Atlas Rivarossi 0-8-0 redo

[timwatson]

Max you're on! I'll plan on making 2.

(I bought the brass yesterday - hehe)
I wish the hardware store K&S box displays carried the special shapes. I need the L angle brass - but I'm going to try to build it without. We will see.

p.s. I'm not building anything as stout as that 2mm jig. That thing is a behemoth.

[timwatson]

OK ya'll I've got some progress on the quarterer and gear aligner (I gotta think of a new name).


Drive quartering jig and gear aligner by nScaleRail, on Flickr


Drive quartering jig and gear aligner by nScaleRail, on Flickr

The troublesome part is proving to be the bit that holds the gear in place. I had to redesign that. Part of it is the strange _[ ]_ shaped piece you see in the first photo (corner). Please feel free to send any constructive thoughts or comments.

[mmagliaro]

Wow.  Cool work, Tim.
Let's put aside the gear align for a moment.  How does this thing work?
It looks like you would turn one driver so the crankpin hole is exposed through that slot,
and then put a pin in there to hold it.  Okay.  Then what?  What does the other side
look like?  How do you turn the other driver exactly 90 degrees?

Thanks for taking this on.  You realize that a usable N Scale quartering tool is one
of the "Holy Grails" of N Scale, right?    This will be amazing if you can make it work.

[bbussey]

...The troublesome part is proving to be the bit that holds the gear in place. I had to redesign that. Part of it is the strange _[ ]_ shaped piece you see in the first photo (corner). Please feel free to send any constructive thoughts or comments.

You're talking about the hanging part above that dropped in between the gear teeth?  Instead of that, why not just turn the two inner plates into a clamp to hold the gear firmly in place, with the two outer plates having some float so you can adjust the wheels as needed?

Wow.  Cool work, Tim.
Let's put aside the gear align for a moment.  How does this thing work?
It looks like you would turn one driver so the crankpin hole is exposed through that slot,
and then put a pin in there to hold it.  Okay.  Then what?  What does the other side
look like?  How do you turn the other driver exactly 90 degrees?

The other side has "M" slots, so the wheel can be quartered at 90 degrees in one of the legs of the "M" and a leveling bar (the zero-degree adjuster) that sits in the other leg of the "M" to guarantee the 90 degrees.  Took me a while to figure it out from the diagram also.  I think, Tim, you might need another slot (so it looks like an M l cutout) to account for both pins in the adjuster and insure it is level.

[mmagliaro]

Ok, I looked at the diagram again.

Doesn't that mean that you need a whole set of outside plates with the "M" cut in them to accomodate
 drivers of various diameters?   In fact, while we're at it, would you need different plates
on both sides to accomodate different axle diameters?

[bbussey]

It appears he's using the "V" cutout in both outside plates to accommodate different axle diameters.

[timwatson]

I don't need to comment at all you guys have figured it out.

Bryan has it pretty much nailed down. There will be a screw tapped into the 90degree plate that holds it at 90degree. Tighten the screw and that gets the height right for the wheel. I think on the M side I need to cut the V middle part down some more. So on the diagram there are 2 pieces of steel wire on each side and the screw is the hole offset in between the 2 steel music wires. Level the 90 degree piece, tighten the screw and voila. I hope that helps. I have a super busy week but I'll try to get this done this week.

P.s. The 90 plate hangs only on 1 vertical brass piece. The one with the M shape.

[peteski]

IMO, simply clamping the gear (without some sort of positive indexing of the teeth) will not work when trying to align multiple geared drives from the same locomotive.  Since the gears can be different diameters (from different locos), that indexing mechanism needs to accommodate that too.

[timwatson]

Yup it definitely needs the gear aligner to keep things "correct" throughout.

[timwatson]

OK gents (I haven't seen any ladies around here - unless you count guys dressing as girls (jokes jokes) ).

I have some more progress and hopefully some clarification on the 90 degree bar. Please see the magic emory board for the way the 90 degree piece will work and please also note I have part of the gear aligner pictured. I also have a working title for the name. I think calling it what it is - is good. So my working title of this thing is "Gearalign Quarterer"

You can see in the second pic I need the M shape to be shaved down some more on the right hand side.

The cuts were easier to do in 4 pieces of brass as opposed to 2 at a time which is why the V is on all 4 pieces. In the one i'll make for Max I think i'll only do the V in 2 pieces after I cut the track for the gear aligner. Again, if this thing works. I hope that helps.


Some more progress on the Gearline Quarterer by nScaleRail, on Flickr


Some more progress on the Gearline Quarterer by nScaleRail, on Flickr

This is some good communication I appreciate it guys.

[timwatson]

You're talking about the hanging part above that dropped in between the gear teeth?  Instead of that, why not just turn the two inner plates into a clamp to hold the gear firmly in place, with the two outer plates having some float so you can adjust the wheels as needed?

Man I love simple ideas Bryan. That's a good one. I would have to drill and tap more but it's a really good idea.

The other side has "M" slots, so the wheel can be quartered at 90 degrees in one of the legs of the "M" and a leveling bar (the zero-degree adjuster) that sits in the other leg of the "M" to guarantee the 90 degrees.  Took me a while to figure it out from the diagram also.  I think, Tim, you might need another slot (so it looks like an M l cutout) to account for both pins in the adjuster and insure it is level.

OK I think I follow but if you get a twitch, I'm a visual guy, and I'd love to see a pic of how you saw this part. I think the 90 degree portion is overly complex but its all I could come up with.

[peteski]

Man I love simple ideas Bryan. That's a good one. I would have to drill and tap more but it's a really good idea.

Bryan's gear clamping idea prompted my response
IMO, simply clamping the gear (without some sort of positive indexing of the teeth) will not work when trying to align multiple geared drives from the same locomotive.  Since the gears can be different diameters (from different locos), that indexing mechanism needs to accommodate that too.

Simple clamping of the gear (without some sort of gear indexing mechanism) will not be enough.

[timwatson]

OK gang I have the 90 degree adjuster done. Please see the pics and ask any questions.


90 degree adjuster done by nScaleRail, on Flickr


90 degree adjuster done by nScaleRail, on Flickr

[mmagliaro]

So, is the idea that you get the far crankpin into the vertical slot, then turn the near wheel so that at least by eyeball it is about 90 degrees rotated, and then tighten that plate in its position with that long screw sticking out the front so that
you can do the exact same quartering on all the other drivers?    That means that the "90 degrees" may not be
perfect, but all the drivers will be quartered exactly the same.  That seems like a good way to do it.