Scratch Building With Brass

[gbw2407]

Has anyone here ever built a HO scale diesel locomotive completely out of brass? If so how do you go about building it and what tools and materials did you use?

[icghogger]

Working with brass requires a vise, files, saws, flush cutters, flat-nose pliers, needle-nose pliers, layout tools (squares, dividers, rules and scribers), layout dye, wire brushes and various grades of emery paper. You should have a surface plate (I use an 8X10 piece of 1/4-inch plate glass and a 12X12 section of marble floor tile) to make sure your work is true. Soldering irons, taps/dies and drill bits of various sizes should round out your basic tool box. All of my sheet metal needs are met with .010", .015", .020" and .040" brass stock. I also use brass shapes (angles, H-beam and I-beam and flat bar stock in various sizes) and phosphor bronze wire for piping, grabs and small fittings. Once you really get the bug, then you can look at lathes, milling machines, etc., but almost anything can be built using hand tools.

[EMDX6043]

Robert, resistance soldering rigs are usually the best thing to use, correct?

I still have one on my list but no specific brand in mind just yet.

[icghogger]

Yes, Dave, they are best for quick heat on attaching small parts to larger assemblies. Mine is the American Beauty 250W, but the PBL would be a good choice as well. However, depending on the job, most of my work is done with a 40W temp regulated iron and a 100W iron. Don't forget about the various solders that melt at different temps and fluxes that are easy to clean up. Rubyfluid liquid and Nokorode paste are my two favorites. Tix products are also good.

[icghogger]

I built a small soldering machine for soldering dial feet to watch dials which I use on difficult pieces. The ground is an insulated clamp that goes on the large piece and the hot side is a carbon electrode held in a test probe clamp. Liquid flux is applied with a needle point, slivers of solder are placed around the joint and the carbon electrode is pressed lightly against the smaller part. With everything aligned, I step on the foot switch and the arc at the joint melts the solder with no damage to either part. The machine generates about 40-50W.

Google "dial foot soldering unit" to see what they look like.  Mine is pretty crude in comparison, but it gets the job done!

[ironstef70]

Interesting question that I have missed.

If I can add my little input here, all above comments are right, especially about the resistance soldering units, which are a must if you need to connect small components to massive parts. Mine is the grey unit behind the tabletop in last picture below. I also have a couple of different sizes of electrodes, according to the power output I use.

Here are some among a few projects I have realized:

dieseldetailer.proboards.com/thread/17973/cn-gp9rm-7129-7133

dieseldetailer.proboards.com/thread/18149/copper-prox-40753-40816

I bought a used and low tech (no fancy digital gauges) 500w unit, but building it yourself is probably much more cost efficient if you are familiar with electrical components and Standards. Believe it or not, I have completed the GP9s above withour the resistance soldering unit, but I have purchased it not long after. It would have been almost impossible to do the PROX tankers without it. At times, I also use a torch for dismantling parts, or assembling two large parts together.

But in 90% of the times, I am using this soldering pen, which I believe is really worth the investment, and for which parts are easily available:

www.diverseelectronics.com/products/Weller-50W-Analog-Soldering-Station-Single-Ch-w-ETA-Tip-Pencil-p606/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI75qvrOqw5gIVyp-zCh2M0QvhEAQYAiABEgL3tfD_BwE

A soldering pen, a pair of scissors, a rod, a pair of pliers and a file is pretty much of what you need for a project as such:
Exit stage left by Ironstef70, sur Flickr
emergency exit by Ironstef70, sur Flickr



I would also recommend at least one Dremel unit. I am not quite a fan of battery powered units, but I have both the model 3000 (lighter for smaller jobs) and a 4200 (stronger and steadier speed for toughest jobs), and a bunch of types of cutting discs, grinding tool shapes (round, conic, flat,...), and a bunch of milling heads (mines are titanium). But I also use a 4.5" zipcut tool for harder/thicker material.

I also recommend an affordable and common tool: metal shear/scissors for brass sheets, as it makes a better/straighter cut than cutting disks. Much of these tools can be found at your local hardware store, such as a pipe cutting tool (I have a 3" large one which I used for the PROX tank cars above.

As far as other tips: always keep in mind that soldering sometimes requires an extra pair of hands for holding things in position. So I ended up "creating" my own solutions over time. I have custom supports and clamps for different types of jobs. (just open up the last picture in Flick'r, then click once to zoom, and you'll see what I mean, on the center right).

Another important area is heat transfer and insulation. You may need a couple of various and odd shaped iron blocks for preventing heat transfer to already soldered areas, when things gets complicated (see the GP9 frames above). But you also need insulated tools for holding parts being soldered together. I use coffee wooden sticks, and a bunch of different types of wood pieces. A piece of veneer sheet (premium surface please, for true jobs), and maybe a silicon mat (cheap ebay purchase).

Last but not least, a good brass inventory. I am not saying that you need as much as I do (and that's just the half, as I have a full drawer of recuts, plus the sheets/etched parts, copper pipes...!), but looking for parts in the middle of a job quickly becomes a hassle over time. I am not sure it was a good idea to post a picture of my workbench here, but if you can afford more space, make yourself a treat and build yourself a larger workplace.

K&S wall of fame by Ironstef70, sur Flickr

workbench of a madman by Ironstef70, sur Flickr

Stephane



Beyond

[ironstef70]

I did not mention much about scratchbuilding techniques yet, and we could probably discuss about that a whole week. This is one area where I believe there are many roads to a given result, although at times there may be some good practices worth mentioning.

I suggest you browse on YouTube and look for some interesting tutorials. You may do that already, but as you find a good one, go in his/her channel and look for his/her favorites and followed-up channels. Chances are that person has the same interests and has some inspiration from there too.

Here is one I have found recently. The guy seems more meticulous on his work that I am myself, and he is explaining all things he does step by step (I am not sure I would have such patience):



Stephane