Large Scale Central

Wheel painting jig

I’m always looking for a way to do things faster. I had tried having a wheel painting jig laser cut in the past. It worked OK, but I felt like I could do better. A while back, I had this printed at Shapeways:

I cast four copies, and then made a new mold, which produced this:

Here’s what it looks like with wheels mounted:

And the finished wheel:

Great Idea! But why cast them? Why not just have them printed? Is casting that much cheaper? Are you selling them?

It is cheaper to cast. It also takes a little fine tuning to get the flange depth right (see the styrene shims on the original), so I only wanted to do that once.

I could sell them, but they are made specifically for Gary Raymond #1 scale 36" wheels.

Burl Rice said:

It is cheaper to cast. It also takes a little fine tuning to get the flange depth right (see the styrene shims on the original), so I only wanted to do that once.

I could sell them, but they are made specifically for Gary Raymond #1 scale 36" wheels.

Funny, I was thinking those shims were an integral part of the design but I couldn’t figure why. I think I’ll make some of these for myself. I have a few different size wheels but also a 3d printer so I’m quite certain it will be cheaper than casting (for me). Thanks for the idea! Beats using blue painter tape!

Burl Rice said:

I’m always looking for a way to do things faster.

Me too

I put some tape on the axle ends, so I don’t gum up the journals. Then I just spray paint the wheels and axles. After an hour of running on the railroad, the treads are paint free.

I would do the same thing if I wasn’t using ball bearings.

Does that make a difference? I have been putting ball bearings in my USA truck’s journals.

I think he means with the bearings the paint won’t wear off the tread as fast?

I’m thinking it doesn’t matter so much if there is paint on the end of the axle if you are using bearings.

I was only talking about the ends.

Maybe this will make more sense:

So I took both ideas and came up with this.

Wheel Mask

Printed with Makerflex filament so no need for rubber bands. These are Bachmann Large.