Alignment dowels vertically?

[aleopardstail]

have a need for a removable board, will be between others so has to come out vertically.

thinking basically treating the three parts that touch the main board as like lifting bridge ends.

has anyone used the alignment dowels DCC concepts sell rotated to be vertical?

i.e. the will stop movement in X & Y planes but not the Z plane (instead of stopping in the X&Y plan and using a bolt to stop the Y plane)

here will be gravity stopping the vertical movement - potentially with some small bolts to lock it

I think it should work but is there anything I'm missing here?

[Bigmet]

Lifting a board off widely separated locating vertical studs whether static in the base or in the moving board is typically a pain, because unless lifted vertically one or more will bind. I'd suggest having the studs loose to be dropped in from above to secure alignment and withdrawn before lifting the board. Or have I totally misunderstood?

[aleopardstail]

Lifting a board off widely separated locating vertical studs whether static in the base or in the moving board is typically a pain, because unless lifted vertically one or more will bind. I'd suggest having the studs loose to be dropped in from above to secure alignment and withdrawn before lifting the board. Or have I totally misunderstood?

oh it will likely be a pain, these are the DCC Concepts alignment studs, so a bit like a ball going into a cup

the idea is not to be too tight a fit with the boards and let the dowels hold it - and shape the lift out section to guide itself in

for further fun and games its a triangular section more or less held in three places

[centenary]

have a need for a removable board, will be between others so has to come out vertically.

thinking basically treating the three parts that touch the main board as like lifting bridge ends.

has anyone used the alignment dowels DCC concepts sell rotated to be vertical?

i.e. the will stop movement in X & Y planes but not the Z plane (instead of stopping in the X&Y plan and using a bolt to stop the Y plane)

here will be gravity stopping the vertical movement - potentially with some small bolts to lock it

I think it should work but is there anything I'm missing here?

Ive used the power pole alignment dowels vertically on my lift up section. The idea being they transfer dc power to a point motor and align the lift up section together with the track alignment pieces I used on 4 roads.

Ive used a little PVA glue to hold the power pole dowels in place and no issues so far.

[aleopardstail]

have a need for a removable board, will be between others so has to come out vertically.

thinking basically treating the three parts that touch the main board as like lifting bridge ends.

has anyone used the alignment dowels DCC concepts sell rotated to be vertical?

i.e. the will stop movement in X & Y planes but not the Z plane (instead of stopping in the X&Y plan and using a bolt to stop the Y plane)

here will be gravity stopping the vertical movement - potentially with some small bolts to lock it

I think it should work but is there anything I'm missing here?

Ive used the power pole alignment dowels vertically on my lift up section. The idea being they transfer dc power to a point motor and align the lift up section together with the track alignment pieces I used on 4 roads.

Ive used a little PVA glue to hold the power pole dowels in place and no issues so far.

this is sort of the plan here, though power will be its own connector. in effect its a lift out bridge, though a sizable one, with such dowels at all three ends (track on two but its on an angle so the third is to present a straight load path for strength

[aleopardstail]

Worth an update on this, its actually been in a few weeks now, its working fine. I think four points would be awkward but three and its working. actually assembling in situ I think was a huge help in ensuring no twists were introduced and it sits flat.

so far the only issues are are pushing reverse direction over the 18" radius and thats not an alignment thing but the join not being perpendicular to the track

[RAF96]

A bit late to the party but if you are using separate power passing then save money by using regular cabinet makers dowels, not the expensive powered ones.
They can usually be adjusted by screwing in more or less deep to give alignment across boards. I have used plastic shims, as deployed by some window fitters, to get my slide in section spot on level between boards.

[aleopardstail]

A bit late to the party but if you are using separate power passing then save money by using regular cabinet makers dowels, not the expensive powered ones.
They can usually be adjusted by screwing in more or less deep to give alignment across boards. I have used plastic shims, as deployed by some window fitters, to get my slide in section spot on level between boards.

these are the DCC concepts metal ones, not the power version - there is a 12 way connector adjacent thats a quick disconnect

I think a lot comes down to "how often will this be done?" I wanted this lift out bit to be very quick and easy to do, which so far it is, though not had to remove it that often which helps as its part of the storage yard area and need the trains clearing out first

there are a few more bits of board coming out for more backscene work that will get some of these retrofitted.. plus an entire upper deck that needs to lift off that will get similar