THANK YOU for these tips with styrene! I WILL remember them as I do have big styrene projects planned. (Think New Haven electrics on American Model GG1 chassis.)
As for THIS steeplecab, I used the brass roof. I put a lot of time into bending that roof. I might as well use it. I did discover my father's American Beauty resistance soldering rig is almost useless. It consists of a probe and a ground clip. I could not concentrate the heat where I need it. (Also I need a much longer, probe.) Before he purchased it, he purchase a pair of resistance soldering tweezers. (These do not have a brand name -- just a transformer, leads, and the insulated tweezer unit which include the switch.) That tool has been solid gold. I have constructed most of the unit using these. Before that I was using a 35 watt gen-u-whine soldering iron. This Radio Shack special is NOT my normal, beloved, temperature controlled, professional grade Weller at 850 degrees. The Radio Shack takes 30 minutes to get hot enough for these big jobs. I will not use a torch as I do not have a micro flame and will not run it indoors anyway. The professional Weller is for electronics and much too small. Meanwhile, the soldering tweezers are in an out in less than 5 seconds. ___________________________ I have figured out the pantograph mounting. I use aluminum insulators for cosmetics. These rest on top of a wooden platform. I add four little 'legs' of brass wire to the bottom of the pantograph. These plug into holes in three of the four insulators. The fourth insulator is drilled out to accept 1/16 inch brass tubing. This extends into the car to provide the electric pickup. So the pantograph leg goes into the brass tube inside the insulator. The insulator sits on the wood platform. The brass tube goes through the platform and through the roof. So far this is just my normal pantograph installation. I will put a larger hole into this roof. I will shove a plastic tube over the brass tube, up through the roof, and resting on the bottom of the wooden platform. Now everything is insulated either by the wooden platform or the plastic tubing. This mounting technique is a lot of work but it allows the pantograph to roll off the car if it hits something or gets snagged. The only thing damaged is my pride. Thorin --- In [email protected], Pieter Roos <pieter_r...@...> wrote: > > Oops, should have changed the subject line. A good reminder for all to be > sure the subject line reflects the topic in the body of the message! > > Pieter E. Roos > > > --- On Sun, 1/9/11, Pieter <pieter_r...@...> wrote: > > Or fasten it around something, > > metalic or not, and dip in boiling water for a few minites, > > ehich is the same thing since it is the hot water doing the > > work in the micro wave oven. > > > > Pieter Roos > > > > Sent from my iPhone > > > > On Jan 9, 2011, at 9:09 AM, Charles Weston <rotary...@...> > > wrote: > > > > Thorin, > > > > If you can find something non-metallic to match the curve > > of the roof you can wrap the styrene around and secure with > > rubber bands or something, you can nuke it in a pan of water > > in the microwave for a few minutes. Let it cool and it > > should hold the shape. Laminating with solvent cement > > can sometimes cause styrene deformation down the road. > > > > Charles Weston > > > > --- On Sun, 1/9/11, Thorin <lagt...@...> > > wrote: > > > ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
