My Georgia Central Scenic Railway passenger cars need handrails.
I’ve contacted the manufacturer and they sent me the brake wheels but no longer have the handrails. In order to make all the handrails alike I know I need to construct a jig of some sort but since I’ve never made a jig before I need advice on how to do it, i.e. what material to use and how to make them.
Thanks in advance!
JaRRell
Jarrell,
Just a few quick questions:
What you will need is a wire bending jig. First you’ll need to determine the radius of each of the bends. Do you have at least one of the end platform handrails you need to duplicate? If not, what brand are these cars?
Once you determine that, draw a line diagram of the finished railing on a piece of styrene sheet, then find some plastic tubing or rod the proper diameter, cut in into short lengths (about 1/4 inch should be all you need) and glue it in position on the sheet to wrap the wire around to form the railing’s corners. 90 degree angle bends can be done with a pair of needle nose pliers.
This was probably a sketchy description, but should get you started.
Jarrell,
Since you have to make all the railings, check out some pics of the prototype. Model manufactures tend to just throw any generic or what’s simple for them to silmulate the rails. These MDCs and Athearn’s caboose factory rails are example of details so far off.
After studying the real stuff, decide on a simple design to suit your modeling needs and skill. You need not duplicate every latch, bar and chain.Most of these rails should be done with very few bends as they really should be soldered. Use a template for sizing and placement. Jigs can be done for soldering as well as bending. Styrene blocks, shaped if needed, glued to a styrene sheet is the simplest method I know. Styrene jigs work for bending, but if you need it for bending and also soldering, I found that wood blocking glued w/ Goo to glass, sheet metal etc will withstand the soldering temps. There are solding jigs and pads, but you don’t need the expense for a small project.
Don’t try to duplicate those factory ones when with a little work those cars could have some exquisite details on both ends. While you’re at it w/ the brass rod, throw some under body brake rigging too. The molded on grabs @ each car end could also be shaved off, touch up paint and done w/ the preformed caboose grabs and eyelets. Maybe more work than you want to do, though. The vertical grabs @ each corner are a must to add. Those are easily done with needle nose.
Tom, yes… it will be for building the handrails from scratch and I need the jig so that all of them, 10 in all, will be uniform. The holes for them are already in the platforms. I hadn’t thought of doing any soldering, just making the 90 degree bends that’ll be required.
Jarrell
TomD and Bob, thanks for the information. I’ll look around on the internet and see if I can find some photos of the prototype. Gotta find the right size tubing and ‘handrail wire’ also.
Thanks!
Jarrell
Jarrel,
Although .015" brass is closest to the scale size, I think you will have better results using a larger .019" brass. Stronger and easier to deal with. Detail Assoc has packs of the brass rod. You could use the .019 for the main tube/ rail and smaller .015 for the intermediate cross or (ballaster) ones.
Pictures of end platforms of the Overton coach would help out greatly.
What you are probably trying to make is a upside down “U” of wire.
Quick and dirty method:
Cut a block of wood that is as wide as the distance between the inside of the holes in the platforms. Put a piece of wire across the top of the block. Clamp it with a c-clamp if you want. Bend the ends of the wire down along the sides. If you want a curve in the outside top corner you can sand the corner of the wood block to break the corner. Another variation is to make a bend in a piece of wire and set the “L” against the block so you only have to make one bend against the jig.
Once you bend the handrails, make a length jig by taking a flat piece of plastic, hardboard or wood and put an “L” of wood or plastic strip on it. The side of the L should be at right angles to the edge of the flat piece. The crosspiece should be at right angles to the side piece and the hieght of the railing from the edge. Be sure to allow length to fit into the holes. Put a railing in the L with one side against the side piece and the top against the crosspiece. Use flush cutting pliers or rail nippers to cut the wire off the right length.
Dave H.
Jarrell,
Here’s what I would do:
First measure your outside center-to-center (CTC) hole distance to get the length of the rail that your going to need to span the back length of the platform.
Next, draw a line on a piece of paper, the same length as your CTC distance. (Thiswill be a temporary template.)
Use a pair of small pliers to bend a piece of wire (0.015" OD?) so that it looks like an elongated “U” and that it spans the distance of your temporary template line. (Jarrell, you’ll also need to determine how high your railing will need to be so leave plenty of room at the ends of your bends to cut it to the correct height.)
Check your new prototype template in the holes to determine if its a good fit or not.
Jarrell, after you’ve determined this, you can then create a simple winding jig out of a block of wood and precisely placed nails (6P) to recreate your length and bends on a consistent basis: (NOT to scale)
Click picture to enlarge
Obviously, this will be just for the outside frame of your platform railing. The inner vertical supports will also have to be added. I would make both the frame and vertical supports long so that they can trimmed to the correct length later.
Jarrell, are the holes in the passenger car platform thru holes, or do they only go down a certain depth? If they are thru holes, I would glue the outer railing in first then solder the vertical supports in with the railing in place. (Use a small scrap piece of wood as a height block so that you get a consistent height) If they are not thru holes, you can solder the outer railing and vertical supports together first, then trim and glue them into the holes. (See For trimmer below)
For trimming: Glue a paper templa