Old Steamers
#61
Would that be a Persian that you have? My American shorthaired tabby doesn't have hair long enough to do that!
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#62
cnrglen Wrote:Would that be a Persian that you have? My American shorthaired tabby doesn't have hair long enough to do that!

Not a Persian--she does look like a long-haired Siamese--is that a Balinese? She was a stray, so who knows? whatever she is, we call her "Fluffy," so lots of hair.

Here's a pic of her jumping in my lap right when I was trying to take a picture:

   
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#63
gna Wrote:....Whoever had it, though, painted the driver tires and rods white, and the drivers black, and they laid it on thick. I'd like to remove it, but alcohol doesn't seem to touch it. would Lacquer thinner work if it's enamel?

If the parts are metal, lacquer thinner will work, but I'd suggest not submerging the drivers in it: most brass locomotives have wheels on one side insulated with paper between the wheel and the tire, and the lacquer thinner may destroy it if submerged. I'd suggest paint some thinner on with a suitable (non-synthetic) brush, let it "work" for a few minutes, then wipe with a rag and repeat as necessary.

If the paint is especially thick, you may be able to scrape it off the wheel rims at least, using an X-Acto #17 or #18 chisel-type blade: keep the blade perpendicular to the work, and with the non-tapered side of the blade leading.

Wayne
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#64
doctorwayne Wrote:If the parts are metal, lacquer thinner will work, but I'd suggest not submerging the drivers in it: most brass locomotives

I wish!
doctorwayne Wrote:have wheels on one side insulated with paper between the wheel and the tire, and the lacquer thinner may destroy it if submerged. I'd suggest paint some thinner on with a suitable (non-synthetic) brush, let it "work" for a few minutes, then wipe with a rag and repeat as necessary.

If the paint is especially thick, you may be able to scrape it off the wheel rims at least, using an X-Acto #17 or #18 chisel-type blade: keep the blade perpendicular to the work, and with the non-tapered side of the blade leading.

Wayne

Just an old Rivarossi, not brass. The drivers may be plastic with metal treads, so I will be careful. A little scraping cleaned up the treads some. I'll try lacquer thinner this coming weekend. I'll have to pick some up from Menard's.

In other news, one of my friends had a set of Cal-scale tender trucks , so I bought them. Unlike my other set, with brass wheelsets, these have the more standard Bowser wheelsets, and they don't pick up very well, either:

   

Maybe I just need to couple it behind a train and run it around the layout to break them in a bit...

I worked on my old K4 kit, too. The boiler must be lead, it's so heavy, so I've been careful to wash my hands after sanding and filing:

   

The frame seemed out of square, so I had to do a little soldering:

   

It seems to have bind, but I don't think it's the rods. I suspect one of the drivers is a bit out of quarter. Short of the NWSL quarterer, is there a way to check, other than by eyeball?

   
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#65
While I have NWSL's "Quarterer", I often have as much success using the ole Mark I eyeball method. Pick the side on which you think the drivers are in-quarter, and line-up the counterweights so that they're all vertical or all horizontal. The ones on the other side should then all be at 90° to that. LIned-up in that manner usually makes it easy to notice the ones which are out of whack. Of course, if there's more than one out-of-quarter, you'll need to drop each driver set, in turn, and make the adjustment as best you can. Two on the same axle is another possibility, but there's usually enough "slop" in the rods that the mechanism will tolerate some small out-of-quarter discrepancies.
One of the best set-ups for drivers that I've seen was available with the DJH kits that were at one time offered in MR and RMC. I believe that they had a NYC Hudson and a USRA Mikado, although it's been many years since those ads. The axle ends were square, as were the holes in the driver centres - put together properly, they could never slip out-of-quarter. DJH is still active in the UK, but those American-style kits are long gone. I'd always wanted one, but couldn't afford them in those days.

I'm guessing that the steamers from Rapido may solve that problem in a different manner: The drivers in their locomotives will be built in a manner similar to the trucks on modern diesels, with all axles geared. The siderods and valve gear will move as usual, but will have nothing to do with moving the locomotive. I'm assuming that they won't be using split axles like the diesel models.

Wayne
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#66
doctorwayne Wrote:While I have NWSL's "Quarterer", I often have as much success using the ole Mark I eyeball method. Pick the side on which you think the drivers are in-quarter, and line-up the counterweights so that they're all vertical or all horizontal. The ones on the other side should then all be at 90° to that. LIned-up in that manner usually makes it easy to notice the ones which are out of whack. Of course, if there's more than one out-of-quarter, you'll need to drop each driver set, in turn, and make the adjustment as best you can. Two on the same axle is another possibility, but there's usually enough "slop" in the rods that the mechanism will tolerate some small out-of-quarter discrepancies.

Wayne

Can they just be twisted a bit? Or do they need to be reglued? One of my friend's has a quarterer, I believe, so if I need it I could probably borrow it.

I think the rear driver is off. I removed screws from each set in turn, and that one seems to bind no matter which other driver it's coupled to...front and middle don't bind, but maybe I should change the front and back and try it.
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#67
Sometimes you can just twist it back into place, then apply a bit of ca to the joint between the wheel hub and the axle. If the entire wheel slips off the axle without too much difficulty, clean the mating surfaces with a solvent, such as alcohol or lacquer thinner, then re-install the wheel on the axle and quarter it to the best of your ability, then add that bit of ca.

Wayne
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#68
As it happens, one of my friends has the NWSL quarterer, and he lent it to me. The rear driver was indeed off, so using a punch and a wood clothespin, I drove the axle out and requartered it. Unfortunately, it seemed to want to go back on the same way--out of quarter-- so it took me several tries. I had to file and sand the axle and the driver a bit, knurl the axle ends, and very carefully requarter. I think I got it:

   

Now on to the valve gear...
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#69
Another good paint stripper, useable on brass, Zamac, and most plastics, is Super Clean, available at Walmart. I find that it works as well as lacquer thinner, but without the smell, and it can be stored in most plastic kitchenware - I keep mine in tall juice containers with snap-on lids. They're tall enough to hold a locomotive or full-length passenger car, with the lid on.


Wayne
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#70
doctorwayne Wrote:Another good paint stripper, useable on brass, Zamac, and most plastics, is Super Clean, available at Walmart. I find that it works as well as lacquer thinner, but without the smell, and it can be stored in most plastic kitchenware - I keep mine in tall juice containers with snap-on lids. They're tall enough to hold a locomotive or full-length passenger car, with the lid on.


Wayne

Is this the stuff? <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="https://superclean.com/">https://superclean.com/</a><!-- m -->

I can get it at NAPA a few blocks away. Walmart here is very...unsettling.
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#71
That's the stuff, although I buy mine in the gallon jugs - I don't know if the contents are alike, or perhaps altered for the sprayer.

Wayne
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#72
I was test fitting some of the side rods and cylinders, when i noticed that i can't get the crosshead to fit

   

The bearing on the left seems to be in the wrong spot. Is it possible to remove and reinstall?
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#73
It looks as if there's a hole in the proper place, just peeking out at the lower right side of the left bearing. You should be able to remove the brass bearing to get a better look at it. The hole may be misaligned, which would, sorta, explain the reason for the second hole,, although it's not much use where it is. If that's the case, you may have to fill that hole that's way out in left field. A piece of brass rod, same size as the hole, would do the trick. If it's an odd size, re-drill it to match whatever brass rod you have on-hand (styrene rod could work, too, as long as the two holes aren't meeting somewhere within the casting. You'll know more once that bearing is out of the way.

Wayne
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#74
Gary,

There is a Bowser K4 cylinder chest on ebay right now ( it's the black one) going for 7.95 "Buy It Now" plus shipping from "bggameboy". He often times parts out Bowser, John English, Mantua & MDC/Roundhouse, etc; (steam) locomotives. His shipping prices usually always beat Browser's. The cylinder chest for Browser's PRR Mikado will be the same, also.


Mark
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#75
doctorwayne Wrote:It looks as if there's a hole in the proper place, just peeking out at the lower right side of the left bearing. You should be able to remove the brass bearing to get a better look at it. The hole may be misaligned, which would, sorta, explain the reason for the second hole,, although it's not much use where it is. If that's the case, you may have to fill that hole that's way out in left field. A piece of brass rod, same size as the hole, would do the trick. If it's an odd size, re-drill it to match whatever brass rod you have on-hand (styrene rod could work, too, as long as the two holes aren't meeting somewhere within the casting. You'll know more once that bearing is out of the way.

Wayne

Any advice on removal? I tried working an old #17 chisel blade around the bearing and prying, but not much luck.

twilight Wrote:Gary,

There is a Bowser K4 cylinder chest on ebay right now ( it's the black one) going for 7.95 "Buy It Now" plus shipping from "bggameboy". He often times parts out Bowser, John English, Mantua & MDC/Roundhouse, etc; (steam) locomotives. His shipping prices usually always beat Browser's. The cylinder chest for Browser's PRR Mikado will be the same, also.


Mark

Thanks Mark. If I can't get this bearing out or destroy it in the process, I'll do that. Someone else was selling the superdetail kit for the K4s for $35 or so. I'll have to check eBay.
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