... topic: 492 Making precise bends in bullhead rail posted: 14 Jul 2008 20:59 from: Martin Wynne Here's a simple idea which costs nothing and is a good way to make precise symmetrical bends in bullhead rail. It needs a bit of practice to know how hard to tap! 2_041840_270000000.png 2_041828_140000000.png Hopefully the diagrams are self-explanatory. Just two bits of rail about an inch long laid side by side with a gap between. The smaller the gap, so the harder you need to press/hit, but the more precisely located will be the bend. Make sure the rail is exactly square across them before making the bend -- a sheet of graph paper underneath helps. regards, Martin. posted: 14 Jul 2008 21:05 from: davelong Worked perfectly for me. Thanks Dave Last edited on 14 Jul 2008 21:23 by davelong posted: 15 Jul 2008 01:04 from: donald peters I feel the great hazard with this device is precisely the 'practice' element that is always inconsistent after long absence or lack ...

... parallel jawed pliers which give a much sharper radius than the one shown in the drawing. So whilst the Great Western may not have used such a gentle radii, I'm wondering if I might improve the running qualities if I tried to produce a gentler bend? If so do you have any recommendations as to how to do it? Hi Andrew, Making symmetrical bends is quite difficult using pliers. My method of making radiused bends in rail is to improvise a v-press arrangement. It's easy to do and costs nothing: 2_041828_140000000.png Trial and error with the diameter of the bar and spacing of the supports, until you get consistent results. Usually something can be found of the right size, such as an old battery. It needs to be smaller than the desired knuckle radius because of the spring in the rail. Perhaps also add some packing below the rail as a depth stop. I don't believe the knuckle radius is too critical in terms of running, provided the wing rail front aligns properly with the vee rails and the check rails are correctly ...