These instructions are for kits with the etched brake components etch F005. They describe the
assembly of the brake gear for one half-side of a bogie; there are eight such assemblies in all, four
of each hand.
These instructions are for kits with the etched brake components etch F005. They describe the
assembly of the brake gear for one half-side of a bogie; there are eight such assemblies in all, four
of each hand.
Using a 0.35mm drill in a hand pin-vice, drill through the holes in the etch as indicated
by the red rings in the drawing.
To help prevent distortion, press the components against a hard surface with a fine screwdriver while drilling.
There is fine detail in the etch which can easily become obscured by solder. It is perhaps as well to
tin all components with a thin film of solder now, to avoid bringing excess solder on the iron to
the components when assembling.
Tin the areas shown shaded green. Run through the holes with the drill again after tinning.
Place the fret on to a hard working surface such that the tags, holding the nut and crank detail to the plank joining
the centre and intermediate brake levers, are with their backs flush to the surface.
Take a length of the 0.3mm wire and apply some paste flux to its end 2mm or so. Insert the wire into the hole in one of the nuts (a spare is provided in case of losses). Working against the hard surface, and keeping the end of the wire inside the hole, cut the nut from its tag, as closely to the side of the nut and as cleanly as you can.
The paste flux should retain the nut on the wire while you now lift the nut onto the crank detail and push the wire into the hole in the crank. Cut the crank from its tag, again using the wire to retain control of it.
Now lift the nut and crank detail, still retained on the wire by the paste flux, onto the bracket extending downwards from the plank, and locate the end of the wire into the hole in the bracket. Slide the crank detail and nut down the wire so that all three components are flush to each other, rotate the crank around the wire until its flat edge is parallel with the long edges of the plank, and solder up.
Trim and clean up the ends of the wire; flush to the back of the bracket, and with a little protruding from
the front of the nut to represent the end of the crank pivot bolt.
Invert the fret and support it between two blocks, or over a recess, to accommodate the crank
detail now on the reverse side.
Make the 180° folds in the tags to turn the three brake shoe detail etches over on to their backing plates.
Apply some flux, hold the folds shut and sweat the shoe components together, perhaps with just a tiny amount
of extra solder applied to the curved face of each shoe.
Use knife blades or small screwdrivers to define the centres of the 180° folds and to drive each one over.
Fold over, 180°, and solder up the boss at the lower end of the outer brake lever.
Fold over, 180°, and solder up the boss towards the outer end of the pull rod.
Fold over, 180° the boss at the lower end of the intermediate brake lever. Pass a
length of 0.3mm wire through the hole in the boss, using the
wire to align the two parts. Solder in the wire. Finish it flush with the rear of the boss, and projecting about 1mm
from the front.
Fold over, 180°, the boss at the inner end of the pull rod. Do NOT solder here at this stage.
Remove the three detail etches from the fret and clean off remnants of the etched tags. The folding tags on
the brake shoes are best left for now, as they prevent the shoe details from coming adrift during subsequent soldering
operations.
Taking the intermediate/central brake shoes etch, make the two innermost folds on the plank joining the
two brake hangers and reinforce them with a small amount of solder, taking care not to fill the adjacent fold lines.
Using a file, smooth the lower inside edge of the plank, leaving it with a slight chamfer. This is to guard against any possibility of the secondary spring detail, fitted to the bolster, 'picking up' on that edge.
Make the two remaining folds in the plank to turn it back on itself, and reinforce them with solder also.
This is how the inside of the intermediate/central brake shoes etch looks when folding is complete. All the detail features are
now facing outwards, the same way.
Taking one of the bogie subframe assemblies, make the folds at the ends of each of the subframe's
outriggers.
Make the slotted halving joint between the intermediate/central brake shoes etch and the top of one of the two outriggers which match the handing of the etch. Support the etch in the correct position, with a lump of 'Blu-tak' perhaps, and solder up the joint.
Similarly locate and fix the outer brake shoe detail in the slot
in the inside edge of the bogie subframe end stretcher.
Remove the folded-over tags from the ends of the brake shoe details.
Test fit the wheelsets to check that there is sufficient clearance between the brake shoes and the wheels
over the operating range of the suspension (the design static position of the wheelsets is with the
tops of the bearing carrier ears level with the top of the subframe sides, with dynamic deflections of
±0.5mm service, ±0.75mm max, from there).
Small adjustments can be made by judicious filing or bending of the detail parts. If you find that you need to
adjust the outriggers, remember to check that the fit of the Bolster, between the outriggers, is maintained.
Thread the plain end of the pull rod over the wire at the base of the intermediate brake shoe hanger.
Line up the boss, on the inside of the other end of the rod, with that at the base of the outer brake shoe hanger and solder them together.
Solder up the plain end of the rod to the intermediate hanger and
trim off the ends of the wire flush.
At the outer end of the pull rod, make the first fold between the inner pull rod end detail and its support,
and reinforce the fold with a touch of solder.
Make the fold at the other end of the support to swing the inner pull rod up into position. Reinforce the fold with a
touch of solder…
…and that's it… finished.
Repeat for the remaining sets of brake gear. You may wish to take a well-deserved break first!
To complete the detailing, you may wish to glue in place a suitable representation of the actuator between the inner and outer pull rods – the moulding from discarded Bachmann brake gear does nicely, otherwise small pieces of plastic strip and rod, brought together with some filler, can do the job.
Finally, reassemble the wheelsets and bogie bolsters into the subframes, and check all clearances.