Hello

Ever since I posted in a past blog entry about a possible new gearbox I have been working on I have had quite a few people asking me about it as they are very interested which gave me the incentive to get it done. The idea I had was to get one together and take it to the St Albans show (which I really enjoyed btw) so people could see it finished. Unfortunately things didnt work out how I would have liked so I didnt get round to finishing it...UNTIL TODAY!

OK, for those of you who dont know this is my first attempt at making a 'universal' gearbox that I could use on different engines, it came about as I was drawing up an engine for chassis for etching and I thought to myself "I could make this removeable and use it on other engines". It comprises of an etched frame, the new motor from the 2mmSA shop (3-257), and gears from my favorite gear supplier Mikroantriebe (https://www.shop.kkpmo.com/). Amazingly I have managed to get an impressive 128:1 ratio which would suit a shunting engine a treat! The drawing below shows the dimensions of the gearbox...

It uses all plastic gears so it is a bit on the quiet side, and if put together well it runs very smoothly (and slowly!). The motor is double ended so there is also the possibility of fitting a flywheel if I wanted to(and if there is room!). Here are a couple of photos of my first attempt at building one...

Of course there is a down side, because of the gears I used to get the ratio it unfortunately means the wheel axle can only be upto 1.5mm in diameter which therefore means I will have to use a solid wheel axle and insulate the wheels with a plastic bush but I feel thats a small price to pay for something like this.

Its my first attempt so I would love to hear any thoughts or comments on this...

Missy