 |
| Posted: Sat Jul 14th, 2012 03:07 pm |
|
1st Post |
titus
| Joined: | Thu Aug 21st, 2008 |
| Location: | Colorado USA |
| Posts: | 205 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
|
Last week I posed a blog post titled "Emerging Ideas" which turned out to be probably one of the more drama-laden posts that could be done on a model railroad blog. In it, I discussed my change of heart towards RTR equipment. It's not that I think RTR is bad for other people, it's that I want to learn to not depend on it for my own modeling.
So to that end I've jumped in with two feet and have tried to start doing things for myself. And to my surprise things that I thought were really hard are turning out not to be.
Here was a little friday night project that I did last night: Re-gauge an HO mechanism to Sn3. Right, because why in the world would I ever want to do that when I could just buy an already painted, RTR On30 locomotive that looks better and can run instantly? That's the mentality I'm trying to push away. It's my railroad and I want to build it.
Well it turns out it was no big deal at all. I used a dremel cut off wheel to trim off the edges of the axles, then polished them down with a hand file. The wheels were pushed in to the right gauge, and then the die cast chassis was hand filed down to accommodate the new width. I had to file the backs of the drivers to be flat so they wouldn't drag on the chassis then simply put the whole thing back together.
For kicks I setup the whole thing as R/C so I could quickly play with it on the work bench.
Time Spent:
- Trimming Axles: 30 minutes
- Trimming Drivers: 15 minutes
- Filing Chassis: 15 minutes
- Installing R/C: 2 minutes
I made a short video of it driving back and forth on the workbench:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySy5dWhn78Y
What's most surprising is that it wasn't that much work at all. Really, it makes me wonder what else is accessible that I've just never tried.
So here's to trying new things. You should do it sometime, you might surprise yourself!
____________________
Rock it like it's narrow gauge
|
|
|
| Posted: Sat Jul 14th, 2012 03:39 pm |
|
2nd Post |
W C Greene
Super Moderator
| Joined: | Fri May 4th, 2007 |
| Location: | Dallas, Texas USA |
| Posts: | 5091 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
|
Excellent work Titus! See, it ain't that hard to modify mechanisms. I am lucky that On30 (HO) mechanisms work in 35n2 but if I had to, I would whack down axles, etc. to get something going. I really love that "-Installing R/C: 2 minutes". You will have great fun and not be sorry.
Woodie
____________________
Go ahead, make my day!
|
|
|
| Posted: Sat Jul 14th, 2012 03:50 pm |
|
3rd Post |
Herb Kephart
Administrator
|
Titus, I couldn't agree with you more.
Anyone with money can buy the latest and greatest
Only the type of person reading this can build something- perhaps not quite so perfect-- but something that they can say (if even only to themselves) I made this, I like it, and I know how I can do the next one better!
Any hobby activity boils down to just one very important personal result---satisfaction.
Notice how the "collectors" are never satisfied? They have no sense of fulfillment. Yes they may be happy with their latest acquisition, and their collection, but something is missing--so they continue on in search of it.
I build nearly every thing from scratch. Actually, I have very little knowledge of what is available commercially in my chosen scale--1/48. Some things that I have tried, I am so lousy at--making figures is one-- that I fall back and open my wallet. But I get satisfaction with all the other things--locos, cars, structures--that I can do--and do to a level of detail that I'm happy with.
End of rant.
Herb 
____________________
I get along very well with other people, as long as they leave me the @#*& alone!
|
|
|
| Posted: Fri Jul 27th, 2012 04:25 pm |
|
4th Post |
Traingeekboy
| Joined: | Sun Aug 28th, 2011 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 142 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
|
I was going to say what they said.
Herb, So many people end up becoming collectors because they never build a layout. I admit to having been one of those at times.
Now i just build my crappy eyeball engineered stuff but I get to run trains. As you said, the more you do it the better it gets. Last edited on Fri Jul 27th, 2012 04:28 pm by Traingeekboy
____________________
Did I ever mention that I like trains?
|
|
|
| Posted: Sat Jul 28th, 2012 12:47 pm |
|
5th Post |
W C Greene
Super Moderator
| Joined: | Fri May 4th, 2007 |
| Location: | Dallas, Texas USA |
| Posts: | 5091 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
|
I must be a collector. Whenever someone brings a box of "stuff" over, I add it to my "collection". To paraphrase the old Broadway show song-"I'm just a guy who can't say no". The only problem is that to find something I know is there, I search and find something else I had forgotten about and forget what I was searching for in the first place! Ahhh, I just love all this stuff.
Woodie
____________________
Go ahead, make my day!
|
|
|
| Posted: Sat Jul 28th, 2012 02:12 pm |
|
6th Post |
rogerssantafe
| Joined: | Sat Feb 11th, 2012 |
| Location: | Texas USA |
| Posts: | 40 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
|
I must be a collector. Whenever someone brings a box of "stuff" over, I add it to my "collection". To paraphrase the old Broadway show song-"I'm just a guy who can't say no". The only problem is that to find something I know is there, I search and find something else I had forgotten about and forget what I was searching for in the first place! Ahhh, I just love all this stuff.
Woodie
Woodie,
Isn't that what defines being a model railroader.
Roger
____________________
Roger
Post Oak & Otter Lake RR
Coyote Ridge RR
|
|
|
| Posted: Sat Jul 28th, 2012 02:56 pm |
|
7th Post |
W C Greene
Super Moderator
| Joined: | Fri May 4th, 2007 |
| Location: | Dallas, Texas USA |
| Posts: | 5091 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
|
Roger-I see that you have the same "illness"...
Woodie
____________________
Go ahead, make my day!
|
|
|
Current time is 07:53 pm | |
|
|
|
