It's been a long time....

[doctorwayne]

BEAUTY, EH?    

I think that bil would have got a kick outa those boxcars.

Wayne

[tetters]

   
   

20 boxcars.
68 #79 holes on 11.
72 #79 holes on 9. (two extra grabs on each to match prototype photos I found later on.)
1,396 #79 drilled holes in total...if my math is right?  

Drilling the holes for the last six I'm working on I managed to break four bits.  I got lucky and was able to extract all the broken tips without having to resort to drastic measures.  The shavings on my cutting mat are just a small amount of what was left when I was finished as I was constantly cleaning my work area.

This is a major milestone to me.  I was dreading building the remaining lot until a couple nights ago I just bit the bullet and got started.  Still have to install the grabs and there are extra details I want to add but man, am I glad that step is DONE!!!

A celebratory drink is in order!  Cheers my friends!

[doctorwayne]

Bin there, dun that, and a bunch more to do, too.   Slainte Shane!

Wayne

[Schraddel]

Hello,

a very loud praise for the work you have done






But no pity for the way it was done. My suggestion for the next long dozen car kits and to avoid the danger of tenosynovitis:





Note the white box left side in the background.


The drill is powered by an old modelrailroad transformer. So you can adjust the rpm's so low, that the styrene plastic will not melted and the drill bits are lasting longer.

my 2 €ent


Lutz

[tetters]

That's quite the set up Lutz.  If you don't mind my asking...How much did it cost though?

It's nice you have a tool that makes life easier.  I definately would've have appreciated it if I had one myself.  Thanks for the idea though.  Definately something to keep in mind for future bulk kit builds.  

What I could really use in the near future is a good pair of wire nippers for phosphor bronze wire Tichy provides for the grabs.  Preferably a pair with hardened jaws that won't go dull or start to show nicks after several cuts.  I keep meaning to get some and the old Xuron rail cutter I've been making due with needs to be retired after much abuse.

[doctorwayne]

....What I could really use in the near future is a good pair of wire nippers for phosphor bronze wire Tichy provides for the grabs....

Shane, are you bending the grabirons yourself, using Tichy's phosphor-bronze wire, or using their pre-formed ones?
On closed cars, I simply add a spacer between the grabirons and the body shell, then press the wire tight to the spacer, and use the backside of a #11 blade in an X-Acto handle to fold-over the wire protruding into the car.

With the spacer still in-place, but not touching the grabs at the points where they enter the bodyshell, I use an old #11 blade (in a handle, of course) to apply ca inside the car at each place where the wires come through.  (If the spacer touches the grabs where they enter the bodyshell, the ca will wick-out and cement the spacer in-place, too.)

The same procedure can be used on open cars, too, but after the ca has hardened, I simply slip the old blade between the bodyshell and the bent-over portion of each grabiron, then straighten (or overstraighten) the protruding portion of the wire until it fatigues and breaks-off.

On the other hand, if you wish to bend your grabirons from the Tichy wire, and then cut the bent portions to a particular length, an easy way to do so is by using the heel of an older number 11 blade.
Place the grabiron, upside down, on a hard surface (I use a sheet of glass), then, while restraining the portion you wish to keep, using a fingertip or two, press the heel of the blade firmly at the point where you want to make the cuts.  Those portions usually fly off somewhere, never to be seen again, although I usually find most of them, and simply toss the remnants into a disposable plastic container (the bubble portion from a Krazy Glue package is my usual go-to).  After I get a pretty good collection of metal bits (old staples, removed from paper items before it goes into the recycling bin can be added, too), I pour in some A-West "Blacken-It" or even some gun-bluing solution, and in a couple of days, have a well-rusted load of scrap for a gondola.

For cutting most small diameter wire, I prefer the old X-Acto blade-on-glass method.  It will also work on some thicker types of wire, including not-overly-thick piano wire.  To make cuts with the thicker (or harder small wire), I place a strip of masking tape on the glass, then use the heel of the blade to roll the wire back and forth, until it wears its way through - take care to ensure the cut-off piece doesn't leave the scene of the crime.

Wayne

[tompm]

I am impressed. I think I would have lost my mind at some point with the drilling.

Lutz - I am always amazed at the ingenuity of model railroads and their solutions to problems. That is a great set-up.

[Schraddel]

That's quite the set up Lutz.  If you don't mind my asking...How much did it cost though?

It's nice you have a tool that makes life easier.  I definately would've have appreciated it if I had one myself.  Thanks for the idea though.  Definately something to keep in mind for future bulk kit builds.  

What I could really use in the near future is a good pair of wire nippers for phosphor bronze wire Tichy provides for the grabs.  Preferably a pair with hardened jaws that won't go dull or start to show nicks after several cuts.  I keep meaning to get some and the old Xuron rail cutter I've been making due with needs to be retired after much abuse.

Hello,

these Micromot mini drills are about 40-50 USD (ebay.com). It is better to buy the version with drill chuck.
You do not need the expensive Proxxon transformer. Here a old modelrailroad transformer with controllable DC outlet is better. Connect the mini drill to the outlets for rail. So you will be able to reduce the speed of the mini drill twice. At first with the speed controller in the mini drill itself and then second by the adjustable transformer outlet. This enables the pretty low rpm's you will need.


For wire cutters:

The left one is a new from Xuron. It will cut only cutting flush at his very tips.
The middle one and the right one are electronic cutters from Belzer. They have withstand the test of time and were used over 40 years. But sadly Belzer tool with their far superior quality is no more. If you got a second hand occasion snatch the offer.





As replacement i purchased this Knipex flush cutter. This makes really flush cuts. But only for soft wire. Plastics, brass no problem, but bronze is marginal. For harder wire a piano wire cutter is the far better choice.

my 2 €ents


Lutz

[jim currie]

Lutz this is a bit late for the box cars this time but Tichy now has a drill guide that fits there box car/ refer kits . as for flush cutters i took a pair of high end dikes and put a carbide cutter in my little mill and milled one side flat cuts real flat  will do .020 music wire haven't tried thicker.

[tetters]

I've been busy a busy beaver...  The boxcars are ready for the final coat of dullcoat.  Then I can place them into revenue service.  The tanks are ready to be weathered and then the dullcoat applied to them. I just painted 10 sets of trucks and wheels for all of them.  (The wheels are off camera.)  I also applied the first colour coat to three more of the box cars I'm working on.  Whew!!!

   

[Tyson Rayles]

[tetters]

Adding some extra details.  

Based on a drawing from the CPHA website I obtained of the USRA clones used by CP I've decided I'm going to attempt to add some extra detail to the last six boxcars I have to finish building.  The retainer valve and pipe on the B end and on both ends, cut levers and a stirrup step on the ladder side of the car ends.  I like the asymmetrical look this gives the car so far.  It took me awhile to do this one end, however now that I know how to approach it, the remaining cars shouldn't take me as long...I hope... 

   

Finished up the other end this evening.  The A end is made "easier" because there is no retaining valve and its piping...yeah...easier.

   

Put another clip up on YouTube.  Another roll by but this time with fully weathered and finished rolling stock.  Bil's LS&W makes an appearance in the consist looking extra filthy due to the bags of powdered flux they carry into Kootenays.  Flux is in high demand as it keeps saw blades at the Lumber Mill 3% sharper and just a sprinkling on the forest floor helps the Douglas Fir trees grow 3% taller as well.  Word has it the distillery is looking to season it's barrels with food grade flux as it will boost the alcohol content in their award winning whiskey by 3%.  Cheers!

https://youtu.be/s_Rs4kQ-f2c

[tetters]

Back to the drawing board ...sorta.

The Delrin stirrup rungs kept "breaking" off.  Just the slightest tap and they'd fly off into parts unknown.  As much as I liked the look of them an alternate solution needed to be had.  Thankfully, I have a small inventory of pre-bent 18" straight grabs and decided to use them instead.  Couple of small holes drilled into the bottom of the Murphy end and viola!  I'm pretty sure these will hold up much better and I'm also satisfied with how they look too.  This particular boxcar is my prototype for the next five.  So warts and all this one is how I learn to do the rest of them.

Now, onto the undercarriage and brake details for this one.

   

[doctorwayne]

Back to the drawing board ...sorta.

The Delrin stirrup rungs kept "breaking" off....

I'm guessing that "breaking" means that they're not staying put, rather than actually breaking off.
 
LePage has a super glue meant for engineering plastics.  It's a two-part offering, with one being ca, and the other an "activator". 
The activator is similar to a marker pen, and you simply rub it on both of the parts to be joined. 

In your case, it would be possible to apply it only onto the mounting pins on the Delrin steps.  Allow it to dry for about 60 seconds, then apply ca to only one of the parts, and put it in place.
 
I'd suggest putting the ca on the mounting pegs of the steps or, alternatively (and likely neater), installing the prepped and dried steps, then applying the ca to the area where they enter the mounting holes - the ca should be drawn into the joints by capillary action. 
I use the tip of an old #11 X-Acto blade (in its handle) as an applicator...I simply place a small puddle of ca on my glass work surface, then dip the tip into it to pick up a small amount.  Touch the blade to one side of each mounting peg, then to each opposite side of the same peg - this draws the ca completely around the peg, insuring a tighter fit

The ca is in a 2ml "squeeze tube", while the activator is in a 4ml container, and will work with any ca.  I got mine at Canadian Tire, and it seems to do the trick.

I disliked Delrin sill steps for the same reason, although if you can drill holes to create a really good friction fit, they'll stay in place fairly well. 
I'm currently rebuilding a couple of hoppers that I modified almost 20 years ago, following an article in RMC.  I had always thought that they turned out rather well, but re-reading the article and looking more closely at the photos of the real ones, I can see so many places where improvements should be made.
 
For these cars, I used two-rung Delrin sill steps from Tichy, and was fortunate to get a good fit, applying ca after they were in place.  To re-work the two cars, I had to remove some of the added details (one of the cars got dropped, and removed some of its own details, including parts that could have otherwise remained).

Because I was planning to re-work the car's sidesills, the Delrin steps had to be removed, too.  While I could have simply cut them off, I used a pair of smooth-jawed pliers to carefully grasp each one, and without breaking or distorting any of them, all were removed without incident.  

When I re-install them on those two cars (and on the other ten on which I'm currently working), I'll use the prep, as even if your drill bit is exactly the correct size for the mounting pins, chances are the pin vise will not always remain perpendicular to the work-surface as the holes are drilled, usually resulting in a few loose fits.

Here's one of the two originals...

   

   

Wayne

[tetters]

That's precisely it Wayne.  Not staying put is a lot more accurate.  I've decided against them as I'm also a bit of klutz.  I have a habit of dropping things and being rough with my stuff..which is never good in this hobby.  So the brass rungs are going to be better (for me at least) in the long run. 
The more I look at them the more I like how they look too.  That said, I'll keep that adhesive LePage offers in mind though as I can see it coming in handy for other applications in the near future.  

I just finished Installing the doors, and just started.working on the brake details.  I might get this one together before the of today.

This one build I've decided will round out the car numbers.  As I've decided to model based off this prototype photo.