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Re: Who Makes this HO Scale Steam Engine

Bob I can't help identify your loco but I would like to offer a solution to your problem. Instead of trying to fix the gear back in place ream the hole out so that its a free wheeling fit on the axle. Then between the bottom of the teeth on the gear and the axle, cross drill the gear so that you can fit a short piece of steel wire. Cross drill the axle either side of the gear and fit 2 pieces of wire , thus making a basic "driving dog", This system works very well with cheaper motors as when changing direction the motor begins to rotate without load before engaging.

gear wheel __ _ __I I___ wire ______I_I______ _______________axle I I I I wire / I_I \ wire

Reply to
Les Pickstock
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Les:

Great Idea! (and a pretty nice drawing too) I'm not quite sure that I have enough room to work that out, but maybe...

My problem is that the axel is a little less than 1/8 inch diam. (Slightly less than 3 mm.) and the smallest drill I have is 1/16th. Also, the collar on the gear butts up against a small nylon bushing on each side, If I drill the axel, vertically, the wires will scrape the bushings. I might be able to drill diagonally through both the gear collar and the axel and run a small wire through that.

I wonder, if that doesn't work, if I could cut out a small keyway on the axel and a small groove inside the axel hole of the gear, and install a tiny key that would hold it in place. The crack in the gear, between two teeth, is kind of the killer. Too much torque and the crack opens up causing the gear to be loose on the shaft. If the key is too small the gear would ride over the key and if I make it too large, it weakens the already weak gear and it might break in two. I tried Krazy Glue but it wouldn't hold on the plastic or nylon or whatever material the gear is made from.

It really isn't a very expensive piece of equipment. It is cheaply made but has a nice look to it. The fun is in trying to figure out a way to make it work again.

Reply to
Bob Fasick

Nylon or Acetal are pretty tricky to deal with. There are engineering Cyano Acrylate adhesives specially formulated to hold them in place but I don't know if they'd repair the crack. If your'e drilling plastics I've found Guitar strings, cut into short lengths, can be used as drills when held in a pin chuck. The key way is a good idea. If you can get one of the wheel off without ruining the axle set you could perhaps find a replacement gear with a grub screw. However you do it I agree that there a lot of fun to be had taking a semi toy and making a resonable model from it. I bought a Model Power diesel switcher which was very toy like with a little work it was made into a smashing model which is probably my best runner. Good luck

Reply to
Les Pickstock

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