While the price of the gears my be " pricey", consider what is involved making a machined gear. The OD of the gear must be turned, bore established, and as a guess reamed to size, as a guess a tolerance of .000, the helical gears cut, the shoulders cut, and finally cut to length. This can all be done on an engine lathe, but in all likelyhood done on a CNC lathe. Also consider the cost of the tooling, not counting the cost of the lathe, which ever you choose.
The cost of a gear cutter alone will cause most to reach for the botttle of nitro to jump start their heart.
Been there, done that !
herrinchoker
trainmasterg Looking for replacement wheels for an early Proto GP20. Are there any alternatives to the Walthers wheels that I can get that are currently available? Thanks to anyone who can help.
Looking for replacement wheels for an early Proto GP20. Are there any alternatives to the Walthers wheels that I can get that are currently available?
Thanks to anyone who can help.
I believe these will fit/work.....but not a 100% sure though. Maybe You can check with seller who is a dealer: Papas Train Depot.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HO-Scale-Train-Parts-40-Locomotive-Wheel-Assembly-6-Athearn-40028-/141567268803?hash=item20f61117c3%3Ag%3AN4oAAOSwBahU1W-J
Good Luck! There is always NWSL.....But You probably won't like the prices.
Frank
Assuming you have the split axle type athearn drive, Northwest Short Line has replacements. Part 3, section 3-9 of their online catalog. Read their huge paragraph at the top of the page first.
I don't know if anyone read about how the NWSL gears, wheels are made,but they are all machined from solid rod, not cast like the counter-parts. That would certainly raise the cost of an item. They also give a life-time warranty on almost all their items. I don't know about the 11 tooth gear, but the 12 tooth gear, has a life-time warranty.
Sort of like some of the threads that are started on the forums...asking what is the best such & such for this & that....they then find out that they can't afford the best or think it's too much money. Goes on every day...not only model railroading.
Take Care, All!
I also think that they are a little on the high side........!
CentralGulf Difference between discontinued and out-of-stock perhaps?
Difference between discontinued and out-of-stock perhaps?
The tick box states "Include discontinued out of stock product".
Bill
Easily done.
One of my other big hobbies is Transformers, the eighties version, not the garbage movie style.
If figures have issues, people routinely make and offer replacments for hands with movable fingers, ratcheting knee joints, ratcheting choulder joints, etc. So the tolerance is there.
The $10 each thin from NWSL seems like quite the gouge to me.
I have an E6 A/B set that would possibly need these at some point as well.
According to the Shapeways website, they can do stainless steel, bronze, brass, silver, aluminum, platinum and gold in addition to a variety of plastics.
I didn't check to see what tolerances the various metals could be worked to, but they would have to be pretty fine to get the gear to fit the axle shaft properly.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Isn't 3D printing limited to certain plastics? Are any of them suitable for gears? I have no idea myself.
Who has a 3D printer?
That looks awfuly easy to do with one.
They make far more intricate parts for Transformer figures at the same price, like fully funtioning hands and the like.
bagal gmpullman now you have to pay money to view Walthers discontinued items. Ed Really? https://www.walthers.com/replacement-geared-diesel-wheelsets-fits-early-proto-2000-r-e6-7-8-9-pkg-3 bagal
gmpullman now you have to pay money to view Walthers discontinued items. Ed
now you have to pay money to view Walthers discontinued items.
Ed
bagalReally?
I tried searching the Walther's site by entering "Walthers E8 Axle" and six items came up, all from NWSL.
https://www.walthers.com/life-like-e8-diesel-3-32-quot-half-axle-nickel-silver-wheels-36-quot-110-500e16
I know the Walthers Proto axle WAS offered in a past issue of the "Monthly Flyer" I do not know how to search past issues of the Monthly Flyer.
Back in June there was a thread about the new web site and one of the posters there said you had to be a member of a Trainmaster Club or some such thing, in order to search discontinued items. That is why I incorrectly assumed that the Proto axles didn't come up when I tried to search.
I really like Walthers. For some reason I do not have any success with their search engine. I shouldn't have propagated the incorrect information without checking the facts.
I stand corrected.
Regards, Ed
Bill:
bagal I guess we have to work out what makes it work.
Problem is that most of us had things worked out before the upgrades. Everything was working fine. I just don't understand the logic behind forcing people to re-learn how to use a website. I know that they have had to make changes to accommodate iPads etc., but they could offer the iPad friendly versions as an alternative, not as the only choice. And please, don't anybody offer to tell me how complicated that would be or how expensive. IT people are naturals at making things complicated and expensive, but making things easier to use just doesn't seem to be their forte.
There! Another successful rant!! That is unless Steven deletes it!
Regards,
Dinosaur Dave
If you click on advanced search it allows expired items as a search item. I searched on "gears" and it is the second item that comes up.
Interesting how site upgrades often seem to result in a less user friendly outcome. I guess we have to work out what makes it work.
bagal:
How did you find the Walthers listing for the E series gears? I find the new site to be less than user friendly.
Cisco KidBetter to wait for an dying P2K E unit and scrounge a few out of it.
I have sometimes seen "old-stock" E- units at train shows offered in the $25-35 range. Of course, you run the risk of bad gears from them as well.
I remember Walthers re-stocking them about a year-or-so back too, Jacon. They must have sold out quickly and now you have to pay money to view Walthers discontinued items.
I have one of the Life Like Proto 2K E6 units that is probably somewhere between 10 and 14 years old. It also had the cracked gear problem but Walthers ran out of them for replacements for a number of years. About a year or two ago someone here on the forum mentioned Walthers had them in stock again so I ordered enough for the locomotive at that time. Perhaps they still have them?
Oh my, can you imagine! 10.95 US each. $14.38 Cdn plus shipping. $65.40 US for a full set of 6 plus shipping! Better to wait for an dying P2K E unit and scrounge a few out of it. plus other parts.
Cisco Kid ...The knurling sounds a bit like something I do, and a little simpler....
Another easy way to upset (knurl) an axle shaft is to place it atop a flat mill file, then use, with some pressure, another file of the same type to roll it along for a couple of inches.
Wayne
Love this forum. Thanks for all the ideas and offers Frank, Ed and Dave. That is very helpful. The knurling sounds a bit like something I do, and a little simpler. In some cases I have sanded the gear portion of the shaft in direction of rotation to get a little bite on the surface, and then set a tiny dab of locktite into the gear first. That helps, but one has to be careful not to let any locktite near the bearing block.
Ed, I will check out the second unit. I have "locktited" the first six axles. The second unit is newer and perhaps is all tight. It is great to have an offer of old parts. I am appreciate that since I am r and r ing these units only because a nice fellow on HO swap sold me two nearly pristine E shells for a fraction of what sellers on Ebay wanted....and mailed them for a fraction. New to the swap sites, so I am going to ask there too.
I had a LL E6 with a gear issue. It was one tooth off from the commonly used Athearn gear, which I tried anyway but did not mesh right in that loco as it didn't sound right. It turned out Walthers had a replacement (front or rear, I forget) truck still available so I was able to get gears that way, about $10 per 3 axles.
Also, someone pointed out a part number that is occasionally available on EBay. I'll look for the details.
Paul
Modeling HO with a transition era UP bent
hon30critterThe price is a little scary unless it is for a set. I think I like Ed's prices better!
That price looks like it is for one gear... hummm, I might have to re-think my business strategy
48DP x 11T SGd x 3.1mm face - double hubbed .125" x .170" dia. x 3/32" bore,
(Life-Like Proto 2000 E8 FIRST RUN) (1/pkg)
Based on weight, the price of that gear is merely $7,170.00 a pound!
My offer stands, Cisco. Let me know what you need.
Dave,
They usually come six to a pkg. sometimes twelve.
Take Care!
Frank:
You the man!!!
I looked at NWSL hoping to help the OP but I didn't see the proper gears. The price is a little scary unless it is for a set. I think I like Ed's prices better!
Cisco,
NWSL has them:
http://shop.osorail.com/product.sc;jsessionid=02D034E7E358922CB639EFB984A99093.p3plqscsfapp004?productId=3303&categoryId=44
Let me know if you can't find any alternatives. I have a handful of E unit parts that I scrounged from some of the dozens of Life-Like E-units that I have cannabalized over the years. I have a couple of trucks from dummies that have the axel gears in them but no idlers.
I'll be glad to send you what you need.