2mm axles for inside bearings

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jon price
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2mm axles for inside bearings

Postby jon price » Fri Nov 20, 2015 9:19 am

I'm making some coaches which need to have the axles mounted in inside bearings. Sawing/Grinding off the points of pinpoint end axles seems like a waste of energy (they have already been shaped once) and an unnecessary faff. Does anyone make plain ended 2mm axles foir use in these situations?
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Paul Townsend
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Re: 2mm axles for inside bearings

Postby Paul Townsend » Fri Nov 20, 2015 9:41 am

[quote="jon price" Does anyone make plain ended 2mm axles foir use in these situations?[/quote]
Buy 2mm silver steel rod from eg Eileens and cut to length required.

dal-t
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Re: 2mm axles for inside bearings

Postby dal-t » Fri Nov 20, 2015 10:07 am

jon price wrote:Does anyone make plain ended 2mm axles foir use in these situations?


Don't Alan Gibson wheels still come off axle, with one pointy one and one plain one included? In fact, the OO/EM variety (yes, I'm confessing to my unreformed past again) came with two options for the plain ones, 20mm long and 22mm - presumably for the narrow gauge and the really narrow gauge. Wouldn't 22mm be long enough? If so, I probably have an under-utilised hoard lying around somewhere - or Colin might sell you a job lot. HTH.
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John Fitton

Re: 2mm axles for inside bearings

Postby John Fitton » Fri Nov 20, 2015 10:42 am

dal-t wrote:
jon price wrote:Does anyone make plain ended 2mm axles foir use in these situations?


Don't Alan Gibson wheels still come off axle, with one pointy one and one plain one included? In fact, the OO/EM variety (yes, I'm confessing to my unreformed past again) came with two options for the plain ones, 20mm long and 22mm - presumably for the narrow gauge and the really narrow gauge. Wouldn't 22mm be long enough? If so, I probably have an under-utilised hoard lying around somewhere - or Colin might sell you a job lot. HTH.


Alan Gibson wheels that I have purchased over the past three years, including this year, are all mounted very solidly on their axles.

John Fitton

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Will L
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Re: 2mm axles for inside bearings

Postby Will L » Fri Nov 20, 2015 10:53 am

Paul Townsend wrote:
jon price wrote: Does anyone make plain ended 2mm axles foir use in these situations?

Buy 2mm silver steel rod from eg Eileens and cut to length required.


Would that use noticeably more less energy than chopping the points of Paul.

Actualy the advent of a Dremel with a diamond cutting disk makes the job so easy I wouldn't give it s second thought.

Second thought, but do watch you don't melt the wheel centres while your at it.

dal-t
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Re: 2mm axles for inside bearings

Postby dal-t » Fri Nov 20, 2015 11:20 am

John Fitton wrote:
Alan Gibson wheels that I have purchased over the past three years, including this year, are all mounted very solidly on their axles.


Ah, that would be progress, then. Used to be only the wagon/coach wheels that came ready-mounted, loco/tender carrying wheels, like drivers, came 'flat-packed', with the spare bits of rod. C'est la vie!
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grovenor-2685
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Re: 2mm axles for inside bearings

Postby grovenor-2685 » Fri Nov 20, 2015 11:23 am

Don't Alan Gibson wheels still come off axle, with one pointy one and one plain one included?

Bogie and tender wheels do, but not coach and wagon wheels and it is coach wheels that are under discussion :)
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John Fitton

Re: 2mm axles for inside bearings

Postby John Fitton » Fri Nov 20, 2015 2:14 pm

I would add that the new process adopted by the new owners for mounting coach and wagon wheels has transformed the quality of the product. The wheels are now very firmly secured to the axle, are generally exact gauge, and run true. A personal view, at least as good as the old Studiolith wheels, if not better. So I would steer away from dismounting both wheels to sub in new axles. If I were doing it I would use a low temperature approach: Dremel at low speed, or under running tap.

John

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jon price
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Re: 2mm axles for inside bearings

Postby jon price » Fri Nov 20, 2015 2:41 pm

Thanks for all this useful discussion. I think a Dremel under running water could lead to all kinds of unwanted effects, and I don't want to melt the wheel centers, so I would be using a hacksaw, which is where the vfaff comes in, but as bogie wheels come with a non-pointy axle from Alan Gibson I might see if they can supply a few spares.
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grovenor-2685
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Re: 2mm axles for inside bearings

Postby grovenor-2685 » Fri Nov 20, 2015 3:08 pm

I think a file is the easiest way to remove the point while the axle is in the wheel, you have much more control over the amount of heat generated.
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Guy Rixon
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Re: 2mm axles for inside bearings

Postby Guy Rixon » Fri Nov 20, 2015 6:02 pm

I find that the axles cut easily using a fine saw such as a piercing saw. A disc of cardboard would allow cutting close to the wheel without scuffing the wheel face.

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Andy W
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Re: 2mm axles for inside bearings

Postby Andy W » Fri Nov 20, 2015 6:17 pm

If you're mounting these with inside bearings, won't you have to pull at least one wheel off its axle? This should make removal of a, if not both, points easier.
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Re: 2mm axles for inside bearings

Postby martin goodall » Mon Nov 23, 2015 7:24 pm

Whenever I have wanted plain-ended 2mm diameter axles, I have purchased them from Ultrascale.

They make them for use with their bogie and tender wheels, but they can be used for other purposes where you don't want pin-pointed axles.

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jon price
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Re: 2mm axles for inside bearings

Postby jon price » Mon Nov 23, 2015 9:45 pm

Thanks for all this input.

Re Ultrascale do the axles come from stock or are they ordered like the wheels and so take a long time. I think i m,ight try Alan Gibson if that is the case.
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Philip Hall
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Re: 2mm axles for inside bearings

Postby Philip Hall » Mon Nov 23, 2015 10:00 pm

Best thing is to phone David Rogers and ask him if he can do you a few axles. Quite frankly though, you'll have to take them off the axles anyway to get them through the inside bearings, so a few strokes of a decent file will take the end off a normal pin point and be cheaper too. Bear in mind also that the blackened AG axles are nearer to 2mm diameter than his plain ones, so wheels might be a bit loose if you choose AG plain axles. Ultrascale will be 2mm near as makes no difference.

If you do decide to file and should get any wrong PM me and you can have some of my surplus stock!

Philip

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jon price
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Re: 2mm axles for inside bearings

Postby jon price » Mon Nov 23, 2015 10:24 pm

Well, maybe I will try again. I seem to remember it was more than a few strokes of my biggest file, but it might not be a big bastard file (technical term as you all know). Main problem I think was an inferior vice with soft jaws not gripping the axle tight enough. All this hesitating does mean that when I get to installing the wheels the carriages will be ready to roll and fully painted.
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Julian Roberts
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Re: 2mm axles for inside bearings

Postby Julian Roberts » Wed Nov 25, 2015 10:48 pm

Sorry if this is a bit late. I got some plain ended 2mm axles through the EMGS a few years ago. I was putting MJT inside bearing compensation onto some rtr wagons that I was converting to P4. They are slightly under the 2mm size of the Alan Gibson axles that his wheels come mounted on, so I had to Araldite them to be sure they wouldn't come loose.


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