Parkside Dundas Wheel woes

[Downendian]

Currently couple of P/D builds are being weighted by tyre balancing weights with self adhesive pads on them.

They won't move in a hurry, plus cheap from eBay. Very useful for locos too.

Neil

[Retfordlad]

Rats .. no pennies here will have to dive thru my spare US currency !

[sharris]

1 and 2 pence pieces.

 

 

That makes a nice change from lead

[Mad McCann]

I'm very fond of the wee steel slabs provided by Cooper Craft. Extremely useful for discrete underfloor applications eg opens and medfits.

[Retfordlad]

Bearings,waisted,ordered from Dart ... will keep everyone posted as to any success ... being my first kit of this type any suggestions gratefully receied. The other snag I forsee will be the grab bars,seeing as the brass wire was missing ... wonder if I can use staples ...

[Andy Hayter]

If you can find staples of the right size then no real reason not to use them, but it will be more luck than anything else.

 

I suggest buying some brass wire - 0.4mm or 0.5mm should do the trick.

 

Plenty of internet suppliers if you do not have a local model shop that stocks brass wire.. 

[57xx]

I have a 2mm drill bit set aside for opening the holes out. I'm sure in a lot of the kits I've done it has mentioned to do this (never done the Bloater though). 

 

As for fitting the solebars, I tend to tack one side in place first. When that has set, offer up the other side and the wheels to check that they will fit without the 2nd solebar slanting outwards. If it does, you still have easy access to all the axles boxes to either shave down or drill oversize to recess the flange till everything fits. When all is good, I then glue the 2nd solebar, with the wheels in place, holding everything till the glues goes off. I've found setting things up without the wheels in can lead to them ending up too loose or tight tight. Once the tacks are set, just run some mek type solvent along the solebars to fix things permanently.

[Retfordlad]

2mm .. what's that in Imperial ... in the USA still old school measurements ..

[Peter Beckett]

2mm = 3/32

 

Peter

[Phil Parker]

Any recommendations as to what to use as weights .. I do recall old Triangle Hornby stock containing thin metal bars ..Any recommendations as to what to use as weights .. I do recall old Triangle Hornby stock containing thin metal bars ..

Lead flashing fro a builders merchant. £20 over a decade ago bought me a roll I'm still working through - and I've weighted 2 1/32nd Clyde Suffers with it as well!

[Dunsignalling]

Lead flashing fro a builders merchant. £20 over a decade ago bought me a roll I'm still working through - and I've weighted 2 1/32nd Clyde Suffers with it as well!

I'm still using up the old stuff I rescued when I had my roof re-done.

[petethemole]

I found a remnant of a roll in the garden when I moved here and use that for underneath open wagons. For vans and wagons with a sheeted load I usually use clip-on wheel weights. I find them at the roadside but they can be had from tyre fitters. Assorted other bits of metal also get used. I use UHU tube glue sparingly and don't put the roof on for a day after; I've not had any problems.

[melmoth]

I'm still using up the old stuff I rescued when I had my roof re-done.

 

I'm selling my house at the moment and the guy who's buying it say he's going to reroof it. Perhaps I ought to give him a hand getting started.

[Clive Mortimore]

1 and 2 pence pieces.

 

Mike.

With my modelling skills, lining wagons with pennies would double their resale value. :mosking:

[Il Grifone]

1 and 2 pence pieces.

 

Mike.

 

These are cheap and easily obtained (other currencies are available), but for vans I use 'penny' washers (from Wilko in a 'pick and mix' bag). These can then be bolted in place. I have had problems with adhesives causing floors to warp in the past. (Drilling holes in coins is illegal....)

I prefer to make the roofs detachable and where there isn't room for the washers or they would be unsightly (e.g. open wagons) lead (or other material) sheet is fitted under the floor held in place in some sort of cradle to avoid gluing metal to plastic. I find about 25-30 g (1 oz.) is sufficient for 4 wheel vehicles and a bit more for LWB stock like a BLOATER.

 

 

I concur with cleaning the bearing holes out with a 2mm drill if necessary (78.75 thou. not 3/32" - this will give a slack fit, as it is almost 2.4mm). This counts as flash removal, an essential part of kit construction. Hopefully this will give a press fit to avoid the use of solvent to hold the bearings in (use sparingly if necessary).

 

I always measure the distance between the solebar/axleguards on a dry run. The distance between the inside faces of the axleguards should be 24mm* (Romford are a bit of a law unto themselves on this - their spec. is on their website). Assuming all is well, I then fix the solebars in place with a minimum of solvent ensuring they are vertical. Once set (overnight) I then try the wheelsets for free running. The small quantity of solvent allows the joint to be broken without damage if there is a problem. When satisfactory, I run a brush of solvent along the joint to fix it more securely (without exaggerating - it may need attention in the future). Again left to set and then the details are added (Often much later...  Now where did I put the other bits?).

 

* The bearings may need to be recessed into the axleguards to compensate for over scale thickness W irons and/or solebars

 

At worst, Parkside will supply a replacement underframe (£2 + carriage last time I looked).

[Earlswood Nob]

G'day all

 

You can buy sheets of sticky weights intended for wheel balancing from Ebay etc. They are ideal for weighting plastic rolling stock.

 

Earlswood nob

[Quarryscapes]

These are cheap and easily obtained (other currencies are available), but for vans I use 'penny' washers (from Wilko in a 'pick and mix' bag). These can then be bolted in place. I have had problems with adhesives causing floors to warp in the past. (Drilling holes in coins is illegal....)

I prefer to make the roofs detachable and where there isn't room for the washers or they would be unsightly (e.g. open wagons) lead (or other material) sheet is fitted under the floor held in place in some sort of cradle to avoid gluing metal to plastic. I find about 25-30 g (1 oz.) is sufficient for 4 wheel vehicles and a bit more for LWB stock like a BLOATER.

 

 

I concur with cleaning the bearing holes out with a 2mm drill if necessary (78.75 thou. not 3/32" - this will give a slack fit, as it is almost 2.4mm). This counts as flash removal, an essential part of kit construction. Hopefully this will give a press fit to avoid the use of solvent to hold the bearings in (use sparingly if necessary).

 

I always measure the distance between the solebar/axleguards on a dry run. The distance between the inside faces of the axleguards should be 24mm* (Romford are a bit of a law unto themselves on this - their spec. is on their website). Assuming all is well, I then fix the solebars in place with a minimum of solvent ensuring they are vertical. Once set (overnight) I then try the wheelsets for free running. The small quantity of solvent allows the joint to be broken without damage if there is a problem. When satisfactory, I run a brush of solvent along the joint to fix it more securely (without exaggerating - it may need attention in the future). Again left to set and then the details are added (Often much later...  Now where did I put the other bits?).

 

* The bearings may need to be recessed into the axleguards to compensate for over scale thickness W irons and/or solebars

 

At worst, Parkside will supply a replacement underframe (£2 + carriage last time I looked).

 

 

Do not assume 24mm is the correct figure - it varies by bearing and axle. 23.6mm is what I design all my stock to, which works perfectly for MJT bearings and wizard wheels.

[SM42]

Of course another source of wheel weights (the clamp on type) is the gutter near road junctions.

 

And you would be surprised what you might get if you ask next time you have some tyres fitted. I only asked for my old ones back. They gave me a handful of new self adhesive type.

 

Like others a 2mm drill run down the hole for the bearing (I just use my fingers rather than a pin vice as there isn't normally a lot of material to take out and I don't have a pin vice big enough and am too lazy or tight to buy one)  and a spot of solvent around the top of the hole just to ease the way a bit works for me. I tend to let most of the solvent evaporate off before fitting the bearing.

 

One other thing to watch for is  moulding flash around the bearing hole which can cause it to sit  proud and then there is the little bit of flash on the bottom of the bearing where it has been parted off.

 

Another trick I use if the bearing is too deep for the axlebox is to fit it into a 2mm hole in some approximately 1.5mm thick plastic card and file the back down. There is a fair bit of meat on them so you can take a good 0.5mm off them (at a guess) without breaking through to the bearing surface.  (This is also a good way to hold them for removing the parting flash too)

 

I think the worst kit in the range for fitting the wheels is the plate wagon and its derivatives. I'm sure it was made for Lima axles.

 

Andy

[Il Grifone]

Do not assume 24mm is the correct figure - it varies by bearing and axle. 23.6mm is what I design all my stock to, which works perfectly for MJT bearings and wizard wheels.

 

24mm* is the specified distance for axles and bearings to EMGS standards (26mm axles). Since there is no obligation to follow these' it is more than possible that other makes do not correspond (Romford for one and some commercial axles are to the NMRA standard of 1"). I set the axleguards for this dimension and then pad out the bearings if necessary.

 

One day I may convert all my stock to EM and equalised underframes....

 

* This dimension gives room for etched axleguard assemblies to rock between solebars set at the prototypical distance apart.

[57xx]

Another trick I use if the bearing is too deep for the axlebox is to fit it into a 2mm hole in some approximately 1.5mm thick plastic card and file the back down. There is a fair bit of meat on them so you can take a good 0.5mm off them (at a guess) without breaking through to the bearing surface.  (This is also a good way to hold them for removing the parting flash too)

 

 

I just came back to the thread to say the very same thing. My less technical solution for filing down the bearings is a pair of tweezers, I think a plastic jig would help me losing some bearings to the carpet monster. It's surprising just how much can be taken off the back of them.

[Enterprisingwestern]

To file the ends off pinpoint bearings just drill a 2mm sloppy hole in a strip of 40 thou plasticard, then it don't go nowhere.

 

Mike.

[Il Grifone]

Having taken a file to the back of bearings before (using the hole in a bit of sheet technique to stop the d**n things losing themselves on the floor - they are experts at this...), there should be around 1mm of cone behind the flange, so down to this should be safe. A tight hole holds the beast securely - 40 thou. plastic sheet gives a guide to depth.

[Ian Kirk]

Hi,

 

As several people have stated the answer is to clear out the holes with a 2mm drill in a hand held chuck (never a powered drill which could snatch and go right through) . The bearings are undoubtedly parallel and the holes are of necessity slightly tapered (assuming a hard styrene type plastic) without the taper the mouldings could not easily be removed from the mould.  Forcing a parallel bearing into a tapered hole is fairly likely to split the plastic mouldings. I presume that the flexible plastic Peco use gets round this problem.(but if I remember correctly this plastic is not easy to glue bits together) 

I hope that now the wheelsets have been standardised. When I started business in the 1970s there were variations in the measurement over the bearings for different manufacturers. This meant that it was easier to produce wagons with a flat floor with no locating pegs and leave the customer to set the distance between the solebars to suit his chosen wheels/bearings. My 1970/80s wagon kits were the distant ancestors of the current Parkside range and I presume that this has just continued.

 

best wishes,

 

Ian

[orford]

Retfordlad. I personally swear by small square self-adhesive 5gm and 10gm weights designed as wheel balance weights. You can buy them on eBay and I find these absolutely perfect for adding weight to 4mm stock either kit built or proprietary (which is way too light as it comes - especially 4-wheeled wagons). Since they are designed for car wheel balancing the adhesive is VERY tigerish and I have never had even one become dislodged in over 5 years of using them.

 

They come in strips which you just slice up and can be bought as single strips or in large packs.

[sharris]

If you must use imperial drills 5/64" is probably as close to 2mm as you'll get (actually 1.9844mm).

 

Or if you use numbered drill sizes, #47 is 1.9939mm.