I also use minature wood screws to attach the frog…then I just whip out the screwdriver to change out the frog… Teh molds will last longer if ya use a pattern that doesn;t hae the bolt head detail…
Oops, I already read it, and it was interesting to me.
I’m sorry, will I have to go wash my brain out with soap?
What about melting aluminum down say from a free source, and casting the frogs in aluminum?
I’m planning on casting up my own homebuilt frogs as well when I have the chance. I have #9’s and #11’s. For some reason model railroad companies make frogs (and turnouts) in even numbers (#4, 6, 8, 10, 12, etc) but the prototype railroads tend to use frogs in odd numbers (#7 really, really tight!, 9, 11, 13, 17, and then 22 +). Why can’t model making companies follow suit by making odd numbered frogs and turnouts)?
I cast my frog in place for my scratch-built turnout. I used Bondo the fist time I built it, but the Bondo ended up chipping over time. So I recast it with JB Weld, and it lasted for years.
After laying the rails, I made the frog point. I took some glossy paper from a junk-mail flier and cut a strip from it. I folded the strip and clamped it to the rails.
Once that has set up I took a 1/8th inch square piece of wood, coated it with paraffin wax (baking wax) and clamped it to the rails, making sure it was flush with the top of the rail . This will make my flange-way and 1/8 inch wide and deep is a good size for the flange-way. Then I mixed up more Bondo and blobbed it around the wood.
Once the Bondo started setting up I removed the wood and started trimming it to shape with a hobby knife with a new blade. There is a point during the setting up of Bondo where it has the consistency of hard rubber, that is the time to trim and detail it with a knife, if you wait till its completely hard its much more difficult to cut.
Then I did the same thing for the other flange-way
After letting the Bondo set up for a few hours I sanded the frog flush to the top of the rails with a sanding block. Then I took a truck and ran it through the frog to make sure all was working properly.
Once the frog was painted, the switch didnt look too bad. No, not as detailed as a good cast frog, but good enough for my railroad.
I cut and pasted that from a thread I did on another site. As I said, I redid the frog a few years later with JB Weld. JB Weld, like Bondo, has a point while its curing, that its soft enough to be carved.
David,
Epoxy dust is pretty neutral as far as being toxic or no worse than any other dust. Except when it is “green”. Be real careful and use proper safety precautions. Personally, my lips start tingling if I’m around it too much when it is still chemically changing. Always the key to let it alone.
If you didn’t lick your fingers to get the excess epoxy off of them you wouldn’t have that problem
I was working outside. And since I have already had my lifetime supply of radiation, and I used to smoke 4 packs of cigarettes a day when I was a truck driver, and I used to work with some hazardous chemicals, I figure a little dust isn’t going to shorten my lifespan anymore then it already has been shortened.
Besides, I carved, with a knife, while it was green. But the sanding came the next day when it was hard.
Good old JB Weld. I to used it to make frogs.
Any reason why JB Weld couldn’t be used in a mold?
Jon, since its a 2 part filler material, I do not see why not. I guess the sticking point would be choosing the proper mold release agent.
PAM works as a mold release or even car wax. Epoxy is green for about a week after chemicals mixed and starts to kick. Nothing to do with hardness to the feel.
Gary, you don’t have to lick your fingers to get the tingling feeling, just the vapors coming off it does it. Besides mustaches, beards and even skin really gets messy with epoxy around. Y’all be careful out there.
Rick, oh, ok. I didn’t know that stuff was “green” that long. I know auto body shops will shape Bondo, or other body fillers, as soon as its hard. Of course they also (usually) wear particle masks when they do it.
That’s all you need to do. Just simple protection, but the stuff isn’t like simple sawdust.
On thing to remember about JB Weld. It is a conductor of electric.
Allen, I beg to differ. I am track power in large scale and DCC in HO. I have made frogs in both scales out of JB Weld and neither has created a short.
It been a good 15 yrs. since I used it to make the frogs . I know it was JB Weld ,but ma be it was a different blend or maby I have bin mistaken.
Well, since so many things have been made less expensively (read cheaper) over the years, you could be right about it 15 years ago. But I did a test before I used it for frogs, and the batch I have is not conductive
I am define going to take another look at it. It doesn't bother me anymore since all my stuff is battery powered. I going to doing some O Scale in battery in the future now.
Craig Townsend said:
What about melting aluminum down say from a free source, and casting the frogs in aluminum?
That’s exactly what I’m planning on doing. I’m going to wait till I build my metal furnace that will melt other higher temp metals too. But with aluminum you could melt it with a torch and steel ladle. You would also have to us a lost wax casting method with the aluminum, which is also what I plan on doing, someday.