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Author Topic: Another small step achieved  (Read 651 times)

Stoker

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Another small step achieved
« on: July 31, 2020, 09:06:00 pm »
Just completed construction of another fixture/jig needed for building switches for my eventual large scale (1:20.3) railroad out in the yard. This one is for bending tight angles into the rails for the entrance into guard rails and frog mouths.

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Next I need to figure out, design and build some simple clamping fixture that can adjust to and hold precise angles to mill the point notches in the stock rails and the thinning tapers to the points on the ends of the closure rails. Then I just need to develop some sort of clamping fixture to solder the key parts together ......  that is if I can in fact succeed at soldering aluminum.

At that point I can start building switches, and for phase 1 of my backyard pike, I will need an even dozen.

Here's hoping it all comes together as needed ... in my dreams!!!   ;c)
"Information is not knowledge, Knowledge is not wisdom, Wisdom is not truth, Truth is not beauty, Beauty is not love, Love is not music: Music is THE BEST...   
Wisdom is the domain of the Wis (which is extinct). Beauty is a French phonetic corruption of a short cloth neck ornament currently in resurgence..."
F. Zappa ... by way of Mary, the girl from the bus.

Tony Bird

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Re: Another small step achieved
« Reply #1 on: August 02, 2020, 06:01:18 am »
Hi Daniel,

That works well you must be pleased!  Cannot help you with soldering aluminium never tried it.

Take care and stay safe Tony.

classixs

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Re: Another small step achieved
« Reply #2 on: August 02, 2020, 08:36:19 am »
Great jig there Daniel, well done !

As far as aluminum welding and soldering goes, my experience is nil, but i have purchased a few "Alumaloy" rods, to test them out (one day)..donīt know if that product will cover your needs?
Plenty of movies on youtube demonstrating Alumaloy, and it seems very easy to use 8)

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Alumaloy
Cheers
Jan
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Stoker

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Re: Another small step achieved
« Reply #3 on: August 02, 2020, 09:01:22 am »
Great jig there Daniel, well done !

As far as aluminum welding and soldering goes, my experience is nil, but i have purchased a few "Alumaloy" rods, to test them out (one day)..donīt know if that product will cover your needs?
Plenty of movies on youtube demonstrating Alumaloy, and it seems very easy to use 8)

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Alumaloy


Thanks for that link Jan. I also have a bundle of alumaloy rods that I picked up some years ago, but still haven't used. I saw a live demonstration from the guy I bought them from, and have seen some YouTube videos as well ... but do appreciate the link. My impression is that the alumaloy requires a rather high heat, and the rods I have actually possess a cross section that is greater than the aluminum rails I wish to join, thus the danger of actually melting the thin edges of the rails webs and flanges seems acute!

I have now also acquired some aluminum specific soldering flux paste that is supposed to work well on aluminum when used with the Stay-Brite line of silver bearing soft solders (5% Ag) to form a strong joint at much lower temperatures. That is how I'm going to start out anyway, and see if/how that works.

But of course first, there must be a fixture for holding the various parts in proper position for soldering, and before that there must be a clamping and angulating fixture for milling the the tapers and joining surfaces. I'm well along on an attempt at this second fixture, and hope it will be as easy as my current plan seems to indicate. Basically just a pair of oversized (for my vise anyway) parallels, with some clamping screws, spacer strips, and sine bar like riser blocks cut at specific lengths to create the needed angles using my 4" vise ways as the bottom plate. Looks promising so far, but much needed to do to complete and verify the concept.
"Information is not knowledge, Knowledge is not wisdom, Wisdom is not truth, Truth is not beauty, Beauty is not love, Love is not music: Music is THE BEST...   
Wisdom is the domain of the Wis (which is extinct). Beauty is a French phonetic corruption of a short cloth neck ornament currently in resurgence..."
F. Zappa ... by way of Mary, the girl from the bus.

Stoker

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Re: Another small step achieved
« Reply #4 on: August 02, 2020, 09:30:56 am »
Hi Daniel,

That works well you must be pleased!  Cannot help you with soldering aluminium never tried it.

Take care and stay safe Tony.

Thanks Tony!

Lacking your innate talents at forming most things by eye, it has always been needful for me to find a way to "standardize" most anything repetitive I try to do to the best of my ability. Thus this overly fancy adjustable Jig for performing the relatively simple task of putting a minor bend in a rail, that I'm sure you easily do by simply clamping in a vise and bending to "spec" with a pair of pliers. Besides .... this does give me the opportunity to work with my machine tools, which is part of the attraction, whether truly needed or not!?!?   ;c)

In the end, I'll end up with a set of fixtures and jigs that will allow me to go into full production on switches should I ever want to (which I don't), all for the chance that should I ever get to phase III of my empire (not too likely), I may need about 30 switches total. Phase I wants an even dozen, phase II will use another half a dozen, while phase III as currently envisioned will need at least another dozen, or perhaps a few more, should I live so long and remain agile enough to actually do the work.

Certainly, I'd be far ahead of where I am today on my railroad, were I to have taken a more direct and minimalist approach to getting these sorts of tasks accomplished ..... but for me at least, it is more the journey than the destination .... though it would be nice to be sure, if I did get to some part of "there" eventually!!!   
"Information is not knowledge, Knowledge is not wisdom, Wisdom is not truth, Truth is not beauty, Beauty is not love, Love is not music: Music is THE BEST...   
Wisdom is the domain of the Wis (which is extinct). Beauty is a French phonetic corruption of a short cloth neck ornament currently in resurgence..."
F. Zappa ... by way of Mary, the girl from the bus.