For those who hand lay their track, I finally ran out of my supply of small spikes and ordered some Micro Engineering small spikes. I ordered four 1,000 piece packages and dumped them together for use. When I started using them, I discovered two different types. One had smooth shafts and small heads. They were a joy to use. Some have serrated shafts and enormous heads, some of which actually hit the flanges of rolling stock. I am able to shorten and flatten the heads of the serrated spikes, but doing this for thousands of spikes is torture. I have no idea if the two types were in separate packs or mixed in the packs, but I sure hate those ones with the big heads. Are these serrated spikes the norm or is this just a bad batch?

Jim Marlett
http://flatheaddrag.com/
http://jimmarlett.zenfolio.com/