The only plating I have ever done to copper clad board was when I plated it with a tin coating. This was a cold  plating method. The Caswell Company offers many plating options for the home hobby guy. Check out the link Ken gave in the thread.

@ Andy,

Andy were a talking about the oxidation of the copper ring that goes into the turret well and the contact pins I made, not the wheel set. That will come later. I also have an idea I want to try out to make the contact with less friction. Keep watching.

Bernd

In an e-mail to me Kevin had asked about making the turret turn more freely. I finally took a picture to point to the one place not many would look for interference. Here's a picture that should be quite self explanatory.

(picture needs o be retaken)

Make sure these corners is not interfering with the part this gets fastened around.

Bernd

To add a bit to Bernd's comments... I played with six sets of the cab (turret) bases and their chassis mounts. One oddity I found was in a couple of cases when I tightened the screws to put the two base halves together, they no longer made a perfect circle. My solution was to add washers between the halves and it solved the problem. I also used 600 grit sandpaper to smooth the edges in and out. Be very careful to remove all the plastic fuzz after you finish. You need to make absolutely sure this turns freely. I used the back of my small finger to push it around with minimal force to test the movement. With no load, it must turn freely, as everything else you're going to do will add friction. Remember, this model was available for over 50 years, so it's likely there were some small variations in production.

Someone suggested before using plastic compatible lubricant, It is a good idea, after you've finished all the mechanical adjustments.

Best Regards,

Geoff Bunza

Gentlemen, thank-you both for your advice.

Thanks Bernd for posting the clarifying photo, that is crystal clear to me now.

Thanks Geoff for mentioning the out-of-round condition you experienced when fastening the two halves together.

As a result of the advice given, upon closer inspection I discovered that those corners needed to be smoothed.  I also realized that the two halves, when fastened together, were slightly offset from one another creating a small out of round condition in that assembly.  Further, I found the base well of the turret to be ever so slightly out of round.  All of these small discrepancies added up to significant friction when rotating the turret through 360 degrees.

Further smoothing of the parts and the application of thin nylon washers seems to have alleviated the friction I was noticing before.  The turret is virtually free-wheeling now, where it was definitely binding before.

Thanks again for your help.

Best regards,

Details at 11:00

Bernd

The rotation looks very smooth.  I gather you worked out the issue with the wipers you mentioned.

Looking forward to the details.

Regards,

Here are some details of getting the electrical collection system working. As could be seen by the video It still needs a bit of tweaking. I solder the wires on the winch motors and mounted them in the cab. The wires I use are from a ribbon cable. The wire is small enough to be flexible enough to use on this project.

Here's a picture of the new power ring with the wires soldered on and filed down so the wipers can ride over them. I used a suggestion from Ken Rickman by drilling a #72 hole and then using a counter sink made a slight counter sink in the board and soldering the wire on. Then I carefully filed the wire down. It's a bit hard to see because of the reflection.

On the bottom I just cut a larger hole to carry both the wires out the bottom. These will get attached to the trucks once I get them. They are on order.

I modified the outside wiper. If you recall from earlier post I drilled a hole through this pin pickup. I cut the tubing off a this hole and filed a V notch in it to hold the wire. No longer will the wire push the pickup tube sideways and cause friction. Works great now.

Here's a top view of all the motors and wires in place.

Now I've got to find a way to get the cable (string) past the turret motor. That's next. Then I think I'll be ready for the electronics of this project.

Bernd

That's an impressive bit of mechanism there.  I especially like the way the spring loaded wipers look.

To guide the cables, would it be practical to make a set of brass tubes which bend around the various obstacles and guide the free end to the proper location?  I'm not sure how much friction that would add to the system, but it might be more reliable and easier to thread than a collection of pulleys.

Ken,

I've given a lot of thought about those cable guides. I was also thinking tubing, but believe there would be to much friction. I'll give it a try though. I've got some designs on a pulley sheave that might work. Stay tuned and you'll see the process of mistakes and solutions, I hope.

BTW, I know what I'm going to do with those wheel sets I've got. I think I have enough to do two 0-4-4 tank engines. The one set I'll have to add a rim. I also plan on trying to nickel plate them. That's for the HOn30 portion. But that'll be another thread.

Bernd

I was also thinking tubing, but believe there would be to much friction.

I think it depends on the material and size.  I was thinking about a curved guide (not sure what to call it, but it would look like part of a pulley which is unable to rotate), and it occurred to me that a tube would be functionally the same, but with the added benefits of easier threading and security from derailing the cable.  If you could polish the inside of the tube (not that hard, perhaps) it should help a lot.  There are also plastic tubes made for guiding cables in RC aircraft, and they might be ideal for the purpose.

I wonder if there would be any practical way to (or benefit from) lubricate the cables so that they run more freely.  Graphite might work well, if you could figure out how to work it in, and it would make them look more like steel cables than black thread.

BTW, I know what I'm going to do with those wheel sets I've got. I think I have enough to do two 0-4-4 tank engines. The one set I'll have to add a rim. I also plan on trying to nickel plate them.

Just an idea:  If I remember correctly, there are two each blind and flanged.  If so, use the blind driver toward the rear, and let the truck swivel like a freight car truck (no side motion).  There were a number of prototype locomotives built like that.  I'm curious to see what you come up with to plate the drivers, and at what cost.  I have quite a few MDC drivers I would like to have plated, but some places want outrageous prices for the service.