dtinut
Chairman
Modeling the DT&I of the 60's & 70's
Posts: 661
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Post by dtinut on Jun 12, 2008 15:37:22 GMT -5
Hi All,
Just thought I would offer my services if anyone is looking. I can machine frames for pretty much whatever changes you want to make.
I have done everything from milling out space in Kato NW2 frames for decoders, to milling the sides off Atlas and Kato frames for frame detailing. I have also done Genesis F unit frames to fit the Hi Tech underframe details. I did several Atlas frames for Southern GP38's with the 1700 gallon fuel tank also.
You can email me at bseverett AT sbcglobal DOT net, and tell me what you want and I will try to give you a quote.
Regards, Brian Everett
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Post by superfleet93 on Jun 12, 2008 23:18:32 GMT -5
Thank you Brian for offering such a service and I'm sure people will take advantage of it. I purchased a Bridgeport mill last year but it's about 100 miles away and I don't have any room for it yet. I will be contacting you as I am in need of some frame milling.
Perry
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dtinut
Chairman
Modeling the DT&I of the 60's & 70's
Posts: 661
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Post by dtinut on Jun 13, 2008 13:14:34 GMT -5
I can certainly try - I have a Athearn GP dash-2 frame I have been meaning to give this a try on. >025 shouldn't be a problem - guess it depends on how much meat would be left if I would be willing to take that much off.
I will take a look, and see what the calipers say - and will then post a reply.
Regards, Brian
PS - Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there!
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dtinut
Chairman
Modeling the DT&I of the 60's & 70's
Posts: 661
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Post by dtinut on Jun 16, 2008 0:06:19 GMT -5
OK - I pulled out the Athearn GP38-2 frame (works on the 40-2 also), and milled out .025" from the bolster area. I also took off same amount from the coupler pads.
No problem, but I think .030" - .035" would actually be the right amount, as the deck still looks to be about .010" higher than an Atlas GP38 which I compared it to. There is plenty of material left after this, so it should not really weaken the frame to do this.
Also drilled the bolster and added 2-56 screws for new polster pins.
Brian
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Post by Randy Earle on Jun 16, 2008 0:41:57 GMT -5
Can you take a couple pics of this?
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dtinut
Chairman
Modeling the DT&I of the 60's & 70's
Posts: 661
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Post by dtinut on Jun 16, 2008 21:33:44 GMT -5
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dtinut
Chairman
Modeling the DT&I of the 60's & 70's
Posts: 661
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Post by dtinut on Jun 16, 2008 21:52:32 GMT -5
OK - the photo album I can link to isn't readily shareable, so I uploaded the images to Atlas website, and put them under a relavant subject called "under athearns hood". tiny.cc/an9fiOnce you change the wheels for some 40" wheels, the deck height should be the same. I can do this for 20 bucks a frame (include return postage) Regards, Brian
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Post by Randy Earle on Jun 16, 2008 22:57:01 GMT -5
How's this? I'd have to say, it's easier than modifying the truck bolster, but I don't have twenty bucks apiece for the dozen or so Athearn Geeps I have.
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dtinut
Chairman
Modeling the DT&I of the 60's & 70's
Posts: 661
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Post by dtinut on Jun 17, 2008 12:05:09 GMT -5
Randy, For multiple units - I can discount the price to 15 per frame. But my time, mill and the tooling all cost money. I have enough other things to do, wife, kids, and my own stuff. I don't consider this overpriced, but maybe you have a friend with a mill who will do this for free. I didn't and bought my own.
I don't like hacking apart the trucks to lower the mount, so this is a better alternartive to me.
Regards, Brian
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Post by playdead on Jun 20, 2008 2:40:29 GMT -5
What do think about milling a P2K GP7/9 fuel tank down to represent the 800g tanks? Possible? My thought was to cut away the tank down to a line that bisects the middle of the screw holes on each side. Here's the target prototype.
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Post by ricnok on Jun 20, 2008 7:29:06 GMT -5
It is possible but you may lose the screws. And IIRC, those hold the motor in don't they?
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Post by Randy Earle on Jun 20, 2008 7:35:05 GMT -5
When I did mine I took it up to a reasonable distance to the screw holes. The Nickel Plate added larger tanks to these units later on.
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dtinut
Chairman
Modeling the DT&I of the 60's & 70's
Posts: 661
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Post by dtinut on Jun 20, 2008 9:02:30 GMT -5
Yes - I have done the 800 gal tank on the P2K frame - it's the only one that will work from what I have determined. I looked at doing this on the Front Range frame, and the Athearn frame, but neither seemed to have enough metal left in certain places, and seemed to easy to bend/break. In regards to the motor screws - yes, after I did mine - the holes were gone. I filled them with styrene sprue which I epoxied in place. before I machined the frame. After milling the frame - their will be openings which will have to be filled with styrene sheet (I used .030" to fill in the sides of the tank) I keep the frame weight, and it will hold the motor in place without the screws. I have glued a piece of thin closed cell foam or used a piece of duble sided tape to snug it up in the cavity left between the frame and the frame weight. This will work fine. Below is one I had on display at the SE RPM meet. I have done 3 of these now. Notice I built frame rails out of strip styrene too. 20 bucks which includes return postage. Regards, Brian
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Post by playdead on Jun 20, 2008 13:37:16 GMT -5
Very nice work Dtinut, that's exactly what I was looking for! I had the same thoughts on the motor and weight as well. I'll get in touch with a private message for mailing info. River Run, If I could get away with having large tanks on my GP7s to avoid this kind of work I would, but only some were upgraded and those were past my modeling timeframe. Also to me its one of those details that really defines it as a NKP GP7 class
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Post by Christopher on Jun 20, 2008 14:29:33 GMT -5
Hi Brian, You mentioned you've done milling to modify Athearn F-Units so that Hi-Tech parts can be used. Would you be able to do the milling for a full underframe job, similar to what David Hussey did: www.pbase.com/dh30973/image/25390929It will require milling .080" off the bottom of the frame while leaving the coupler mounting pads intact so that I can build a new styrene frame. The inside of the frame would also need to be modified somewhat so that the motor can rest on its side, without the need for mounting pins: www.pbase.com/dh30973/image/26007263You can see more shots of David's units under construction and finished if you click the "F-Unit Shots" link at the top of either of those photos. I have one Athearn frame ready to go now, and will have two more to do in the future. This seems like a pretty big job, and I will gladly pay whatever is reasonable. Let me know, Chris
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dtinut
Chairman
Modeling the DT&I of the 60's & 70's
Posts: 661
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Post by dtinut on Jun 20, 2008 18:19:03 GMT -5
Hi Chris,
I did one of these for Brian Enhi not that long ago - I don't remember having to mill anything in the motor area so it would reauire different mounting.
If I recall correctly - Brian was doing the full treatment - and ordered the parts from HiTech to build it like Dave did on his.
Sure - I can do that. 20 should cover my costs (including return postage.
Regards, Brian
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Post by Christopher on Jun 21, 2008 14:53:08 GMT -5
$20.00 is a steal. Do you have any photo's of Brian's model by chance? I'm interested in seeing how he did things.
I figure there are a couple of ways to mount the motor, it could be done in the normal fashion, but then a portion of the motor and it's 4 mounting pads would be visible through the gap between the fuel tank and frame, which I'd rather avoid. If the motor is mounted any higher though, it interferes with the DCC board and the shafts won't be aligned. If the motor is on it's side, held down by a piece of double stick foam tape, the shafts will be aligned, and there will be nothing visible, plus the mounting pegs won't be necessary. However, the motor is definitely too wide to fit inside the frame cavity without milling out some of the material the way Dave did.
I will definitely take you up on your offer. I need to strip the Athearn paint off the frame though, so it won't be ready for a couple of weeks. I'll contact you via private message (do we have those on this board?) or e-mail to set up shipping.
Thanks!
Chris
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dtinut
Chairman
Modeling the DT&I of the 60's & 70's
Posts: 661
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Post by dtinut on Jun 21, 2008 15:52:20 GMT -5
Hi Chris,
No, I have no pictures of Brian's model, not sure if he's gotten started on it yet. When I did Brian's, he sent me a sketch showing what he wanted done. I suggest you do the same. I can figure out the motor cavity from Dave's photo.
my email: bseverett AT sbglobal DOT net
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cab4
Road Foreman
Posts: 54
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Post by cab4 on Jul 2, 2008 23:38:00 GMT -5
I almost wonder where one could get their own milling machine, or atleast a cheap milling technique. I find myself cutting up a lot of frames, but i don't think i do enough milling to warrant paying big bucks for a machine to do it. Right now i can't really afford anything, but i heard of someone using a dremel tool with an auger mounted on a drill press attachment effectively.
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Post by Randy Earle on Jul 2, 2008 23:39:18 GMT -5
That's kindof what I do Chris.
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