Scratchbuilding advice...?
- Thread starter EightyMac
- Start date
If you have a scratch building you might want to try a topical ointment.
Wow that's a bad joke. My apologies. But I'm posting it anyway.
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WildCATblond
Wow that's a bad joke. My apologies. But I'm posting it anyway.
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WildCATblond
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For some locomotives, that's OK. But for others (all of my own design), it's not as easy as it sounds--one locomotive I designed had 77" Scullin-type disc drivers. When I need an obscure pattern/size combo like this, which is not available on ANY model on the market, what do I do? I'd rather not cast the drivers myself--casing metal parts can be pretty risky IMO!
Cjcrescent
Master Mechanic
Between GreenWay Products and Bowser, if the driver size you want isn't at one of these two companies, they're not available.
Greenway;
http://greenwayproducts.com/a_drivers.shtml
Bowser;
http://bowser-trains.com/holocos/holocos.htm
Bowser has stopped production of all their steam loco kits and the website says all kits are sold out. However they do have parts, and the best way to see if they have the drivers available is to call them.
If the size you are looking for isn't in stock, you can wait until they are made by Greenway, or get a set that's close to what you need. The last thing is you could scratchbuild them, but without a lathe, and milling machine, it would be improbable that they could be built.
If any work that requires expensive tools like that I'd usually subcontract someone else to do the work. I'd also subcontract any foundry work if necessary.
In any case, Bowser has discontinued steam loco production and when they run out of spare parts what would you do?
Cjcrescent
Master Mechanic
As long as I can replace gearboxes and Greenway has the drivers, I'm good. Detail parts can come from PSC, as well as Bowser. I've really never heard of a Bowser ever wearing out. I probably have enough Bowser parts on hand to build 2-3 more steamers, not counting the main rods, side rods and such that I've [FONT="]cannibalized[/FONT] off of other models over the years.
RW&C
N Scale with Stone Tools
Well, if you're willing to pay someone to mill it for you, that's certainly an option. Might be a bit tough for them to pull off, though, unless you find a place that specializes in small stuff. (A CAD machine meant to rout tabletops might have some trouble with spokes.)
Well, that depends on a locomotive. Though my locomotives are freelanced, in many cases they are patterned after a real-world locomotive.
Sometimes, if the locomotive I've based my engine on is commercially available, all I do is take the chassis, and mount a PVC-and-styrene boiler on top of it (sometimes changing the gearbox in the process). This, it must be stressed, can only be done if the wheelbase dimensions, driver diameter, driver spoke/hole pattern, and valve gear are an exact match for the locomotive I have designed.
If there is no base model available with the exact wheelbase dimensions, then the chassis has to be scratchbuilt out of thick styrene. Then, depending on the circumstances, I would use spare drivers (provided they are of the correct diameter and spoke/hole pattern), and build the valve gear parts out of aluminum.
I decided, as an alternative to all-metal drivers, to cast "blind" (flangeless) drivers out of resin and force-fit them over a steel tire made by a machine shop for me.
