Chris's N Scale Crew Speeder build

[narrowminded]

Looks good and ordered two.  Thanks so very much, Chris.

And that .100" comes off the back, correct?  I can start the chassis design if so.  

Also, the hole for the crank is what size and how deep?  And the same for the radiator, diameter and depth?

[Chris333]

This is the crank area now:

It is a .0076" square hole because Sketchup doesn't let me draw really small circles and at this size you can't tell. It is beefed up all around so you should be able to drill it out to whatever you want. And it goes all the way thru:


And this line shows the .100" removed from the rear.


Radiator cap hole is .0077" square, but again you can drill it out. I did on the HOn30 model. 

[narrowminded]

Thanks again, Chris.  That should do it on the crank and the hole information will be handy for all who work with this.  

They quoted a 14th delivery in FXD.  Hopefully I can have a chassis ready by then.

[Chris333]

I just noticed the Kato 11-104 has those leaf springs you were looking for:
http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/uploads/monthly_08_2015/post-6959-0-99993900-1439804776.jpg

[narrowminded]

I just noticed the Kato 11-104 has those leaf springs you were looking for:
http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/uploads/monthly_08_2015/post-6959-0-99993900-1439804776.jpg

They appear to be exactly right.  Bearing block and all.  Maybe that will be my first casting attempt but it's not going on the priority list until I see how visible they really are.  That's probably a component I should have available if I'm going to do stuff like this.  Might be a good candidate for that new Shapeways material. 

BTW, I still want to try that on something.  I understand folks complaints on larger parts but not everything has the extreme details, while the brittleness in some of these small parts just isn't something I like for durability.  I suspect I could make use of it on a fair number of parts.  Tipper cars and small mine cars come to mind with the truck axle pockets cast in and flexible enough to get the wheels in without breaking them as well as stand up to regular handling.  I also want link and pin couplers which again, I worry about the brittleness while handling.

[narrowminded]

I just noticed the Kato 11-104 has those leaf springs you were looking for:
http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/uploads/monthly_08_2015/post-6959-0-99993900-1439804776.jpg

I tried to find a wheelbase and finally got the dimension 1.1" (28mm).  Does that sound right looking at your unit?  If so, for N scale that will be way too long.  I also suspect the wheels will be too big for a true N scale, not HOn3.  Best I can tell this far I'll need between 5/8" to 3/4", probably closer to 5/8".  The whole unit, outside dimension, will only be about 1 1/4".  Even the extended version is only about 1 3/8".  These are TINY!

[Chris333]

Oh I didn't mean to use the whole chassis, just the leaf springs.

[narrowminded]

Oh I didn't mean to use the whole chassis, just the leaf springs.

I understood that and had no intentions as I'm quite invested in a whole different direction with power trucks but for others who might be looking for alternatives I thought I'd add what I found.  That actually looks pretty good for your HO purposes.   Except the height. 

[Chris333]

For HO I don't plan to use the 11-104 and it was just sat on the chassis for the photo. If I was using it I could snug it down easy.

[narrowminded]

For HO I don't plan to use the 11-104 and it was just sat on the chassis for the photo. If I was using it I could snug it down easy.

It does actually look pretty appropriate under there, both wheelbase and wheel size.

[randgust]

Kato 11-104 wheels are swappable with the 27" Kato 11-105 wheels.  That's what was the breakthrough on my Trackmobile.   The real problem with that chassis is that it is a very stiff four-legged stool and doesn't equalize at all for electrical pickup.

Also, try printing that stuff in one of those acetal plastics.   I was stunned on the resolution and how flexible it was on David Cutting's HT-C sideframes.  Game changer.

[nkalanaga]

The width looks fine for narrow gauge to me.  Many narrow gauge logging roads were far from "standard", if there was a standard for North American narrow gauge car widths.  Yes, most stuck with 8 ft wide, but that seems to have been established by roads that actually interchanged with others.  Many loggers built their own cars, and certainly didn't interchange with anyone, so could use anything they liked.

Among the major roads, The D&RGW's "modern" cars, the pipe gons and steel flats, were wider than the earlier cars, and both the EBT and CN's Newfoundland line actually ran standard gauge cars on narrow gauge trucks.  So there's no stability problem either.

Also, "Nn3" is actually about 41 inch gauge, so a little extra width looks fine.

[narrowminded]

Kato 11-104 wheels are swappable with the 27" Kato 11-105 wheels.  That's what was the breakthrough on my Trackmobile.   The real problem with that chassis is that it is a very stiff four-legged stool and doesn't equalize at all for electrical pickup.

I have an 11-105 and its wheels measure 33" (or 32.5" if not rounding the few thousandths).  Is it possible the reverse is true?  I don't have a 104 to check.

Also, try printing that stuff in one of those acetal plastics.   I was stunned on the resolution and how flexible it was on David Cutting's HT-C sideframes.  Game changer.

That's an example of the mixed reviews and I could see both as being true depending on the part.  Your experience being on a small part, exactly the kinds of parts I'm inclined to use it for and for those features you described, suggests I shouldn't dismiss it out of hand.  I really need to just try a few pieces and see where I could or couldn't use it.  Thanks, Randy.

[narrowminded]

The width looks fine for narrow gauge to me.

That's what I was feeling just looking at it but don't always trust my judgement on these matters of scale fidelity.   And thanks for the detailed reply.  It's helpful.

Many narrow gauge logging roads were far from "standard", if there was a standard for North American narrow gauge car widths.  Yes, most stuck with 8 ft wide, but that seems to have been established by roads that actually interchanged with others.  Many loggers built their own cars, and certainly didn't interchange with anyone, so could use anything they liked.

Among the major roads, The D&RGW's "modern" cars, the pipe gons and steel flats, were wider than the earlier cars, and both the EBT and CN's Newfoundland line actually ran standard gauge cars on narrow gauge trucks.  So there's no stability problem either.

Also, "Nn3" is actually about 41 inch gauge, so a little extra width looks fine.

[Chris333]

As for scale fidelity just remember I guess all the dimensions