Now that I’ve corrected my Duplex’s binding problem, I have a new question. I was getting ready for final assembly and paint, and I noticed that the ladders that lead to the cab are broken off. I bought it second hand, and only some of the ladder pieces are there. What would be the best/easiest way to repair this? I have a link that shows a drawing of the body shell. (The shell and cab are all one piece of die-cast zinc) http://www.bowser-trains.com/docs/instructions/T-1ref.pdf
Your best bet, and quickest if the part isn’t available by someone hoarding Bowser supplies, is to manufacture one using brass wire of a suitable size. How’re you at soldering?
He’ll have fun trying to solder to that Zamak unless he knows the secret lore of working with it, such as using 179-degree solder and ‘grey’ compatible flux, and a proper temperature control on the iron to keep it right around that 179 degrees.
Or figures out a way to get all the oxides out of the joint and keep them out with some kind of controlled atmosphere or submerging flux while getting low-temperature braze material to bond.
One source recommended mechanical intermediate: dress the Zamak surface, drill and tap, and insert a small brass screw to which you might get a better bond. Cut or file the head if you need a better anchor for filler material, which I think he will need anyway for the right profile on T1 cab steps. (He can probably use wire as an armature for strength, perhaps coated with etching primer for good bond of the filler…)
This is what happens when you have a brain fart. For some reason my mind’s image switched to the ladders on the rear of some tenders instead of thinking about the T1’s situation. So, I thought of brass wire. But I agree that a cast one, of pot metal or zamac, will be tough to fix.
Sorry for my mistake.
If you have the bits, or can find a suitable chunk of a ladder (and not the whole cab), perhaps epoxy will do the trick. Trying hard to keep very little of the two-part epoxy from bleeding outside the facing joint, affix the inserted component with epoxy. Later, you can tidy up any irregularities on the outside faces with a needle file and fine grit paper…carefully…and then paint.
I was expecting a response from Wayne at this point. He has built all weather cabs using styrene applied over the existing cab structures. Maybe he will chime in soon to explain…
Well, he could mill down an appropriate section of the cast cab side and make the equivalent of a Dutchman with the outer profile of the steps. Then make up the ‘back part’ of what’s missing, with enough gap to the broken Zamak to give a good epoxy bond to the whole works. That would preserve all the dimensions and still give solid construction.
theoretically he could use something stronger like sheet brass and attach to the milled cutout with the 179-degree solder system, which I’d think would be strong against any sort of accidental impact.
I have been more-or-less following this thread, but just now dug out my Bowser catalogue to see exactly what the discussion was about.
It’s difficult to tell from the drawings and photos just how much depth there is to those ladders. A very easy fix would be to use brass ladder stock. You could do it in one piece, bending it into an upside-down “U” shape, and mounting it to the bottom of the cab (the nature of that area also unknown to me). If that’s do-able, I’d solder a plate of brass to the centre portion, then drill and tap so that the ladder assembly could be affixed to the locomotive with a couple of screws.
If the ladders are more three dimensional, with actual steps rather than rungs, I’d use sheet brass of an appropriate thickness. This method will require more work, but will give more substantial results.
Cut the brass to the appropriate width and length to create the “U” shape similar to that described for the ladder stock. Leave it flat to do the layout work for the necessary cut-outs, then lightly centrepunch each area to be cut out. Use a drill bit smaller than the opening which will be needed, but not too much smaller, unless you enjoy using files. While it’s still flat, drill holes for screw-mounting it to the cab or frame, and ones for the handrails, too.
It’s difficult to tell from the photos in the catalogue if the ladder/step openings have square or rounded corners - what I see appears to be rounded corners on the upper side of each step and squared ones on the undersides - the opposite of what I would have thought to be the case. If you still have bits of the broken ones, you’ll be able to tell which is correct. File all of the openings to the desired size and shape.
After all the drilling and filing is done, you’ll need to do the bending.
Thank you everyone for your helpful tips. I found some metal laders, and the plan is to file the break areas smooth and solder the new ones on as soon as I get the engine running. (see my latest post)