Steel cable transmission

[Peter_T1958]

Hello

Resuming the few available sources, I  found that all the cast supports for the bearings need a complete rework. For reasons of stability, again I chose brass which is not among the best solution for reproducing iron castings in such a small scale.



The parts consist of several layers of brass sheet, formed and finally soldered together, so the soldering tin inevitably serves as filler between the layers.

So far, so good, but now I am playing with thoughts of sandblasting (there is a machine shop just around the corner) the parts as preparation for the base colour.

My question: Wouldn't this remove all the solder and therefore destroy the work 

Peter

[chester]

I don't think that sand blasting would destroy the solder bond but it may be a bit aggressive  for the finish (too much pitting for the scale). I would experiment with Chuck Doan's method of spraying from a distance to create the texture needed.

[Hydrostat]

Peter,

if the sand blaster is familiar with modeling items you may give it a try. As well you may simply use a fiber glass pen to roughen the surface a bit and then burnish it. Even cooking in water with detergent helps to get rid of the oily adhesions which usually prevent good burnishing results. Burnishing gives a very good first layer for painting, even water based with washings. I can burnish the parts for you if you don't have the chemicals.

Volker

[5thwheel]

I use an air eraser. It is essentially an airbrush with larger bore and uses fine grit.  There are also other materials that can be used in sandblaster from corn meal to remove a surface film and would not bother the solder. I have not had any problems with the grit in my air eraser hurting my solder joints.

[Peter_T1958]

Hi gents

Thank you for your inputs. The machine shop I mentioned above is some sort of "open workshop" where you can use the machines for a small fee. I don't know yet what I can expect from the equipment.
@Volker
Thank you anyway. I intend to use the "Weinert Grundierung" as base coat. Seems to be very difficult to airbrush, but - as I read - the adhesion to the surface shall be very good.
@Bill
Looks good that air eraser. Could be a useful instrument for small projects as mine and it isn't as expensive as I assume. 

Peter

[5thwheel]

Peter, I really use my air eraser for many projects. I find it good for putting as bite in brass before painting.  I use bottled CO2 instead of a compressor. If you so use a compressor then be sure to install a very good air dryer in line.
I am following your work with much admiration.

Bill

[Lawton Maner]

I've had good luck over the years with Dawn dish washing liquid, followed by a good rinse with distilled water. Then force drying with a hairdryer and only handling the parts with latex gloves.

Several commercial shops near me use Dawn in their metal cleaning operations because as a consumer product, they don't have to treat the waste water before giving it to the sanitation district.

[NE Brownstone]

Peter, what an awesome casting looking fabrication.  I've got to start messing around with brass, more.

Yes, Dawn is the ultimate oil and grease killer, short of Varsol, or any other toxic degreaser.  When I worked in the oilfield we used pipe dope that made plumbers pipe dope seem like soap.  This stuff was a mix of goop, slop and sticky and it wouldn't come off with anything short of gasoline, or diesel, except for Dawn.  Dawn ORIGINAL Blue.  The other mixes are useless or not anywhere near as good as Old Blue.  

At the last place I worked we were cleaning out a back lot that had an old wheel barrow that was full of rain water and had a 1/4" slick of oil from an oil can that someone left  in it.  We were at a loss as to what to do, but then I suggested using Dawn to break up the oil up.  Sure enough, the oil broke down and we were able to dump the whole thing.  

Since then I've told my wife to buy only Dawn Blue.  

Hmm, maybe I should do Dawn commercials.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled program!

[Design-HSB]

Hello Peter,,
I beam basically all metal parts with aluminum oxide grain 180 with about 1 bar air pressure.
Then all the parts are immediately blackened with chemistry.


Winds soldered with the cover open and one cent piece.


Meanwhile, the winch is browned and mounted to the sample.

[finescalerr]

It's been a very slow couple of weeks on this forum but your progress and the info about Dawn are more interesting then a dozen threads on other forums. -- Russ

[Ray Dunakin]

Beautiful work!

[Peter_T1958]

Hi all

Thank you for your interest and support.

Lawton, using Dawn for metal cleaning sounds very interesting. But I can see hardly a chance to buy it anywhere in Europe ... Who knows more about that?

Russ (and the other Russ), thank you for your positive view of my efforts. I am looking forward to the point, when I can start the diorama background and pour the water. Then I will certainly choose some of your Standard Retaining Wall elements!

Helmut
Tomorrow I will take a look at the machine shop I mentioned above. But I have no idea  what awaits me there! BTW. Looks like the real thing, your winch. What scale is it?


In the meantime production of gear wheels continues - a long and lengthy process



Styrene forming                       mounting the gear teeth                   shaping and sanding


Oh, I forgot to mentione, that I need only sixteen gear wheels in different sizes ...
Peter

[Design-HSB]

Hi Peter,

all my works are in scale 1: 22.5.

[finescalerr]

Nice gear, Peter! -- Russ

[Ray Dunakin]

That gear is amazing