Hi,
I just purchased a couple of manual LGB switches. One of them tends to stick a little bit. I throw the switch and sometimes it does and sometimes it don’t. Seems like a little friction going on. I know it’s not a good idea to put any lube on it or just will collect dust and create more problems. Any tips? thanks
Try the FYI thread you may find what you need there. Look near the top of the list for a link on fixing LGB switch problems.
Yeah mate I had just such a problem with a manual switch and I think it happens all the time but not with electric switches. I cleaned it and put a ity bit of singer sewing machine oil on it no mre trouble; cause after that i put a switch motor on it but it i did work for a few months after oiling with no trouble.
rgds Ian; Kawana etc.
hi,
I bought a pack of ‘Hobby Lube’ which has 6 different lubricants in the pack. One of them is a dry lube that isn’t sticky and doesn’t hold dirt. Sounds about right for switches, especially outside ones.
Cheers,
Kim
[tup]
Hi there,
Has anyone used powdered graphite? I know it is not cheap but it works well on other items. Thoughts anyone??? Later eh…Brian.
Brian
Your “Later eh”, is getting to me, I find it menacing. I get the idea that you are going to get me in a back alley and beat the hell out of me. You can’t I know as I’m too far away. How is your basement going mate.
Ian
Hi Ian,
I bet Brian has a model of that in a back alley on his set up, now that’s realism.
Later…
I mean Cheers,
Kim
[tup]
Hey Guys,
Can’t help it. I’m Canadian. It’s even in the spelling of Canada… C-eh-N-eh-D-eh. What’s a guy to do??? Ian: is that you in the picture you emailed me? Don’t worry…I’m not one of those knarly truck drivers who will take you out. Then again the “Roo Bar” on the front of my Volvo highway tractor is a rather menacing sight. Kim: Now there’s a scene to add to my layout! Noooo…just old cars and trash cans in the alley. Now to stay on topic with this thread…Is graphite affected by rain??? Does anyone know? Later eh…Brian.
Brian,
What I use is Molykote Z powder (from Dow Corning), comes in a 283gr plastic squeeze container with a flip out nozzle. Bought it back in 1977 when I needed some to fix a jigboring machine with optics and on those you don’t want to use lube, except dry stuff.
It is similar to graphite powder, but finer and has better lube qualities.
So what do I use it for (other than fine machinery[;)])? Assembling/burnishing Kadee couplers of any size, lubing the screw shafts on turnout motors, lubing the ties in the point area of handlaid turnouts (any gauge or scale), lubing sticky locks (put the stuff on the key and move back and forth)… and and and
27 years ago that bottle was $60; but it saved about a thousand time that amount just in aggravation.
Ian,
In the Great White North aka Canada, “eh” is the national signature word and therefor fair dinkum, mate.
You’re just lucky none of us other Canucks have started on it, yet[;)][}:)][:)] It could get quite interesting, eh!
BTW to tone down Brian’s rig you could send him one of those funny red ball noses you Aussies but on your cars once a year. Forgot what you guys call the holiday, but it had nothing to do with barbies or beer (jog my memory, please[:)][:)][:D])
Ya’ll, come on…
“Eh,” isn’t so bad. “Mate” is a cool word. Do I detect a rift between the Aussies and the Canadians? Great Scott, this could spell the end of the British Empire! What have those of England to say about this? St. George would be spinning in his grave!
Capt
Are you kidding?
Us Colonials hardly ever bicker; the Aussies come up here skiing in the middle of their summer and we go down there soaking up the sun in the middle of our winter. Pretty good deal all the way around! Besides whenever necessary we gang up on the pomms.
And I tell you them Aussies have it made, you’d figure getting tanked in a serious manner would impede your ability to read i.e. “what does it say on the bottle there …hic…hic”.
Well no problem in the land of Oz, they spell beer like this “XXXX” and that should be plain enough never mind how many of the brew you had, eh!?![;)][}:)][;)][:D][:D]
Oh yeah, their beer has the same potency as the Canadian stuff.[8D][8D]
Hi gang
It seems you boys in the colonies, past and present, are forgetting who rules the known universe. Any more of this and a gun boat will be dispatched forthwith to remind you who gave us the railways that we all love and cherish in small scale!! Anyway, Empires come and go and Saints may well spin in their graves but that’s only because he can’t see the end of the layout from 6’ down.
Cheers,
Kim
[tup]
Hear,Hear.Do we have any gunboats left?
Hey Guys,
Be carefull what you do…we have water bombers. Some army huh??? Large Scale on a fine weekend morning with some back bacon and a cup o’ joe I hope to create as a national pastime. Gotta’ try. Later eh…Brian.
Troy,
We could sail a G scale one about a yard offshore and tell them it’s a mile away, that’ll really scare 'em but for us it would be a ‘sticky switch’!! Or, perhaps we could borrow one from our American or Australian friends, that really scares me!
Cheers,
Kim
[tup]
Hear, hear indeed.
Gunboats? Or did you mean gum boots?[;)][:o)]
Gum boots?? HJ, we call them Wellington boots over here. In the war we used to have Wellington bombers so you can imagine the comments if soemone said they flew in wellingtons!
Bombs away,
Kim
[tup]
Well guys what a thing I started, well what can I say. Over the years our Australian sht list has changed it was Poms, Yanks, Italians then Greeks and Dutch. But these days it has changed. Kiwis, Ourselves then South Africans, Poms and Yanks plus Canadians (when we mistake them for Yanks). So consider yourselves all demoted.
Now on to this matter of a sticking switch, I have done some more research and I have found out my thinking was wrong as I too have asticking LGB R1 switch. I am satisfied that I have got it freed up as much as I can I sprayed it with WD 40 which will fix anything, incluing the common cold. But what i found out was that if you look at page 75 of “Garden Rairoading the Hobby” it appears that R1 switches are not suitable for 4 axle bogeys, hm.
Onto the graphite thing, the answer is no it is not soluable in water; but if you get a deluge well it may wash away. so there.
So whoever started this conversation may well have the same problem as me.
Aussie Ian.
Ian,
Thanks for the links in your email. The coast line is georgeous!!! Whenever we get to plan a trip “Down Under” I will get you to be our tourist guide. That way we will get to see all the neat stuff that is not on any brochures. WD40 is the be all end all lubricant here. There is another product called “Fluid Film”, comes in a spray like WD40. It is guaranteed to not rinse away. Great for preventing rust. As for on a switch I will have to perform a test and leave it outdoors. WD40 dries and leaves a lubricant film. This stuff stays wet so I wonder about dirt and crud collecting. Later eh…Brian.