That's right Ken, I had forgotten that they should work together. I have one advantage with the NCE decoders though. I know the owner and the shop is only 40 miles north of me.

And thanks for the comment.

Bernd

 

I guess those wheels must be insulated from one another. How else would they work...right?

Doh! Senior moment. Your right. 

 I've been sniffing around a clone of the micro-mark mini mill, that I can get here in Canada.

Unless your you want to do some work on the China made mills I'd stay away from them The Grizzly I have I had to modify the lead screws. They were half metric. When moving one full inch actually moved 1.016". And cosmetically they need to be cleaned up some. Also understand that my mill is over 12 years old. The newer tools may be different. The only reason I recommend a Sherline is that it's of much higher quality for the money and tooling won't take a big bit out of your budget.

Here's a link to Canadian dealers .http://www.sherline.com/dealers.htm

 I need to get some plastic friendly lube I think. Any recommendations? Graphite or a type of Labelle grease or oil perhaps? Maybe a silicone spray? Must be styrene safe...hmm?

I had some left over grease from a Taymia gear kit that I used, but any plastic compatible grease would work. don't know about silicone spray, never tried it.

Bernd

A bit more progress on the wreck crane.

I decided to make the two side plates that hold the winches, boom pulleys and the part of the roof that hinges up out of brass. I scribed a line the length of the plastic piece it is to replace.

 I was going to cut it with a razor saw but that didn't work to good. So I clamped the brass sheet between two pieces of MD board and cut it with my fret saw.

 I had cut two pieces, soldered them together and squared them up in the mill. I then sprayed adhesive glue to the brass and attached the plastic side as a template for the holes.

 And here is the end result, with the original plastic side propped up on the crane for a comparison. The brass makes for a bit more weight on the center of the crane.

 That's it for now. Next I think I'll work on making the winch motor mount.

bernd

What is it about pieces of metal which I find so fascinating to look at?  Why does brass carry the connotation of good modeling so much more than styrene?  I just love seeing bits of mechanisms or models made out of brass.

Glad you found a use for that air tank.  Got it plumbed in, yet?

What is it about pieces of metal which I find so fascinating to look at? Why does brass carry the connotation of good modeling so much more than styrene?

Could it be that it looks like "GOLD".

Tank not plumbed in yet. Have some problems to solve first with the winch motors. Awful tight fit inside with those corners cut down for the muffler and air tank. The engineering department is going to catch you know what for that mod.

More pics coming soon, I hope.

Bernd

I worked on getting the winch motor mount made. I'm not really happy with it. I may change it. Here it is.

There are two projections on the backside that need to be removed. An Exacto #17 blade takes care of that and a touch up with a file.

 On the front the projections that are circled in red need to be removed.

 The small projection can be removed simply with an Exacto #17 knife.

 The lager part on the moving part is cut off with a pair of side cutters.

 Projections all cut off, ready for a file job.

 Filed nice and smooth.

 Using the motor for a template. Drilling a hole with tap drill size drill.

 Drilling 0-80 clearance holes.

 Tapping the holes in the motor to 0-80 threads.

 Test fitting the motor with 0-80 flat head screws.

 Test fitting the motor mount with the shell on. Very tight fit.

 Without the shell on. Mount not fastened to floor of crane swivel.

 This ones for Ken. Tank mounted and pipe added. The copper straps are from a copper scourer. Funny thing was when I used my slightly magnetized tweezers the copper was attracted to the tweezers. Never knew copper was magnetic.

That's it for now. Need to think about that motor mount.

Bernd

The copper straps are from a copper scourer.

Well shoot!  Here I've been looking for a clever way to make thin brass or copper strips, for things like boiler bands, and you have found it!  And I was just at the grocery store this morning, too.  Maybe I'll head back out this afternoon.

Funny thing was when I used my slightly magnetized tweezers the copper was attracted to the tweezers. Never knew copper was magnetic.

That is really odd.  I don't think copper is attracted to a magnet.  I wonder if the little bands are actually iron or tin with a copper plating?  I've seen electrical wire made this way.

For purposes of what you're doing, I wouldn't think it would matter either way.

-Jack

Careful there Ken. The wife might think you burned something in a pot. Interesting thing is it says "Made in France or Panama. Go figure.

@Jack

As soon as it stuck to the tweezers I used a few choice words about their product. I figured it was copper plated. It's quite a curly thing. I'll take a picture just for giggles.

Bernd

Added the picture.

(picture needs to be retaken)

How hard is it to lay one of those strips flat?  In other words, would it work as a boiler band, soldered to a brass boiler?