Metal buffer heads

[MarcD]

As some will know I have just started producing my 7mm range in 4mm and recently hit a bit of a snag. in 7mm and G1 I have printed the buffer heads for my wagon. however when scaling them down to 4mm I have found that they aren't strong enough. So my question is this does anyone know of a supplier of 4mm scale buffer heads that isn't going to brake the bank and force me to put the cost of my kits up?

Marc

[steamraiser]

MJT?

[MarcD]

I will ping them an email with what I'm after.

Marc

[Julian Roberts]

H&A models. I bought some last year for not excessive £s

[Serjt-Dave]

Hi Marc. I went to buy some buffer heads from MJT last weekend at Railwells and they informed me they are having issues getting them made. Their supplyer who makes them has recently changed hands and the new owners are unable to make the buffers the same as before {the bottom of the shank are rounded instead of square so the spring slips up the shank}. MJT says they are in the process of getting this sorted.

All Best

Dave

[Porcy Mane]

the new owners are unable to make the buffers the same as before {the bottom of the shank are rounded instead of square so the spring slips up the shank}. MJT says they are in the process of getting this sorted.

I bought a bulk supply of MJT 13" buffer heads from MJT about 2 years prior to "lock down 1". I had already been waiting for about 18 months for them to come back into stock. When they turned up in the post, they were the tapered shank type and the chemical blacking wasn't a patch on the originals but the springs were softer and I haven't (yet) had a problem with the springs slipping over the taper.

Strange thing was I was never invoiced for the components. The proprietors were genuinely surprised when I turned up at the York show and handed over the money. They said they were still waiting for new supplies! I asked about the tapered shank design and was told that's how they will be supplied in the future.

I came away feeling I was dealing with quite a lackadaisical outfit but I'm used to it, as I'm dealing with myself every day.

P

[billbedford]

Colin Seymour at Alan Gibson has made bufferheads in the past, but only intermittently.

I've started printing my own:

17%22buffers.png

This was a test print.

[Tony Wilkins]

the new owners are unable to make the buffers the same as before {the bottom of the shank are rounded instead of square so the spring slips up the shank}. MJT says they are in the process of getting this sorted.

I bought a bulk supply of MJT 13" buffer heads from MJT about 2 years prior to "lock down 1". I had already been waiting for about 18 months for them to come back into stock. When they turned up in the post, they were the tapered shank type and the chemical blacking wasn't a patch on the originals but the springs were softer and I haven't (yet) had a problem with the springs slipping over the taper.

Strange thing was I was never invoiced for the components. The proprietors were genuinely surprised when I turned up at the York show and handed over the money. They said they were still waiting for new supplies! I asked about the tapered shank design and was told that's how they will be supplied in the future.

I came away feeling I was dealing with quite a lackadaisical outfit but I'm used to it, as I'm dealing with myself every day.

P

Hi Paul.
I had a similar experience several years ago with the current owners of MJT components as I too wanted to place a bulk order for some 13" buffer heads and springs, as the plan was to replace the solid plastic buffers on many of my wagons, with sprung heads as they broke over time. I spoke to them at Scaleforum and left them my details. I heard nothing. The following year at Scaleforum I spoke to them explaining what had (not) happened and they took my details again and said they would look into it. Again I heard nothing. As by then, I had repaired several broken buffers by alternate means, I decided not to bother with sprung heads. I never did hear from them.
Having said that, I recently required some MJT coach bogie compensating units, which I was hesitant to order in view of the above, but they were supplied quite promptly.
Regards
Tony.

[MarcD]

Bill what diameter shank do you use?

Marc

[billbedford]

The shanks are nominally 1mm in diameter, but the newer ones are tapered on the tail.

[Martin Kelly]

The MJT metal buffer heads are still marked as "out of stock" on the Dart Castings website and have been so for what seems like a long time now. Does anybody have any information about the situation or recommendations for alternatives?

[seanmcs]

Model Signal Engineering has the 13" heads buffers now. Just bought a supply recently.Sean in Sydney

[4479]

You must have had the last ones - when I looked just now they are OOS again.

Bob

[Porcy Mane]

I enquired of Dart Casting regarding the supply of MJT buffer head and springs at the recent York show. I was told by one of the propieters that the original company that turned the buffers/shanks had ceased trading A replacement company been found but they could only supply buffers with the tapered shank hence a product recall being necessary. Springs were now being produced and imported from a swiss supplier as opposed to the original UK supplier.

As to my enquiry as to the possibility of stocks being replenished in the near future, I was asked to come back later and have a word with, "my brother as he's the man dealing with buffer production".

I didn't bother going back.

As to the different springs, the MJT supplied springs now appear to have the same weight (I suppose I should say modulus of elasticity) as the springs supplied with Gibson buffers. I knocked up a simple test rig to compare compression rates as I much preferred the operation of the weaker Gibson spring.

BuffSprings1mm-001-EditSm.jpg