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I am planning to change to a NWSL gear box and motor. I would appreciate any help on the procedure to QUARTER the drivers as there seems to be a slight catch at one point when I turn the wheels. Any help would be greatly appreciated. My engine is an older brass NWSL Sierra #18 2-8-0. Art
You need to get a quartering tool from NWSL. Cost about $40. Easy to use and will re-quarter all drivers on that loco and most others in HO. If you’re going to model steam, its one of those tools that are indispensable.
Carey, Thanks for you prompt reply. I’ll order the quarting tool tomorrow. Does any one have detailed instructions for using the quarting tool? Any tips that mightbe. Helpfully. I!ma bit nervous to attempt this project. Thanks again. Art
The Quarterer comes with a complete set of instructions and is easy to use. Once I’d done a few locos, though, I now usually quarter them “by eye”. I seem to be just as accurate, and it’s a lot easier when merely re-quartering drivers which have slipped on their axle, as the wheelset usually needn’t be removed from the loco. If you’re removing the wheelsets to re-gear, or to change bearings, or remedy axle problems, then you might as well use the quarterer if you have it.
Wayne
Thanks Wayne, Not sure if I feel comfortable quartering by eye as I’m not sure of what I am doing to begin with. I’ll see if the instructions help when I receive the quarter from NWSL. Art
Your also going to need a way to pull the wheel from the axle and press it back on again. I use a NWSL puller, and used a vice with some home made arbors to press the wheel back on. NEVER pull the insulated driver from the axle, you stand a chance of moving the tire on the driver center and causing a short or wobble or have it come off completely. Not fun!
The quarterer is easy to use. With the non insulated driver off the axle, press it on the axle with your fingers just enough so it stays put. You want it tight enough so it stays in place, yet still be able to spin it on the axle.
Insert the crank pins in the dirvers. NWSL provides some with the tool, but they never seem to fit any brass engine I’ve worked on. I just use the crank pins from the model. Now just tighten the set screws and push the pins tight against the tool. Make sure you quarter all the axles in the same direction. You can quarter an axle backward with this tool. Once quartered, I like to give the tool a squeeze to press the driver on the axle as far as I can by hand.
Once quatered, press the driver center on until it’s in gauge. Recheck quarter.
Thank you onequicknova, I have a MR friend who has a wheel puller. Thanks for the heads up on that and your other helpfull ideas.
Thanks again to ALL for their helpful posts. They are really appreciated. Art
One more thing. You need to be careful when pressing the wheel back on the axle. most counterweights stick out past the tire and driver face. If for example, you try to just use the flat jaws of a vice to press the driver back on, it will go on crooked. You need to press on a flat surface like the face of the tire or the flange.
Really? Were you using the right end? The NWSL pins provided have a NA thread on one end and a metric on the other. The metric end is pointed. I’ve re-geared, and re-quartered probably over a thousand brass loco’s over the past 40 years with the tool, and I never have run across a steamer the pins didn’t fit.
Yes really. As you probably know there are two main sizes of crank pins on brass imports. 1.4mm on the more modern engines and a coarser thread on most of the earlier brass, that I can’t remember the size of off the top of my head. The double ended pins that came with my quarterer fit neither one. Maybe the thread cutter was on the fritz that day.
I haven’t done quite as many as you have, but I’ve done over a dozen re-gearings using the main crank pins, without issue.
OQN
I hope that you haven’t thought I was being sarcastic. I’ve just never ran across steamers needing requartering that the NWSL pins haven’t fit.
So, when you’re using the crankpins to requarter, do you use two regular crankpins in the main driver so the drivers are identical, due to the shouldering on the screws, or do you use the main crankpins in all?
I’ve always been able to use one of two methods for quartering, the NWSL jig, and the sight method. I prefer the jig, as it is more accurate than sight, but sometimes the only way to quarter a driver is by sight, generally due to something preventing the driver set from fitting the jig.
I just finished regearing an older Daiyoung, (Custom Brass) CB&Q O5A 4-8-4 from the 1980’s. Even though it came equipped with a can motor and an idler GB from the factory, which had a locked up bearing in the box, the bearing was spinning with the gear, and had worn itself through the front of the box. Because it used wider bearings to support the old Varney type wire suspension, the bearings made it too wide to fit into the jig. The extra width of the bearings wouldn’t allow a proper fit of the 3mm axle into it. Those I had to sight quarter.
Unless you can build a jig and I’ll be up front and say the ones I tried to make in my younger days weren’t that good, there are additional problems with working on some of the newer plastic/die-cast steamers. While brass seems to have always had 3mm axles, some of the plastic/die-cast has 3.5-4mm axles.
I never had much luck with NWSL Quarterer. On reworks I use the old scribed line and align by sight method:
Visit:
http://www.pacificcoastairlinerr.com/1905/mogul_drivers/
Thank you if you visit
Harold
All of the posts have been extremely helpful and interesting. I just finished using NWSL’s quartering tool and it was successful in eliminating the slight bind in my front driver wheels. The locator pins worked just fine. I did have a frustrating time with springs falling out of other drivers. I spent an hour getting it all back together. I am waiting for my new NWSL gear box to. Arrive so that I can put it all back with the NEW DCC decoder. You folks are really super with ALL the helpful posts. Again a BIG thank you to all from this newby. Art
I didn’t take it sarcastically. I was just surprised the crank pins actually fit something. I use the main crankpins in each axle so everything matches.
It’s funny you mention the dieyoung (Daiyoung) O5. I’ve done two of them. Actually, all the engines I’ve done have been CB&Q, since that’s what my dad and I collect. If I remember
I have had my quarter tool for more years than I care to admit. I have used it on everything from Bachmann to Bowser to ancient brass. Every once in awhile I run across a wheel set that does not conform. You can remove the center axle holding pieces from the rods of the tool and use just the side plates. Make sure the wheel that is already on the axle is square with the side plate and carefully line up the other wheel. For the drivers that the pins do not fit I have acquired a few screws from the hobby shop assortment that fits and are long enough to work. The main crank pins work also if the eccentric rod is not soldered to them like on some older brass. Every wheel I have pressed back on has not been more then finger pressure tight. Thumb and fore finger is the only press I have used to instal wheels. I like to add a drop of blue Loktight screw locking compound when I quarter wheels.
While the loco is apart on the bench I also check both side rods for exact length and all the holes line up with each other. If the holes are off even by a fraction they can be repaired. You can repair them by either peaning the holes closed or soldering them and then ream to the right size. Never open up the holes larger than they need to be to fit the screws. On jointed rods make sure the joints are not loose. Match the rods to the frame spacing exactly. This along with quarter will give you great running steamers.
Pete