# O-gauge Track Cutting Block



## gunrunnerjohn

Here's something that was mentioned in another forum, and I improved on it a bit. It's a 5 minute project to make it easier to hold and cut O-scale tubular track. The same concept could apply to other scales, I just didn't have that need.

Just stick a piece of track in and have at it with your hacksaw. The block could be bolted do a bench if desired as well to avoid having to hold it.


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## tooter

Hey John, 

That's a clever idea...  :thumbsup:

If you took some rails apart from their ties, cut some grooves in a thinner piece of wood and stuck the rails into the grooves, you could make a really cool grade crossing. 

Greg


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## gunrunnerjohn

True, I didn't happen to need one at the time.  I've hacksawed a few tracks and holding them without a block was tedious, so this seemed like a good idea.


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## T-Man

Groovey!


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## gunrunnerjohn

T-Man said:


> Groovey!


Well... yes!


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## tjcruiser

Very clever.

As a mod consideration, you could add an elevated front and rear face, each with a mated parallel slot ... a vertical-cut guide for your hacksaw blade, like a traditional miter box. Just a thought ...

Neat fabrication, John!

TJ


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## gunrunnerjohn

I thought of that, but I figured that just like a wooden miter box, it would get chopped up after some uses. Good ol' Mk-1 eyeballs are good for alignment.


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## Big Ed

Make a whole bunch and sell them on e bay.:thumbsup:

Newbies might bid it up over 50 bucks.:laugh::thumbsup:

Great ideal John, thanks for sharing.


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## gunrunnerjohn

It was actually from another forum, a guy had a simple 1" block of wood with three grooves in it. I thought about it and decided holding both ends made more sense and came up with this.

The beauty was it was so easy.


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## JPLOF

I cut my tracks on my miter saw with a carbide blade


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## gunrunnerjohn

Are you ready for this? I mentioned this in another forum, and a guy bought it from me!  I stuck it in an envelope and shipped it to him. When I get another 5 minutes, I'll make another one.


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## T-Man

John, some people hate saws or don't own one. He didn't place his fingers at risk.


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## gunrunnerjohn

I'll make them all day for $10/ea!


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## Big Ed

I saw it advertised somewhere, might have been the new issue of Classic toy trains.


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## gunrunnerjohn

One like mine? I don't doubt it, I was pretty amazed that someone wanted to pay me for one.


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## Big Ed

gunrunnerjohn said:


> One like mine? I don't doubt it, I was pretty amazed that someone wanted to pay me for one.



It was almost the same thing John.


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