Repairing trucks and couplers....

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

Oh Yeah,

I am in the process of fixing my rolling stock and doing a lot of truck repair/replacement and coupler conversion.

I need to buy one of these…

http://i935.photobucket.com/albums/ad200/gmckenzie444cplmckenzie/taphan3sm_zps6joduozd.jpg

Anybody know what these are called so I search ebay and amazon for one.

cplmckenzie

2

Tap Wrench

Mel

Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951

My Model Railroad
http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/

Bakersfield, California

I’m beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.

3

It’s called either a tap wrench or tap holder. For small work you need something like this one sold by Micromark. http://www.micromark.com/ratchet-drive-tap-holder-6-32-max-capacity,6639.html

Joe

4

Here’s a non-ratcheting tap wrench for a little less money:

https://www.fastenal.com/products/details/0312222;jsessionid=1E6A3FE674A889A33054823252FA29D6.fcomjvm04?r=~|categoryl1:"601071%20Cutting%20Tools%209and%20Metalworking"|~%20~|categoryl2:"601102%20Threading%20and%20Tapping"|~%20~|categoryl3:"601108%20Tap%20Wrenches"|~

(Sorry, I can’t make the link clickable. I tried the [url] stuff. Highlight the link and then right click on it. Select "Go to…).

I would suggest considering a non-ratcheting style for model railroad use. Tapping into white metal requires frequent reversal to clear the chips so having to flip the ratchet switch constantly could be a pain.

[2c]

Dave

5

The ones sold by Micro Mark are very good.

Too large a tap handle makes it easy to snap a tap. Something you don’t want to do.

I have had the 2-56, 1-72, 0-80 and 00-90 for some years. Really needed with model train work.

To save time, one with the drill bit and one with the tap.

Most trains today come with Metric screws. Lose a screw, easy to do, and you have to tap with next larger SAE tap for SAE screw. Not aolways easy to find tiny Metric screws.

Rich

6

An alternative to the tool Micro Mark sells can be found at Harbor Freight Tools. They sell a 3-pack of tap wrenches that look similar to the one from MM. For $7 you get three sizes, the smaller one being the best for our trains. I have this set and the quality is fair but considering how infrequent I use it the tool will last me a long time.

http://www.harborfreight.com/3-piece-t-handle-tap-wrenches-38560.html

7

While you’re at it, get a Micro-Mark truck tuner and a Kadee coupler gauge if you don’t already have them.

8

Local hardware stores will carry small t-handle tap wrenches, usually made by General.