If you have steady hands and good eyes, you can use a single-edge razor blade to cut a small angle on the end that fits inside the body. Then it will slide in, stay tight, and you won't need to fool around with glue. All you need is that little bit of help getting it into the mounting hole.
I had the same trouble with mine. After using a 0.5mm drill bit to clean out the holes, the grab irons were able to press in much more easily and still be tight enough to not require glue.
_________________________________________________________________
I glue grab irons off with clear latex caulk from the backside.
A safety pin, medium-sized, might work. From the point there will be a gentle taper to the full width of the shaft. Enlarge the hole a little at a time till the grab iron fits snugly...
Hello Wayne,
Actually, I do have a Pin Vise with different size drill bits!
I will take your advice and do what you suggest.
Thanks.
Some engineering plastics don't respond well to many types of glues and adhesives. If I were adding grabirons to cars and locomotives, I'd use phosphor-bronze wire, available from Tichy in a wide variety of diameters. Tichy also offers pre-formed grabirons, with both straight- and drop-style ones.I'd suggest that you buy a set of pin vises (usually in four sizes) that will accommodate the full range of drill bits needed for most HO scale model work.
I have sets that will accommodate small drill bits from #80 to #61, and also from #60 to #1, and others for lettered drill bits (A-to-Z) and, of course, the usual fractional sizes that are widely used with power tools.A handy tool for create holes for grabirons and other small details is a draughting compass...not for making a circle, (or creating a hole) but rather to create a small pin-*** to make a starting point for using a drill bit, which will prevent the bit from wandering.
Once you have the holes drilled, the neatest way to install the grabirons is to removed the body shell (whether it's a locomotiove or a freight car), then add the grabiron(s), with a small piece of appropriately thick material (usually plastic) to keep the grabiron at a reasonable distance from the body shell...simply apply finger pressure to the grab iron, while using your other hand (along with a suitable tool) to bend-over the portions of the grabiron that are inside the body shell.
You can then add some ca on the tip of your X-Acto knife, and touch it to the folded-over wires, inside the bodyshell, at the points where the wire comes through the holes. This will create a strong bond with no visible mess on the outside of the body shell.
Apologies for the long-winded explanation, but I have done hundreds of cars and locomotives with such details, and have learned what works and what doesn't work, too.
Wayne
Thank you to everyone for your suggestions.
I will drill the holes and hopefully, the grab bars will stay on.
Also Mike, I will put a little glue on the bars.
Kato grabs can be a pain for sure! Time and patience. I have drilled some out, but then they need to be glued. If you can get them in the holes, they will stay with no glue.
Mike.
My You Tube
Hello All,
Hawks RuleI won't use CA glue for fear of melting the plastic, since one has to be very precise with putting the grab bars in the holes.
CA doesn't "melt" plastic.
Styrene-compatible solvents like Styrene Tack-It II or Micro-Mark Same Stuff, do "melt" the plastic to "weld" them together.
To enlarge the holes I recommend using a drill bit in a pin vise.
Let the bit do the work as you enlarge the hole.
To apply the grab irons put a small drop of CA on the ends and insert them into the mounting holes.
Hope this helps.
"Uhh...I didn’t know it was 'impossible' I just made it work...sorry"
The paint usually fills the holes in a bit causing issues. Only thing I am aware of is to drill them out. shane
A pessimist sees a dark tunnel
An optimist sees the light at the end of the tunnel
A realist sees a frieght train
An engineer sees three idiots standing on the tracks stairing blankly in space
Gluing them on the surface without inserting the pins into the holes will likely not be very successful. They are molded delrin plastic which is hard to glue.
You need to measure the pin size and drill the holes to match, or just very slightly larger.
I just purchased a new old stock Kato RS-2 locomotive.
It runs very nice and the seller even through in a decoder!
The detailing on this unit has been a challenge so far.
I did ok with the front, back and side railing, but now I am having difficulty with the grab bars on each end!
I have managed to only attach 2 bars, which was a challenge.
It appears that the holes are to small and I even used a pin to try and make them a little bigger.
After over an hour of frustration, I have decided to glue them.
So, my question is: what type of glue is best for plastic shell
I won't use CA glue for fear of melting the plastic, since one has to be very precise with putting the grab bars in the holes.
Here are some photos