12-21-2012, 10:33 PM
You can make a simple jig for forming the pipe radiators. Draw some parallel straight lines on a board, spacing them the same distance apart as the coils you want. Drive some finishing nails at the ends of the lines (or at whatever length of coil you require) and then simply follow the lines with some soft brass wire of suitable diameter. You may have to use pliers to hand-form each bend where the pipe folds back on itself, but you could also place short lengths of suitably-sized brass tubing over the finishing nails, and form the bends around them.
The pipe hangers are pretty easy to do, too. Once the coil has been formed, pin it so that the pipes within the coil will remain parallel while you add the hangers. I find ordinary dressmakers pins, pushed into 1/4" sheet balsa work well.
Form a tight "U" from flat brass bar. I usually use Detail Associates .010"x.030" or .010"x.018", and first draw a length of bar through some fine sandpaper to remove any dirt or oxidation, as you'll eventually be soldering this . Form the bottom curve of the "U" around wire of the same diameter as that used on the cooling coil and leave the uprights of the "U" at least twice as long as the coil is high.
Next, slip the "U" onto the lowest pipe in the coil, with one upright under all of the other pipes and the other upright over. Using suitable pliers (I have small ones with smooth jaws and chisel-like tips) place one jaw against the bottom (speaking as if the coil were on the loco) of the "U", then bring the other jaw down so that it forces the brass bar down into the area between adjacent pipes, and forms the material around the lowermost pipe. Repeat these actions as you work your way to the top of the coil, then apply flux and solder the front part of the bracket to the rear part, trapping the pipes. If your pipe was cleaned before bending, the bracket will be soldered to the cooling coil as well.
After all of the brackets have been soldered, remove the coil from the holding fixture and determine how low the coil needs to hang beneath the loco's running board. Bend the remaining un-used portions of the "U"'s uprights to 90° at the appropriate spot, trim off the excess material and affix them to the underside of the running board.
While not an illustrated step-by-step, there are some photos of pipe brackets made using this method HERE.
Wayne
The pipe hangers are pretty easy to do, too. Once the coil has been formed, pin it so that the pipes within the coil will remain parallel while you add the hangers. I find ordinary dressmakers pins, pushed into 1/4" sheet balsa work well.
Form a tight "U" from flat brass bar. I usually use Detail Associates .010"x.030" or .010"x.018", and first draw a length of bar through some fine sandpaper to remove any dirt or oxidation, as you'll eventually be soldering this . Form the bottom curve of the "U" around wire of the same diameter as that used on the cooling coil and leave the uprights of the "U" at least twice as long as the coil is high.
Next, slip the "U" onto the lowest pipe in the coil, with one upright under all of the other pipes and the other upright over. Using suitable pliers (I have small ones with smooth jaws and chisel-like tips) place one jaw against the bottom (speaking as if the coil were on the loco) of the "U", then bring the other jaw down so that it forces the brass bar down into the area between adjacent pipes, and forms the material around the lowermost pipe. Repeat these actions as you work your way to the top of the coil, then apply flux and solder the front part of the bracket to the rear part, trapping the pipes. If your pipe was cleaned before bending, the bracket will be soldered to the cooling coil as well.
After all of the brackets have been soldered, remove the coil from the holding fixture and determine how low the coil needs to hang beneath the loco's running board. Bend the remaining un-used portions of the "U"'s uprights to 90° at the appropriate spot, trim off the excess material and affix them to the underside of the running board.
While not an illustrated step-by-step, there are some photos of pipe brackets made using this method HERE.
Wayne