So for the MIK challenge I donated a set of metal trucks. This is the second version of my foray into casting metal trucks. The idea is an early wooden arch bar. My first design had cast in bolt heads and cast in springs. I did not like them at all. The detail just wasn’t there. So I remade half the mold with eliminated the springs. Now I still have the molded bolt heads but I just filed them all off when cleaning up the flash. In their place I uses on top 00-9 brass bolts and on the bottom 11mm wire threaded and then screwed on a 00-9 brass nut. I then drilled a hole and glued them in. The picture doesn’t show the bottoms but the detail looks much better. Also I used a fish hook to get the eyebolts for chaining the trucks to the car. The springs are just coild wire and then glued in. I like the design much better. Still not perfect but I think it will be a great truck for the bulk of my fleet. with metal wheels the set weighs in at a pound. They are cast pewter.

Nice. I’ll take 1 set to try out. How much $$ ? (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)

Actually Joe if your serious we maybe able to make a deal. This set is for John for winning the First Timers award. I also have a second set that is cast and partially assembled. Those are going to Travis for the cost of a pound of pewter ($20). It takes roughly 3/4 of a pound t make a set but the metal comes in 1# ingots from Roto metals. So my profit is 1/4 of metal. These guys are going to beta test them for me. I mean I know what I like and dislike about them and how they fit my needs. I am curious about how others feel about them and what there likes and dislikes are so I can improve the design. There is quite a bit of time involved in pouring, cleaning, assembling, and detailing them. Not to mention the price of hardware.

If people are serious about wanting a set to play with I am willing to make a limited amount of them so that people can use them and give me feed back. I don’t think I want to go into production making trucks. First these are not to a point of quality that I would sell for profit. Second I am still tweaking. Third I have way to many other projects I need to spend the hours on. But for development purposes I would part with a few. I think for it to be worth it for me I would want $30.00 a set. These sets would not include the wheel sets. They would be as seen above. That would cover my metal and hardware costs and give me the profit of extra metal for my own trucks.

I don’t think I would want to do more than one set per person and I would say not more than ten sets total. And time would have to be on my schedule.

One thing I will be doing before I go any further is making a new mold. I made this one using a low temp silicone rubber and the mold is rapidly deteriorating. I have only made three viable sets. They don’t like to pour well until the mold gets very hot. So a high temp rubber is in order. I expected this and new I would face this problem soon enough.

In the new mold the frames will be sans hardware so I can install them like I did above. Also the whole truck I think needs to be narrowed a bit so the top and bottom bolster need to be a tad shorter. Travis and John will find out why when they get theirs. The frames need to be bent in a little to much for my liking to keep the wheel sets from falling out.

Are you making your springs with pliers?

I made thousand of identical rings by winding soft wire around drill shanks. Springs can be made the same way, they just are cut off in sections vs. individually. I used double round jaw pliers to create a dimple in the wire. When chucked in a jacobs chuck the dimple was under one jaw. That would hold one end of the wire and the drill in place. Turning the drill slowly and wearing leather finger cots…

I would press the wire tight to the rod and wind up to just under the flutes. Depending on your bits’ length, you might get 2-3 springs per winding. Cots were real handy at the end of the wire. Having been cut with dykes, the wires have hard wicked sharp ends … with lack of leverage the ends tend to stick out. You’ve been warned, use a folder stick!

Cut them apart with a separating disc and stretch slightly to show off coils.

John

That’s a great idea. I actually am winding them around my needle file. But doing it the way your talking would be a great way to go. You could even use just a metal rod chucked in the drill.

Devon Sinsley said:

Actually Joe if your serious we maybe able to make a deal. This set is for John for winning the First Timers award. I also have a second set that is cast and partially assembled. Those are going to Travis for the cost of a pound of pewter ($20). It takes roughly 3/4 of a pound t make a set but the metal comes in 1# ingots from Roto metals. So my profit is 1/4 of metal. These guys are going to beta test them for me. I mean I know what I like and dislike about them and how they fit my needs. I am curious about how others feel about them and what there likes and dislikes are so I can improve the design. There is quite a bit of time involved in pouring, cleaning, assembling, and detailing them. Not to mention the price of hardware.

If people are serious about wanting a set to play with I am willing to make a limited amount of them so that people can use them and give me feed back. I don’t think I want to go into production making trucks. First these are not to a point of quality that I would sell for profit. Second I am still tweaking. Third I have way to many other projects I need to spend the hours on. But for development purposes I would part with a few. I think for it to be worth it for me I would want $30.00 a set. These sets would not include the wheel sets. They would be as seen above. That would cover my metal and hardware costs and give me the profit of extra metal for my own trucks.

I don’t think I would want to do more than one set per person and I would say not more than ten sets total. And time would have to be on my schedule.

Devon,

That seems fair enough. Please put me on your schedule. (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-smile.gif)

OK Joe,

Be patient with me. But at the same time don’t let me forget. I need to order some metal and some rubber and then I will have to form up a new mold. This will have to be a lower priority project but I will fit it in. When I have it done we can revisit the whole thing and go from there.

Nice - I’m looking forward to seeing them in person. Still trying to decide what they will be used under - Maybe a Composite Boxcar that has been on the to-do list for many years. But then again, these are probably earlier than a composite car. Maybe a scratch built wood hopper early EBT style…

Devon’s trucks arrived early last week. I added some wheels and mounted them to a test beam and ran them around teh indoor layout. They look great and track well too. They are quite heavy being cast pewter. I’m still not sure how or where I will use them, but they are a great addition to my parts supply for future builds. Here are a few quick pics…

Thanks for posting those. I am making another set and toyed with adding a nylon bushing for the wheel journals. I think I like the addition. They seem smoother and creates a shorter surface area for the axle to ride on. It helps with spacing as well. I have to get some hi temp rubber. I think I am ready for longer lasting mold.

Wowzers! those look great!!!