I made this out of hardwood (probably maple) from an old broken director's chair. Works as well as the $39 model from Micro Mark. I have a well equipped wood shop, but all you really need to make this is a saw and a plane. And a pencil and a straighedge.
I will cut more slots for bending different lengths of grabiron as I need them. Closeup showing a couple of grabirons after bending.
David Starr www.newsnorthwoods.blogspot.com
Just when I needed a cheap wire bending device. Got a nice piece of dry Cherry wood waiting.
Now what type of wire do you use ?
Great idea.
Thank you.
Fear an Ignorant Man more than a Lion- Turkish proverb
Modeling an ficticious HO scale intergrated Scrap Yard & Steel Mill Melt Shop.
Southland Industrial Railway or S.I.R for short. Enterchanging with Norfolk Southern.
dragonriversteel Just when I needed a cheap wire bending device. Got a nice piece of dry Cherry wood waiting. Now what type of wire do you use ? Great idea. Thank you.
For grab irons I stick with 0.020 inch brass wire. It's a little over size (scales out to 1.74 HO inches). I have some 0.012 inch wire but I decided that the traditional 0.020 looks right, the nearer to scale 0.012 looks fragile.
GREAT idea about using a wedge for designing a wire-bending jig, Dave. And you can label the top to differentiate the various grab iron width locations.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
I have always used a pair of tapered needle nose pliers. I mark on the blades where to place a wire for a desired width.
.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
My small drills are getting dull. Drilling holes for grabirons was taking forever using a pin vise. I finally sharpened this drill bit, a #75 using a grinding wheel in my Dremel. Then this works. Chuck the #75 bit in a three jaw chuck from Micromark. Chuck the chuck in my drill press. Set to lowest speed, and feed VERY slowly. Did all the holes in this car without breaking the bit. I have two more cars to go.
Here we have all the wire gab irons installed. Next step is to glue them in place with CA. And then brush paint them. I think they ought to be painted to match the body color of the car, rather than painting them safety yellow.
Snazzy grip iron work David. I'm thinking of using aluminum flat stock to make a wire wedge jig. Although wood can be cut easier. Heck,might make both. Wood for the longer runs and metal for short grips.
Working on a kit-bash Athearn HO transfer caboose and a shoving platform right now. Handrails & grip irons have plauged my skill level for thirty years . Just could never get them right.
David,thank you for sharing this idea. Myself & others needed a simple way to bend wire correctly.
Adding a wire bending wedge to my " to do list " tomorrow. Then I can complete my builds. The transfer caboose had been in various states of completion for years. Now she's almost done. Granted now they makes some neat store bought transfer crummies.
David, I like your idea of a chuck within a chuck. I'll have to try that. Too many broken bits with a pin vise.
I also wanted to try what is called a "jewelers drill" that holds tiny bits, and works like the yankee screw driver, if you know what I mean.
Mike
My You Tube
Mike:
I have one of the yankee driver style of jeweller's screwdrivers but I haven't mastered its use. I can do OK with larger bits but when they get into the high 70s sizes I seem to break a lot of bits with it. Probably more practise would help, but I rarely break bits with my traditional pin vises as long as I take my time. If you are going to try one, I suggest getting some spare bits. Hopefully you will have better results.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Thanks Dave.
I have learned to have more patience with my pin vise. The last one I bought, has a comfortable handle, so I can turn the drill, and the handle ends stays nicely in my palm.
Still checking out options. Chucks for my Dremel don't go that small, and like our friend Frank, not sure if I want to use it for pin point drilling, as the bit can wander, and break, just as quick.
Mike.
Metal, aluminum, will make a more durable and long lasting bending jig. Metal is somewhat harder to work than hardwood. You win some you loose some. My humble 12 inch band saw can cut aluminum angle (1/8" inch thick) using an ordinary steel blade. No fancy carbide blade. The cut comes out kinda rough, but an ordinary single cut mill file will give you a smooth surface without too much trouble.
Really good and useful idea.
For modelers that own the Life Like P2K E-units, this would come in handy. The long plastic handrails, next to the cab doors and engine access doors, are fragile break easily! Yet no one produces aftermarket replacement rails for EMD cab units.
"I like my Pullman Standards & Budds in Stainless Steel flavors, thank you!"
AntonioFP45 ....For modelers that own the Life Like P2K E-units, this would come in handy. The long plastic handrails, next to the cab doors and engine access doors, are fragile break easily! Yet no one produces aftermarket replacement rails for EMD cab units.
....For modelers that own the Life Like P2K E-units, this would come in handy. The long plastic handrails, next to the cab doors and engine access doors, are fragile break easily! Yet no one produces aftermarket replacement rails for EMD cab units.
Cal-Scale (Bowser) and Detail Associates both offer handrails for F- and E-units, but I can't say for certain if they'll fit the Proto units. I believe that the Bowser ones are for Athearn units and the DA ones are for Stewart. Detail Associates also offer stainless steel wire in various diameters if you wish to make your own...that's what I used on these Model Power E-units...
The Phase II E7B was made from two A-units...
Wayne
Hi Doc,
Thanks for that info.
I'll check out Bowser-Cal Scale's website for the handrails, but I'm also considering DA's stainless steel wire as an option. Excellent job on your E-units! What diamter wire did you use?
doctorwayne Cal-Scale (Bowser) and Detail Associates both offer handrails for F- and E-units, but I can't say for certain if they'll fit the Proto units. I believe that the Bowser ones are for Athearn units and the DA ones are for Stewart. Detail Associates also offer stainless steel wire in various diameters if you wish to make your own...that's what I used on these Model Power E-units... The Phase II E7B was made from two A-units... Wayne
Cal-Scale (Bowser) and Detail Associates both offer handrails for F- and E-units, but I can't say for certain if they'll fit the Proto units. I believe that the Bowser ones are for Athearn units and the DA ones are for Stewart.
Detail Associates also offer stainless steel wire in various diameters if you wish to make your own...that's what I used on these Model Power E-units...
Thanks for your comments, Antonio.
The two E-units, along with their matching passenger train, have gone to a friend in Wisconsin, but I'm pretty sure that I used Detail Associates .012" stainless steel wire. The DA part number is 3504.Since I had only the two E-units to do, I didn't bother making a jig for bending the grabs - the stainless steel will allow for a couple of re-bends if first attempts are off by a bit.I also used an X-Acto #11 blade to cut the bent grabs from the stock piece. To do so, use an old blade (mine see a lot of various duties as they move through their useful life cycle, and cutting wire isn't the last stop, either).Working on a hard surface - I use a sheet of glass - simply use the heel of the blade, and press down firmly, making sure to use your free hand to restrain both the stock piece of wire and the formed grabiron. If the wire's diameter is too great to make a cut in this manner, simply press down firmly (always use the heel of the blade, as using the pointy end may cause it to snap off) and use the blade to roll the wire back and forth a few times. You can do this until the wire is cut through or until its diameter has been reduced enough to permit the chopping-type cut.Cutting the wire in this manner gives a much cleaner cut than pliers or side-cutters, and the cut ends usually need no clean-up. Another alternative, of course, is to use a cut-off disc.
Doc,
Again, thanks I appreciate your tips!
I'm ordering the DA wire and will try both, the #11 blade and cut-off disc methods that you recommend. I finally have some "hobby time" in which I can work on cleaning and sprucing up my models. Since I have 5 E-units and I F-unit that need the handrails, I'll also order the Bowser kit just to try it out.
doctorwayne Thanks for your comments, Antonio. The two E-units, along with their matching passenger train, have gone to a friend in Wisconsin, but I'm pretty sure that I used Detail Associates .012" stainless steel wire. The DA part number is 3504.Since I had only the two E-units to do, I didn't bother making a jig for bending the grabs - the stainless steel will allow for a couple of re-bends if first attempts are off by a bit.I also used an X-Acto #11 blade to cut the bent grabs from the stock piece. To do so, use an old blade (mine see a lot of various duties as they move through their useful life cycle, and cutting wire isn't the last stop, either).Working on a hard surface - I use a sheet of glass - simply use the heel of the blade, and press down firmly, making sure to use your free hand to restrain both the stock piece of wire and the formed grabiron. If the wire's diameter is too great to make a cut in this manner, simply press down firmly (always use the heel of the blade, as using the pointy end may cause it to snap off) and use the blade to roll the wire back and forth a few times. You can do this until the wire is cut through or until its diameter has been reduced enough to permit the chopping-type cut.Cutting the wire in this manner gives a much cleaner cut than pliers or side-cutters, and the cut ends usually need no clean-up. Another alternative, of course, is to use a cut-off disc. Wayne