Fox Valley Loco Detail Parts: HOW?!?!

[wazzou]

I assume I also have to disassemble the entire shell as the front handrails are in the way? So they are press-fit in and not glued? I'm using the end of a needle to apply CA into the drilled hole.

I'd remove the shell, yes.
Apply the CA on the inside of the shell so you don't run the risk of hazing the paint and seeing the blob of glue.

[peteski]

I got my #80s from Drill Bit City: https://drillcity.stores.yahoo.net/.

Are those the Tungsten-Carbide (TC PC board) bits?  If yes, they are very fragile. Still, I use them, and break them sometimes (I have a good quantity at hand).

[MetroRedLine]

I'd remove the shell, yes.
Apply the CA on the inside of the shell so you don't run the risk of hazing the paint and seeing the blob of glue.

I'm still confused. Am I supposed to drill all the way though the shell, or only as deep as the grabirons are supposed to go? I know they must protrude out to some degree.

[wazzou]

I don't own one but I've installed a lot of grabirons and yes, I'd drill entirely through the shell and apply glue to the inside, where the grabs presumably go through.

[MK]

I always have a cheap wax tea candle at my bench that I stick the bit in prior to drilling into the shell. 
This acts as a lubricant for the bit much the same that oil would, if drilling into steel.

Would that not leave a thin layer of wax such that CA won't stick when you try to glue the grab irons from inside the shell?  Just wondering...

[wazzou]

Would that not leave a thin layer of wax such that CA won't stick when you try to glue the grab irons from inside the shell?  Just wondering...

Never been my experience.

[ednadolski]

I'm using those sharp-ended precision tweezers. I bought them at a hobby shop.

Generally you'll only get so much out of something from a hobby shop.  I've used these:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005T7LF7Q/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007469YLY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Put some Masking Tape tightly around the tweezer points.

I'm surprised if that would work with very small parts (esp. if they wouldn't stick to the tape).

I believe I'm using a #78 bit. No hobby shop I know of sells anything smaller than an #80 and they looked at me funny when I asked for a #80.

A #78 is a little large for wire parts in N scale (I suspect they are 0.010" dia. wire).  A #80 (0.0135") is the smallest of the typical wire sizes.  Smaller sizes do exist (I've used up to #94, 0.071", myself) but they are of course harder to find, costlier, and easier to break.

You'd think it would help a lot if Fox Valley had an actual installation guide!
...
I have the feeling I'm still breaking many rules which don't exist anywhere on paper.
...
You were born with magic powers, right?

Honestly there are no guides, no rules, no magic, and you don't need any of that.  Ultimately it is a matter of mindset. You're just making some little holes in some plastic, and gluing some little wires into them. That's all, really.  If you're less confident in your current skills, you can always practice on some scrap shells until you are getting more consistent results.  But don't let yourself get hung up over notions that aren't really there, and won't be of any help to you to move forward and learn.

(Hopefully that's useful and doesn't come across as condescending.)

Ed

[wazzou]

@ednadolski
RE: the tape on the tweezers...the OP asked how to avoid chipping the paint off the pre-painted grabs.
In my experience, if you take a small slice of thin Tamiya Masking Tape, wrap it one and a half times tightly around each arm of the tweezers, it works just fine.

Just to add, I do this on my EXCELTA model F-SA-PI tweezers, which have a pretty wide, flat tip.

[James Costello]

I'm still confused. Am I supposed to drill all the way though the shell, or only as deep as the grabirons are supposed to go? I know they must protrude out to some degree.

Use a strip of styrene between the shell and the grabs, so they all protrude the same distance. Glue grabs from the inside.

[peteski]

Use a strip of styrene between the shell and the grabs, so they all protrude the same distance. Glue grabs from the inside.

And of course make sure that the grab iron ends do not protrude too far inside the shell (because there usually isn't much clearance between the shell and chassis.

[James Costello]

And of course make sure that the grab iron ends do not protrude too far inside the shell (because there usually isn't much clearance between the shell and chassis.

You can always nip off the legs if they protrude too far....

[ednadolski]

You can always nip off the legs if they protrude too far....

HumminnaHumHum, maybe... An N scale shell is pretty tight for getting the tip of cutter in there, esp. near the inside/top.  Also, some cutters are made with an offset, so that it's much harder to cut anything cleanly (esp. small wire) near the tip.

Ed

[peteski]

I'm using those sharp-ended precision tweezers. I bought them at a hobby shop. How do I keep the paint from peeling off the parts when I handle them?

I made my own soft-tip tweezers by simply stripping some insulation from a piece of wire and then jamming it onto the tweezers' tips.



But this might be too chunky to work for tiny grab irons.  Like someone mentioned, some masking tape (Tamiya brand was mentioned as it is a thin and flexible tape) masking tape might be a better choice. Also, if you drilled the holes large enough to easily accept the grab iron wire, and holes are are spaced properly, you should not need a lot of pressure on the tweezers to slide the grab iron into the holes.

[MK]

Another method is to dip the tweezer tips in Plastic Dip.

[wazzou]

Another method is to dip the tweezer tips in Plastic Dip.

Isn't that kind of permanent?