Hi Guys,
Just building a kit here that includes separate metal grab irons. Wow, these things are tricky to get in. Would anybody have any tips on installing them? Im afraid of drilling the holes with a pinvise and bit as I dont want to make the hole to large. Ay tips for guys that install these would be great
Jeremy
Jeremy,
Depending on who made them, some are cut with a shear tool that leaves ‘an edge’ on them, a burr on the ends of the posts…
Sometimes it may help to try to knock that down & sharpen the ends with a real fine flat needle file.
If you need to drill, use an appropriate bit size. Most are sized different these days, so you will have to choose the right size.
If placing one where there are no guides or divits, I use a strong needle to make a pin prick starting divit to guide the drill bit.
I let the drill be a little larger, because I want to get it in there, & leave a little room for super glue,(or paint), & positioning.
Best of luck!
Most grab irons need a #78 or #80 drill bit - Buy then by the ‘six pack’ - you will break them. Also, I bought a BLMA brass drilling template:
This really allows you to drill precise parallel holes so your grab irons are ‘straight’.
Jim
I put a strip of .020x.080 styrene under them (works even better on a row of them going up an engine shell), then I bend the ends on the inside towards each other, using a scrap of guitar string to dab regular krazy glue where they enter the hole (filling the outside of the hole), then I use krazy glue gel to set the insides. Of course there can be no windows in until after the glue dries.
It’s not a problem if the hole is oversized, it fills with glue. Usually I re-drill any pre-drilled holes, especially on metal or etched parts.
Side note to manufacturers: putting sticky on grab irons or magnetizing them does not aid this modeler in constructing the kit.
If your kit is already painted, there’s a good chance that the holes for the grabirons are partially-filled with paint. In most cases, a #79 bit in a pin vise will clean out the paint while not making the hole any larger.
To make it easier to install the grabs, you can shorten one leg of the grab iron so that they can be inserted one-at-a-time into the cleaned-out holes. An easy way to do this is to use an old X-Acto #11 blade: working on a hard surface (I use a sheet of glass), hold the grab iron with your free hand and, using the heel of the blade, snick-off a little from one leg of the grab. Wear suitable eye protection, as that little piece usually goes flying. This gives a nice clean cut (unlike pliers) which requires no clean-up. Don’t use the tip of the blade, as it can break-off easily (and also go flying).
Once all of the grab irons are in place, I slip a strip of styrene behind them to space them properly from the car’s side - .030" looks about right to me. The strip should be somewhat narrower than the distance between the legs of the grab irons. With the strip in place, slide it to one side until it’s against the wire, then, while pressing the grabs tight to the car, fold-over the part which protrudes into the carbody. Slide the strip to the other side and repeat.
Next, centre the spacer strip so that it doesn’t touch the grab irons where they enter the carbody, and apply ca (from inside the car) to each wire - the easiest way is to place a small puddle of ca on the glas
I took one of those cheapie mini screw drivers and ground it down in the shape of a needle and that is what I clean out the holes for hand rails. It cleans out any paint and a very “lite push” and a turn back and forth makes the hole a little bigger to start the hand rail and a little tighter further in to grip it and keep it there. You might want to practice this a little on a old junker first til you get the hang of it. It is the only way I found that works best on my Kato loco’s and it works great. Jim.
Probably would have been a lot easier to cut the head off a needle and chuck the needle in a pin vice.
One trick I used on boxcars is run a bead of clear caulk on the inside, stick in the grabs, aline and when set, they will not move.
I like this idea a lot better than glue which is hard to hide and hard to smear.
Rich
Rich, if you apply the glue from inside the car, there should be no visible mess at all. [(-D] For cars where access to the inside is limited, such as a tank car, place some ca on a non-porous surface, then use an old X-Acto #11 blade (preferably with the tip missing - it holds more glue) to pick up a little ca on its tip. Touch the tip of the blade to the point where the grab iron enters the carbody: the ca will be drawn into the joint. If there’s too much ca on the tip when contact is made, use the corner of a paper towel or a clean rag, touched lightly to the area, to wick-away any excess cement.
Wayne
Wayne, I have used the point of a needle in the past to apply glue. Slap on the old Optivisor for a front row view and you can you really pin point the spot to receive the glue. The needle point picks up so little that the smear is minimized or even eliminated.
Rich