I have posted these notes before on several forums, but they might be helpful again here.
You don't need expensive jigs to make a crossing vee. You can use a paper template printed from Templot, and do most of the work
after assembly of the rails. This method results in solid metal at the tip and cleans up any slight alignment error and any stray solder.
In the diagram below I have greatly exaggerated the crossing angle for clarity. The rails are shown in cross-section along the rail -- yellow shows the rail head and foot, orange shows the web of the rail. This is for bullhead rail as shown:
A is a prepared piece of rail with the end bent to the crossing angle, or slightly less. Allow a little extra on the overall length.
File it (or sand it on a sanding disc) down to the web, as at
B. This makes the splice rail.
C is the same as
A, but bent the other way to make the opposite hand. This makes the point rail. File a recess down to the web to receive the splice rail B, as shown.
D is a scrap length of rail, metal strip, copper laminate, etched kit fret, or similar.
Glue the paper template down to a small block of scrap wood.
Assemble
B,
C and
D on the template as shown. They can be held down with drawing pins, screws and penny washers, wooden clothes pegs, or similar.
Solder
B and
C together at the tip, and lightly solder
D in place across the rail tops as a temporary stiffener while filing/sanding. It can be left in place until you are actually building the track, and then the surplus vee rail ends are trimmed back as required.
If you will be using a sanding disc, use high-temperature solder because the rail gets hot while sanding. If necessary stop and dip it in a jar of cold water. Using high-temp solder also reduces the risk of it coming apart later if you are using soldered copper-clad track construction.
V is the result after filing as shown, or making two cuts on the sander. The bulk of the metal can be quickly removed with a coarse file or metal shears before finishing on the sander or with a fine file.
If sanding, note that the solder dust is toxic -- take precautions to contain it.
Note how this method results in solid metal at the tip with no undercut.
The final tasks are to blunt off the nose as shown, to a scale width of 3/4" (bullhead) or 5/8" (flat-bottom), and to re-instate the rail-head corner radius on the filed areas. A few strokes with a fine file and a final polish with abrasive paper will do that.
It's also a good idea to take a few thou off the top of the vee nose so that it dips down slightly below the level of the wing rails. This allows for the coning angle on the wheels as they run off the wing rail onto the nose, producing smoother running. You can see these features in the prototype here:
© Mick Nicholson with thanks
Showing the blunt nose of the crossing vee supported on a timber, with the actual gauge intersection located between the timbers. The top of the vee nose is taken down slightly below the level of the wing rails, and rounded off.
The end result is an accurately aligned vee matching the template and comprised of solid rail at the nose.
regards,
Martin.