Turnouts

[David Bogard]

There are many ways to do good looking exhaust turnouts and here is how I generally do mine for ones exposed as in Modifieds or similar race cars.
First I determine how big around my pipes will be and then I use some wire or solder to stick inside the appropriate hollow styrene tubing. That "filler" allows the tubing to be bent to extreme angles without it collapsing or distorting.

Next I make my bend and in this particular case it will be a hard 90-degree one.

Now the tricky part- some heat. I like to use those little tea-lite candles that you can get a bag full for cheap. They light fast, are easy to work with and don't stink up the place. You will want to use just enough heat to set the bend and not so much as to melt or otherwise deform the plastic. With a little practice you'll get the "feel" of it pretty fast.

Cool off the tubing and pull out your wire or solder. It'll take some effort but it should slide out cleanly and leave a really nice sharp bend.

Next you cut at whatever point you want for your turnouts and then find the right size styrene rod that fits snugly inside your tubing.

Now drill a correspondingly sized hole in the end of your headers because here is where we will peg our turnouts. It's fine if you have to sand your rod down a little just to make it a nice snug fit.

Glue your pegs into your headers and trim them off to the desired length.

Slide your turnout onto the peg and you are just about ready. This is a solid connection and it allows you to adjust the angle up or down until you get it right where you want it.

On this build I need some short ones so it's easy to lay my turnouts next to the headers and make a mark for cutting.

Once I slid my final turnout onto the peg I could turn the tip as needed and make a line-up mark for gluing. Once glued I can do little finish blend sanding and they are now ready for paint or chrome or whatever finish you desire. They are sturdy and easily adjustable along the way.

Disclaimer - As always, there are many ways to do various aspects of your modeling but maybe sharing some of my own techniques will prompt  even better ones from you fellas! After all, we're all here to learn. Thanks and I hope this helps someone out there! - David

[sentsat71]

Thank you for posting this.....Great tip/idea!

[Prostreeter69]

Great tip David! I will definitely be using this.

Jon

[Greg Birky]

Excellent tip/tutorial!!!  I will definitely try it out!!!  Thanks, David!!!😎👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻🏁

[Gary Davis]

Another GREAT tip for the header area. Thank you David for the very informative tutorial.

[pdaly28]

very nice tip David!

[Dirtman]

Tks again David!!!

Rett

[Charlie.D]

Nice tip for the headers DAVID

[pdaly28]

David,what number of evergreen tubing are you using?

[pdaly28]

Thanks!

[Big Orange]

Thank you for posting this step-by-step David. I've always used aluminum tubing, using a very similar method, and it can be a little finicky getting the rod, out without damaging the dump, at times.

I'll be certain to try your tactics on my upcoming builds.

[Big Orange]

LOL......sounds like you and I are from the same mold......nothing looks worse than a crooked, or saggy exhaust dump.