# Uncle Herm’s Track Joiners



## jimtyp (Jan 2, 2008)

Thought I'd share a link as I've found these to be the best rail clamps I've used:  Rail Clamps 

They are very easy to deal with, less expensive and the shipping is cheap.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Is there any indication that they will be manufactured in stainless steel? 

Regards, Greg


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## Del Tapparo (Jan 4, 2008)

They look like Split-Jaw knock-offs to me.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Actually, split jaws have split jaws (one side is split into 2 pieces, the other side is one piece) ... they are closer to hillmans I think.. they are not split... 

Regards, Greg


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## Del Tapparo (Jan 4, 2008)

You are right Greg. No split, but the profile is the same as a Split Jaw. Hillman is a square type profile.


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## pimanjc (Jan 2, 2008)

I have used these joiners. Although they are not that great with R1 curves, all larger sized of curves and straights work very will with "Uncle Herm's." As others have said, they are a good, but less expensive alternative joiner.

JimC.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Sorry, I'm not quite following you Del, you mean the profile of the outside of the clamp, or the profile of the clamp where the foot of the rail fits in? 

Regards, Greg


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## crashbig (Aug 29, 2008)

I've had pretty good luck with them as well, got a whole bunch of them off evil-bay for fairly cheap. 

Pete


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## jimtyp (Jan 2, 2008)

Greg, I don't know of any stainless steel clamps by them, but you could send them a request via their contact info.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

It sure would be nice to have a second source for stainless steel clamps. I tried some brass clamps, but even on my stainless steel, the oxidation was not acceptable to me as compared to solid SS clamps. 

Regards, Greg


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## wchasr (Jan 2, 2008)

Is it just me or is the link not working? 

Chas


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

It's you









(it just worked for me, maybe their site was down for maintenance when you tried, it happens.) 


Greg


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## Jerry Barnes (Jan 2, 2008)

Chas, I can't get it to work either.


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## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

working for me--firefox on a mac


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## Del Tapparo (Jan 4, 2008)

Posted By Greg Elmassian on 05/11/2009 9:53 PM
Sorry, I'm not quite following you Del, you mean the profile of the outside of the clamp, or the profile of the clamp where the foot of the rail fits in? 

Regards, Greg


I meant the shape that contacts the rail. They look like nice clamps.


In looking at their website, it says they have been in business since 1991?







Way to keep a low profile Uncle Herm! Never heard of you til now. Strictly e-bay I guess?


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## pdk (Jan 2, 2008)

Does anyone else but me find the split jaw feature a must-have? It's great to be able to clamp one side, then position the other rail end, and clamp it next without the other (I presume) free to wander around. 

Also, the split jaw allows you to undo one end, to remove a switch, for example, and the whole clamp doesn't fall off. 

Just wondering.


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## JEFF RUNGE (Jan 2, 2008)

Pete, I also like the Split-Jaw design.


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## djhogger (Jan 29, 2009)

Split Jaw has SS rail clamps, bst quality I seen


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

I prefer the SJ clamps for the above 2 reasons, The ability to clamp one side at a time is very helpful especially at switches. In addition, I feel that the split jaw design helps the clamp apply pressure better to each rail, rather than average it to both rails from a single continuous piece of metal. 

Regards, Greg


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## Steve Stockham (Jan 2, 2008)

This design incorporates the singular block design of the Hillman with the triangular grip of the Split-Jaw. For those people that prefer solid blocks on both sides but don't really like the inverted "T" that seems to be prone to cracking, then this might be a good answer! I wonder if the screws are the same as Split-Jaw or Hillman or if there is a third size we would have to get used to?


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## jimtyp (Jan 2, 2008)

I have some of the Uncle Herman's and they take the same size hex as the Hillman. I prefer the Uncle Herman's over the Split Jaw because they are a smaller profile. And I prefer them over the Hillman as they don't have that top lip that tends to break off, and they are even smaller profile than Hillman. And, as I stated before, the price can be significantly cheaper depending on how many you order.


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## tiespike (Jan 6, 2008)

I bought a lot of these off e-bay a couple of years back and I found they work fine. 
Also on some, I cut one side of them in half with a razor saw to make them into a split jaw. 
Dave


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## srs007 (Jan 4, 2009)

Morning All, 

Steven Schnelker from Uncle Herm's Track Joiner here. In response to the SS question, we do not have the desire to make any SS joiners at this time. SS is extremely hard to work with and the tooling is prohibatively expensive. Due to the high startup cost and small market, we will probably never make any stainless productions. Also, there is the fact that it took me years to get dad to even make the code 250 and insulating joiners. 

We had and are still having some trouble with the website after moving it to a new web hosting providers. I think everything is finally fixed, but we shall see. Never thought switching webhosting could be such a pain. If you ever have trouble ordering from the website, please order from ebay and mention you found the joiners on mylargescale.com and I will discount the price so it is the same as the website. 

A little bit of history, dad started making these joiners because the Hillman joiners kept breaking on him during the winter and because they were so hard to take off of track that would out of spec. 8) 

Steven


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## Madman (Jan 5, 2008)

I bought a batch of them this year. They are slightly more difficult to install than Split Jaw, but on the whole, I am very pleased with them.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Steven, would you email me the web site when it gets back up, I'd like to list these on my site, I have a comparison of joiner types on it. 

Thanks, greg


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## srs007 (Jan 4, 2009)

The website is running great again and we are having our first ever sales event. 10% off all joiners until January 1st, 2010. Just head over to www.trackjoiners.com or go to ebay and search for "track joiner".


Thanks, Steven


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

I added comments and a link to your site on my web site. Good looking stuff. 

Regards, Greg


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## Tripoli (Apr 5, 2021)

srs007 said:


> Morning All,
> 
> Steven Schnelker from Uncle Herm's Track Joiner here. In response to the SS question, we do not have the desire to make any SS joiners at this time. SS is extremely hard to work with and the tooling is prohibatively expensive. Due to the high startup cost and small market, we will probably never make any stainless productions. Also, there is the fact that it took me years to get dad to even make the code 250 and insulating joiners.
> 
> ...


Are y’all still making these? I’ve been checking eBay regularly lately, and haven’t seen them for sale.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Yeah his online store has no products available. Lots of people are out.






Track power, wiring & rail clamps


Greg Elmassian web site on large scale trains and garden railroads, cigars, and computers




elmassian.com





That page lists all the joiners I know about...

Sunset Valley has some apparently. Link on that page.

Greg


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## phils2um (Jan 11, 2020)

Looks like a die grinder (or Dremel) with a carbide cutoff wheel will quickly turn Uncle Herms into quasi Split-Jaws.

edit added - I should have read all the posts before jumping in! Only got through page 1 when I posted the above.

Second edit added - I just noticed this is a rejuvenated thread from 2009! I need to look more carefully!


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## Nick Jr (Jan 2, 2008)

Nothing wrong with reviving old stuff. Some may not have seen it when it was an active topic.


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

Nick Jr said:


> Nothing wrong with reviving old stuff.


Just don't expect the original poster to answer!


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## Tripoli (Apr 5, 2021)

Pete Thornton said:


> Just don't expect the original poster to answer!


I was surprised it actually let me revive this old post. 🤪 This is the only place outside of eBay I found mention of Uncle Herm's. I bought a small batch from them a couple months ago as a test, and I liked them. Now trying to buy more, but they don't have any listed. I tried contacting them through eBay, but haven't gotten any response. Thought I'd try my luck here.


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## preprius (Oct 7, 2021)

Tripoli said:


> ..... I tried contacting them through eBay, but haven't gotten any response. Thought I'd try my luck here.


I contacted the ebay seller and got a reply. He has some for sale now. Oct 13 2021.


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## jody (Jan 3, 2016)

I have been trying to find these rail clamps on e-bay. I can’t find a way to buy them


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## preprius (Oct 7, 2021)

Security Measure







www.ebay.com





i just received my products this week. He must have sold out.


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