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HI,

 

I have used the 4mm version of the jig for 5 years or more and it seems to do the job well. Chassis and coupling rod alignment is straitforward and I see Poppy now makes a version for eight coupled locomotives too. I would recommend the device.

 

In use for my latest build, DJH A2/3.

1791062671_003(2).JPG.934a00e7d8eef19346cadc56ccdc95a9.JPG

 

Kind regards,

 

Richard B

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They are great :) If I were building lots of locos I would probably buy a metal one as with lots of use I suspect the holes for the axles will wear, but for amateur use they are ideal.

 

 

 

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I have used the Poppy jig quite a lot. the holes wear a bit but not enough to cause any problems with compensation. I havent had any problems with rigid chassis, once I realised that I had bent one of the rods, replaement readily available , however. I would recommend one of these .

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39 minutes ago, Bucoops said:

They are great :) If I were building lots of locos I would probably buy a metal one as with lots of use I suspect the holes for the axles will wear, but for amateur use they are ideal.

 

 

 

 

 

Like all jigs the more you use them the cheaper they become. I was rather lucky in finding a Hobby Holidays jig second hand. As you say if you are going to build a few locos buy one. But these Poppy's jigs are exceptionally well thought of by their users, if you are worried about wear buy a couple of thin steel 6" metal rulers and fit to the outsides of the jig to reinforce the slots  

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I'd seen a few of these being used in some other threads and was going to ask the same thing. I have two chassis to build up one day but couldn't see that a full on jig was worth the expense for just them. This looks like an ideal solution (yes, I know many people survive without any jig at all, but I don't trust my skills that well).

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4 hours ago, dpgibbons said:

 Any thoughts please on the Poppy's Woodtech chassis jig (Loco Builder Box)? It's only a fraction the price of the metal jigs from Hobby Holidays and others, so it would be easier to justify for the few 7mm locos I'm likely to build. 

 

http://www.poppyswoodtech.co.uk/ 

 

I too have one, I don't tend to build many 7mm locos but I have found mine to be ideal for occasional use and worth considering.

 

The axle holes are slightly tight with the supplied dummy axles but I find it to be more than acceptable.

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On 12/07/2020 at 11:15, dpgibbons said:

What then do the Avonside and Hobby Holidays jigs offer other than better durability?

 

I have a Hobby Holidays jig and am exceptionally happy with it. Its multi function to start with and comes with a built in rolling road, Phil also supplies spares so you can easily build a 7 mm scale kit if you bought the 4mm version

 

The hornblocks rods are in carriers on threaded rods so they can be adjusted very accurately then locked into position. This allows you to fit bearings/ hornblocks to each individual frame first. then you can use the jig to assemble the chassis 

 

This is for the Avonside jig, its similar to Hobby Holidays one but not quite the same but the principal is similar

 

 

This next video shows the hornblocka being fitted

 

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=how+to+build+a+compensated+chassis&docid=608019274172989786&mid=C94B627BACC83C2D1451C94B627BACC83C2D1451&view=detail&FORM=VIRE

 

 

If you can afford one and want sprung chassis they are worth it

Edited by hayfield
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Just to give you an idea of what the bigger jigs do, this is a rigid chassis but they are even better with hornblocks

 

233.jpeg.3dbcb39b8dcd0e88ee45ab77e6e95f22.jpeg

 

A simple rigid 0-4-0, set the axle rods with the coupling rods

 

234.jpeg.52008bce12bda356c432e98c3933f076.jpeg

 

solder the bearings into the axle holes, one side at a time

 

235.jpeg.4d67c5d100c17588bd8fd5add7fcfb9e.jpeg

 

Fit the frame spacers to one frame, then slide both frames on to the axle rods and solder together

 

236.jpeg.85568ef4c8f17d8428dde5e97e1ea7f6.jpeg

 

Up to a 10 coupled loco can be built, but not by me.

 

Just throwing together an 0-4-0 test chassis, as I want to check out a new motor. The chassis runs freely with the coupling rods by gravity first time without tweaking

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As a builder of indifferent chassis I took the plunge and bought a Hobby Holidays jig. Since then I’ve built four chassis (rigid & Romford wheels) and they all ran by gravity straight off the jig so to speak. I can not recommend it enough.

PS I’ve no connection with HH apart from being a very happy customer. 

Edited by D-A-T
Added Wheels.
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I have a poppy one and despite the fact that I am rubbish at building chassis i do not use this. I found, on mine at least, that the diameter of the axle rods where the coupling rods fit vary in diameter. so to my mind I could not see how they can stay concentric if they are slopping about on some of them when I thought the whole  point of the jig is to keep the axleboxes and coupling rods on exactly the same centres. I questioned this with poppy and they did not think it was a problem. I am certainly no expert, and would love for someone to explain that i am wrong.

regards,

Neil

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On 12/07/2020 at 11:22, chris p bacon said:

I've got an Avonside Jig which works well, but to be honest if I was looking again, I'd get the Poppys, Far simpler to use and a lot cheaper.

 

 

Dave

 

I think that if the Avonside is anything like my Hobby Holidays jig they come into their own when fitting hornblocks, secondly they may also be easier to keep the chassis dead square

 

I accept given the price differential the Poppy's may seem/be better value. 

 

The added benefits of the Hobby Holidays jig is it holds 1/8 th axles, 3/16 th axles (0 gauge) and 2mm axles, simply by ordering additional jig axles and it comes with rolling roads (you choose the gauge)

 

As said before, it all depends on how much use it will get. My club own's one which members can borrow (how many do is another story)

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10 hours ago, neilkirby said:

I have a poppy one and despite the fact that I am rubbish at building chassis i do not use this. I found, on mine at least, that the diameter of the axle rods where the coupling rods fit vary in diameter. so to my mind I could not see how they can stay concentric if they are slopping about on some of them when I thought the whole  point of the jig is to keep the axleboxes and coupling rods on exactly the same centres. I questioned this with poppy and they did not think it was a problem. I am certainly no expert, and would love for someone to explain that i am wrong.

regards,

Neil

 

My understanding is that the whole point of a chassis jig is to hold the axles in perfect alignment in all planes, if you have a slight bit of slop anywhere then it defeats the whole point of having a jig in the first place.

I use an Avonside in 4mm, and comparing a chassis built with it to the ones previously done by eye and lengths of rod there really is no comparison.

 

Mike.

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I am a great chassis jig fan now I have one, I was lucky and I was able to buy mine second hand and it was great value. But for some the cost may equate to a large portion of their modelling budget

 

Lets not forget that many a fine model has been built before these were invented. A simple sheet of plate glass, an engineers square and a set of hornblock alignment axles in the hands of a skilled builder can suffice. Comet do a nice inexpensive set of chassis alignment jigs, which work well especially with slot and tab style chassis then set the bearings with the hornblock alignment axles . Like all things if its going to be used regularly its worth buying, if its going to stay in its box most of its life its not.

 

 

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About 3-4 years ago I bought a 4mm scale Poppy's "Loco Builder Box" - I went for the 10-coupled version as I have this insane ambition to build a BR 9F one day, but also because I naively thought that it would also cover all the sort of 4- and 6-coupled wheelbases I'm more likely to build.  Wrong... so after some thought and a great deal of research into coupled wheelbase dimensions, I decided an extra hole in each side was required.  With the box's ruler markings as a guide I drilled very very carefully at 8mm (2 scale feet) along from the existing centre hole, starting with a 0.5mm bit and working up in stages until I got to the requisite 1/8th".  So far I've only built one chassis with it (6-coupled, P4, sprung using Kean-MayGib units) and it runs beautifully, but there are plenty of others in the "to-do" pile and my modification should enable me to construct them all.

 

When I bought the jig I encountered a little scepticism in my local modelling group that the laser-cut MDF would be accurate enough, compared with the all-metal products featured above, to cope with the discipline of P4.  In my limited experience so far I'd say that it is - the horizontal dimensions are determined by the coupling-rods (as in traditional construction methods) and any slight variation in the vertical dimension should be absorbed by the springing or compensation.  Hope this makes sense !

 

Alasdair

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