Clamped in Places

Hold down and alignment clamps tested

The hold down clamps I purchased (KBC Tools p/n 1-990-40323) arrived on Tuesday and I managed to get the in place on the boxes. These work as I had hoped and lock the boxes down tight against the benchwork. I also have installed them to the underside of the top to hold the sections tight against each other.

The aluminum alignment climps also work very well, keeping the top surface of the layout dead flat, which will be critical as I do not want to have any trackwork misalignment, its already complex enough!

No alignment between the benchwork and the boxes is necessary, the boxes simply line up with the edges of the benchwork and the latch clamps hold it in place. Once clamped in place the entire layout becomes a single unit that is very rigid.

It is critical that all the alignment clips are parallel with each other, and perpendicular to the edge of one of the boxes, this will allow the boxes to slide onto the tongue of the clips in a single motion. If they were not parallel to each other the tongue of the clip would not insert into the groove. Since it would have been very difficult to align these under the layout as all the benchwork would be in the way I positioned them on the top of the layout. This also allowed me to avoid putting them where switch machines will end up. Once in place I drove long screws from the top through them and through the top of the layout. This created holes that I can use to screw the clips in place from underneath.

In the picture above a couple are in place underneath, with the rest still in place on the top surface. I can’t find 1 1/8″ long wood screws so they stick up a bit, I will grind these off later. (right after I jab myself with one)

I will place an alignment clip on each side of any location where track crosses a joint. This will ensure perfect alignment at the surface.

The top surface is nice and flat and should not be able to warp.

These shots don’t really show anything, I just think they look neat.

Tonight I hope to complete the installation of all the alignment clips and hold down clamps. There is still a bit of edging to install on one of the boxes. I thought up a cool way to present the layout, a bit of a finishing touch to the structure. Last night I ran out to Home Depot and picked up the items needed for this, if it turns out well you’ll see some shots of it in a couple days.

All that hard work wore this guy right out.

On to Next Section

-T

About the Author:

I'm your host, Tim Warris, a product developer in Port Dover, Ontario. Since March of 2007 I have been documenting the construction of the former CNJ Bronx Terminal in HO scale. For my day job, I design track building tools for Fast Tracks, a small company I own and operate. Fast Tracks makes it fast and easy to hand lay your own trackwork. Stop by our website to learn more!

Posted by: Tim | 03-27-2008 | 10:03 AM
Posted in: Benchwork Construction | Latest Posts