Your wheels look great and that “wood” filament is next level.
1 Like
This is my first time trying to work with brass rod to PLA.
I’ve found a few ways that did not work.
- drills were either too large or too small for the rod.
- round files kept getting stuck
Finally I attached the rod to a drill and spun it up with just enough speed to widen the hole by melting the PLA.
BINGO!
Now it’s time to figure out how to cut the rod flat.
And do more [Research].(Railroad Handcar History Photographs)
2 Likes
I spun the axle rod at high speed to create friction and drill a perfect fit for the wheels.
I then mounted a pinion wheel on the drive axle.
It was quite fiddly getting the connecting rod fit the gearing and I ended up reprinting and resizing the connector 3 times. I used Hollywood’s recommendation of canopy glue to hold things in place as it works it way in by capillary action, and dries clear without stringing.
I used Devon’s recommendation of pins to look like rivets/bolts and to hold the mechanism in place on the decking.
Video 
Nice looking hand car, Bill. Will this be a working or static model. Any advice on printing with the wood PLA? I have some, but I’ve never used it.
1 Like
Thanks Dan,
The handcar rolls, but this will be a static display. It will need beefing up and require some animated figures for running purposes.
No real advice to impart. It printed well. The wood PLA seems to have adhered quite well to the regular PLA.
I would say that you need to distress the surface to get anything resembling wood. I did 7 layers on top (actually the bottom, as I printed the hand car upside down) as I am using a textured base plate. Thats allowed me to scrape with a saw, gouge the surface then sand with 80 grit sandpaper.
As you can see it looks unimpressive post print, and had minor stringing issues.
I’ve recently purchased matt PLA by polymaker and suspect it would be as just as good as wood PLA at a much lower price. So far I have not had any clogging issues as some report using wood.
1 Like
Thanks for the info, Bill. You did a good job on the texturing. Not sure why I bought the wood PLA in the first place, but I’ll get around to using it one day.
You still have time to order some hand power without blowing the MIK budget. I’m thinking the jump rope teddy bear might work.
Your hand car is looking great.
Watching the video you attached had me thinking how simple a real hand car is and how Bachmann had to complicate theirs to the point that most fail?
1 Like
I’m working on car 2 and have run into some printer trouble getting good results with the embossing so I’ve switched to engraving with better results.
My Prusa Slic3r update allows me to emboss, but I’ve had trouble getting detail.
This looks a little better, I’m wondering if I can fill the engraving with paint or putty and sand down.
Would love some advice.
1 Like
Paint or putty in the engraving would work, I have done that before and have had good results. Your engraving looks plenty deep you should have no problem sanding the extra off, use a sanding block would help, I have several in my shop that i glued the sand paper to wood blocks. I have several different size blocks and a couple dowels for round holes or radius.
I like the putty idea Mark. I have epoxy putty but I think that would be overkill. What sort of putty would you recommend?
I like the fill idea as well. In real life, the lettering would have been painted onto a large fabricated surface, or made as raised lettering on a smaller casting that gets riveted on.
The negative lettering, filled with white enamel, epoxy, etc., then sanded flush, would give a clean and very durable result I’d think.
Or, you might make a separate “builders plate” and orient it (in the printer) with its raised lettering pointing upward. If you print mounting holes, you can match-drill the boiler and secure with pins & glue.
2 cents…
1 Like
I think an epoxy would be more durable, color would depend on what color you are going to paint the boiler.
If my experience counts and with you being down under I’m gonna go with this as it’s kinda universally available ( I believe)
However this is only my thoughts …oh and the stuff smells great in an enclosed area…I love that stuff!
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Bondo-4-5-oz-Glazing-and-Spot-Putty-0907/203418234
To Rooster’s point it’s a great product. But I don’t think it dries white…?
Mark,
I’ve over invested in coloured filament. So I probably will go darker. It looks like that blue colour called gun metal blue currently. The bottom was galaxy silver and the main part gentleman’s grey. Both looked good on the spool, but will get replaced on the final print with something more suitable. Then sprayed with a matted finish. I’ll look for a brass paint for the valves, I think.
Bill,
I asked Alexa (not really) I asked David Russell’s mental conversion table and thoughts.
I see Bunnings is popular down there but what you need is a Spot Putty/ Glazing in a tube.
Some dry pink some dry green and yes some dry WHITE ??? Who cares about the color cause they make paint and sharpies. I wouldn’t lead you wrong but I’m no professional on anything.
NOR do I want to anger the villagers! Been down that road before.
The script is about a size 10 font. I might try embossing again at a slower rate, but head to Bunnings or an automotive shop and give this a run. (If I don’t use it, I hope I don’t get penalised Dave.)
Does Bondo keep well in the tube or does its lifespan drop once opened?
Today’s Update.
Last night I had to mount this cam on a toothpick to trim the brim away
The crank shaft needed the supports removed and I was worried about filing the shaft flat, so I eventually mounted it on my drill and rotated it as I filed the area for attachment of the cam. That worked quite well.
I keep seeing the advantage of resin, but I’m so invested in filament, yet jealous of what Al is able to obtain.
I keep telling myself “3 meter 10 foot rule”.
Yes, it does and I model with the 10’ rule myself.