train-li rail bender

[petertoot]

hi guys thanks again-re connie gearbox,i was keen to see if anyone has used the train-li bender,how is it for bending,or should i use r4 5 curves,thanks,peter.........

[altterrain]

One of our club members owns one and it has been passed around a bit. I have heard it works great.

-Brian

[Ken]

  Peter

   Took a look at the train-li bender ($$$$), looks intersting if bending         prefabricated track sections. If hand laying, not sure it would work as
   well.  I have a rail bender ($) for bending single rail, then slip on
   prefrabricated tie strips. Have used it to bend code 100 rail
   to a 3inch radius for a model I built. Also used for brass/ styrene
   bending for models and other workshop projects. Pretty handy tool
   and not limited to just bending rail.

    Ken Clark
      GWN

[Kevin Strong]

If you're using flex track, it's worth its weight in gold. If you've got lots of sectional track that you want to rebend to new radii, it's also great. If you're hand-laying your track, you'll want a single rail railbender.

Later,

K

[petertoot]

  ;)thanks for the info,i have a single rail bender,it does exactly that,has ahabbit of twisting rail sideways,i think the single one needs some shims to stop twisting,thanks peter...

[Kevin Strong]

The trick with the singe rail bender is to either support the rail as it rolls through, or bend it such that it bends downward like a frown. This way gravity doesn't work to twist the rail, rather it just pulls in the direction of the bend. 'Cuz once it's twisted, it ain't gettin' untwisted. Ask me how I learned that one.

Later,

K

[petertoot]

  8)thats it kevin,i have a mate,he is pretty good at fixin these things,some of laid rail is bent with this bender,by the way was made in this country,not usa,these tracks are holding up ok,but are not floating in ballast,but screwed to my elevated part of the railway,again,thanks for the reply,cheers,peter...

[Ken]

  Peter

  Just did a quick check with my bender. it is made for code 250, if I try
code 330 in it, the rail will not bend properly as the rail will not sit
square in the guide rollers, but rather at an angle which will cause the twist of the heavier rail. Code 250 sits square in the rollers.

Not sure of rail size you are using, but take a look at whether it sits square/vertical in the rollers, this may help decide a course of action on
whether to shim or machine down guides.

  Ken C
   GWN

[jsmvmd]

Dear Friends,

Has anyone plans to build one of these beasties?  Or, has anyone built a rail bender?

Seems to me that it could be done by someone with mechanical skills.

Best Wishes!

Jack