Point motor holes

The layout in a box, like any micro project, needs careful planning. It also allows opportunities not available on larger jobs. For example, as the trackwork is a single piece, I can carry it around (carefully !) and was able to placed it on the board. Then a marker pen line was drawn around it in the manner of a murder victim in 1950's American whodunnits.

With the track out of the way again, I've been making holes for the point motor rods to poke through. These should be nice and neat and tidy but as I use moving sleeper tiebars, a little more leeway is available while still covering the hole. Actually, were I to need to be tidy,I think I'd still hack big 'oles and then cover them with accurately cut plasticard but that's by the by.

The best tool for this job is a drill saw bit. You make the initial hole with it and then move the bit sideways to turn this into a slot. I have such a bit and can I find it ? Of course not.

So, back to bodging. Drill three holes side by side and join them up with a coarse file. While chain drilling is a recognised technique (when done properly), it's fiddly to do neatly and you have to find a file of small enough diameter to go through the initial holes.

Or do what what everyone else does and waggle the normal bit from side to side, but if you are doing a lot of these, especially in thicker wood, get the right tool.