 482 posts David Pennington Long Haired David Regular poster 482 posts
David Pennington Long Haired David

I have finished making the baseboards. Today, I fitted some adjustable bolts to the corners of each board. I then set the boards up on my work top in the hobby room and got everything at a matching level. Here you can see it in place.

 

 

Here is a close up shot of the levelling system. There is one of these on all eight corners.

 

 

The next step is to test out my new point motors. I have just purchased 7 of the nice DCC Concepts Cobalt IP Slow Action Digital Point Motors.

 

IMG_3342.jpg 

 

These are nice units that have a decoder built in. Not only that, but they have a connection to manage the frog polarity plus two extra connections for LED outputs to show point orientation. Very clever - and all for the price of a Tortoise. I am going to build a small test bed with a single point and two spurs to test out the wiring but also to test out the point motor fitting. As I am using foam board, I have to make good arrangements for the mounting otherwise the motor could, over time, break away. More on that tomorrow.

 

David
Hi from the UK
Main man on the Sunset North Eastern and now the Great Western
My Blog: http://www.gmrblog.co.uk
Reply 0
tfbailey New member 7 posts
tfbailey

SN&E Leveling System

David,

Can you please explain your leveling system.  It looks like you found a nut that can be hammered into the leg of your system.  The actual leveling portion of the system is something else that I can't identify. 

Can you please provide some details on the "nuts that go into the legs and the "bolts" that are used to level the entire system.  Can you also please tell me where you got this hardware,ie Home Depot, Lowes or online.

 

Thanks,

 

Tom Bailey
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Neil Erickson NeilEr Moderator 5,789 posts
Neil Erickson NeilEr

T-Nut

These "T-Nuts" are common among module builders and work just as you describe. Drill a hole and tap it in. The flange has spikes that hold it from twisting. The hole can be much deeper than the nut so a long screw can be used for extreme leveling solutions. Use a regular nut on the bolt to set the height. 

I get these in 5 packs from Home Depot right next to the other nuts and bolts. 

David: I look forward to hearing more about these switch motors. Sounds like some nice features built right in!

Neil Erickson 

Neil Erickson, Hawai’i 

My Blogs
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tfbailey New member 7 posts
tfbailey

T-Nuts

Neil,

Thank you.  I thought they were T-Nuts.  However, I haven't be able to find them anywhere for years.  I'll look at our local Home Depot to see if they carry them in our area.

Thanks for your answer. 

 

Tom Bailey

 

 
Reply 0
Bill Brillinger Moderator 4,904 posts
Bill Brillinger

T Nuts

You'll find them in Furniture hardware at most Home Depots in the US and Canada, and also Rona in Canada.

Worst Case Scenario, you can find them ebay...
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=T+Nut&_armrs=1&_from=R2&_ipg=

Bill Brillinger

Modeling the BNML in HO Scale, Admin for the RailPro User Group, and owner of Precision Design Co.
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David Pennington Long Haired David Regular poster 482 posts
David Pennington Long Haired David

Sorry but I forgot the name

Sorry but I forgot the name of them. T-nuts - of course! I am in the process of laying some track and usi9ng a template for the point motors. I will report back in a day or so.

 

David
Hi from the UK
Main man on the Sunset North Eastern and now the Great Western
My Blog: http://www.gmrblog.co.uk
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