Daktah John said:
Very nice Travis. How are you bending the brass hold downs? I have a bunch of similar cars 1/2 built. I got stuck on not being able to get a clean looking bend for this part and ended up shelving the project.
Think I will cut the brass and solder in place!
Travis log cars look great. I like to order hex screws and washers from micro fasteners and use them for the details. You can get a bog of them for a decent price.
I may not have properly described the part I’m having trouble with. It is the bent straps tat go over the cross beams on each end.
Daktah John said:
I may not have properly described the part I’m having trouble with. It is the bent straps tat go over the cross beams on each end.
I may be wrong but…those straps look soldered to me where they attach to the main beams. The part that goes over the crossbeam certainly look as though they were bent…
However
You could try heating the brass strip (annealing) to a red colour and then bend when cooled in a vise (or when really still hot if you can manage it without scorching your hands!).
If you cannot finish in one go…reheat and move to next bend.
It was the only way I could bend the top of a pannier tank in rollers to its correct curvature for a 5" steamer…
Daktah John, I took the brass strips I cut to length i needed and the marked off with a pencil. I then clamped them in a vice I then bent to the angle I needed. No heat needed or soldering done…
Thanks for all the great comments guys… I bought some K&S brass strips today… (all they had). I am going to make some changes to the next set of cars I build from prototypes I have looked up. should be a little more detailed looking… I am really having fun with this project even tho I don’t have a logging operation or layout as far as that goes. Thinking of maybe selling some of these later down the road…
That clears that up!
Thanks Travis.(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)
No problem Ross. The brass strips I use is easily bent when clamped in a vice…
Thanks Travis. I tried hand bending mine and wasn’t happy with the consistency of my results. I tried making a jig, but failed there too. My next attempt was to build a stamp which never got done and the project stalled.
Lots of info etc. over here on my prototype discussion and build thread from 2011.
I have a hand held brake, and a seaming tool, both purchased from Lowe’s. With those tools I can get a sharp bend, without them, not so much.
Dave where do you find those at Lowe’s?
Travis, I found the bending tool (hand brake) in the roofing department. I am not sure if the seaming tool was there or not. It should have been, but I don’t remember. Lowe’s website isn’t showing me either of those tools, but that is no surprise.
Google to the rescue. The hand brake, and get the extra set of jaws for it so you have the longer jaws.
http://www.lowes.com/pd_499096-205-85028_0__?productId=50041662
The seaming tool, is not from the Lowe’s site, so maybe I bought it elsewhere. I have had this tool for a while, so I do not remember for sure.
SEAMING TOOL.
KLEIN TOOLS ILLINOIS
CAT #Cat. No. 86553 http://www.kleintools.com/search/SEAMING
See their website for distributors.
Finished these up tonite after work. A little different than the ones earlier in the post, not much tho. These are going to someone that I traded a Christmas handcar and a few other things in g-scale…
Thanks Guys for the info on the hand brake tool…
I DO like those…
Very nice! I have a hand brake (as well as a finger brake and a 10 foot brake) at work. Maybe I should try that method. I only need 16 for now.
MicroMark sells a small hobby one for $38.
http://www.micromark.com/mini-bending-brake,6702.html
I’ve thought about buying one, but I don’t work all that much with brass, or metal for that matter.
That Micro Mark “brake” costs about $18 postal charge to the UK …if UK members are interested.
The cheapest I have found in the UK is £48 ($70 apprx).
Travis, I would like mine medium rare. (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)
Ken, I find that the best for representing metal is, ah, metal. So I have a few metal working tools. I don’t have a large brake, the larger hand brake, from Lowe’s, does pretty much all I need to do. I find that scrap metal from drink cans, spray paint cans, paint thinner cans and such, usually supplies my needs for metals and the stuff is free. After all, I bought the can for the contents, and once the contents are used up, I have the left over can, ready to be turned into the next train related bit.