Last Friday I had a particularly productive evening rewheeling my old Alan Gibson J15. The kit was built about 25 years ago (gulp) but had languished on the works sidings for a couple of years following the wheel quartering slipping and the wheels being so old that they were loose on the axles and no amount of locktite would hold them in place.
So, finally I bit the bullet and ordered some new wheels from new Mr Gibson. The biggest problem with some of the wheels available from Colin at the moment is that the crank pin hole is not drilled through, there just a dimple as an aid to locate the hole. Friday gave the opportunity to use a friend's pillar drill (thanks Brian!) and with the aid of a little jig we drilled the holes in the wheels and got the crank pins put in. The wheels were quartered with the excellent jig (GW models).
Saturday morning came the moment of truth when the bearings were slid into the chassis and the coupling rods put on crank pins. Much to my surprise and delight the chassis rolled away, and when the grub screw on the gear was tightened the loco moved smoothly.
Tonight came DCC chip fitting, I had forgotten I had a TCS Z2 sitting in a drawer. It seems to be quite happy with the 1219 portescap and runs smoothly once I adjusted the CVs to give a more suitable speed range.
David
- 2
3 Comments
Recommended Comments
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now