Sawing O gauge straight and curved track

Very nice. 

nice but the wood eventually wears down  this is my solution

use with a large cut-off wheel blade

Here is another option.  I purchased this jig several years ago (see photos).  Not sure if still available.  Works great on O and 027 tubular track.  Just be sure to secure the jig with vice clamps, and use a hack saw with sharp blade.

Michael

Hi Michael,

Thanks for the suggestion, will look it up.

Doc

I like the Rockwell Bladerunner 2 for cutting Fastrack - it has a miter gauge and rip fence and uses a jigsaw-type blade which is typically thinner than a standard table saw blade. And it's on a Black Friday sale on Amazon for $84.00 (and free two day shipping if you're a Prime member). It's also great for other model railroad uses.

Thanks for that, Richie. I like the fact you can change the blades easily, unlike a bandsaw.

Doc

DocMcKay posted:

I used these homemade (inexpensive) jigs to hold O gauge track for cutting with a hacksaw. One for straight, one for curved.

1. Cut grooves in a block of wood to accept a straight track. Make the block about 6 or 8 inches long, a couple of inches longer than you need for the straight piece.

2.  Saw two one-inch sections off one end.

3. Glue or screw back sides of the two one-inch sections to another block with the curved track inserted on top, to keep the sections aligned. Keep the sections fairly close together in case you will need to cut an already short piece of curved track.

4. Insert track, place a block over the track, clamp it all in a vise to hold it, and hacksaw as needed.

I do the same thing but I used blocks of 2x4 wood, so I never cut all the way through the block.  Been using the same blocks for years. 

Cool!

This is my tool of choice:

Funny, I use that too when the layout won't obey my commands.

To cut track?  First of all don’t cut it with a hacksaw.  That’s a hack job.  And you certainly don’t need some kind of jig or power tool.  Put a track cutting blade on a Dremel, mark it out and cut it.  If it needs fine tuning for a tight fit, use a file.  Done deal.