TheRailwire
General Discussion => N and Z Scales => Topic started by: Larry46 on September 17, 2018, 03:08:28 PM
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Does anyone know if this Company is still in business?
The web site is gone. I bought their product from a dealer
at Trainfest last year.
Thanks Larry
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Last thing I heard was they are no longer in business.
Just found this on a website that sold the products
"Brian Bachrus has retired and these are no longer being made"
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DCC Concepts makes a rolling road that is similar and looks available.
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Larry,
Was this the vendor at Trainfest?
https://www.stevesdepot.com/
I picked up enough to do IM ACs from him at Springfield a couple years back....
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Larry,
Was this the vendor at Trainfest?
https://www.stevesdepot.com/
I picked up enough to do IM ACs from him at Springfield a couple years back....
Steve's Depot is still doing business? I thought he closed up shop few years ago!
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Not only retired. No longer answering customer service questions.
Back in December, I lost a setscrew on one of the size 40 (n scale) running gears and wanted to buy a replacement and some spares - or at least confirm the specs and a source.
Emailed them three times over the last year and called twice - and this was back when he was still trying to sell the biz.
Crickets.
Best I can determine I lost a black oxide 1/32" hex drive set screw, 0.16" (4.1mm? 5/32+?) long with 0.1" dia (#3-x?) with threads well less than 40tpi and a .075" dia cup point?
I just don't have a screw gauge this fine. But of course it could be metric.
And then there is the question of sourcing them ... grrr. Kills me as you just know he has a pile of these still. And my fear is it may not take much to strip these small set screws threads or heads.
Anyone here have both a fine screw gauge and willing to give me a second opinion on the dimensions?
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Anyone here have both a fine screw gauge and willing to give me a second opinion on the dimensions?
If you want to send the parts to me I'm sure we can figure it out. 8) PM if you want to pursue this.
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Question for people that have these, is for roller pairs enough for 6 axle diesels?
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Question for people that have these, is for roller pairs enough for 6 axle diesels?
Yes and no.
I was told that if the middle axle had any slop that it might cause some mixed readbacks if it jiggles in the gears.
Using the third pair to support the middle axle would be similar to having all wheels sitting solidly on the rails.
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Not only retired. No longer answering customer service questions.
Back in December, I lost a setscrew on one of the size 40 (n scale) running gears and wanted to buy a replacement and some spares - or at least confirm the specs and a source.
Emailed them three times over the last year and called twice - and this was back when he was still trying to sell the biz.
Crickets.
Best I can determine I lost a black oxide 1/32" hex drive set screw, 0.16" (4.1mm? 5/32+?) long with 0.1" dia (#3-x?) with threads well less than 40tpi and a .075" dia cup point?
I just don't have a screw gauge this fine. But of course it could be metric.
And then there is the question of sourcing them ... grrr. Kills me as you just know he has a pile of these still. And my fear is it may not take much to strip these small set screws threads or heads.
Anyone here have both a fine screw gauge and willing to give me a second opinion on the dimensions?
I have a set of the Bachrus N Scale rollers, and I'm pretty sure those set screws are 1-72. But I will check today and post back here.
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I just found this 3 day old thread and the timing is great. This complete set is going up on e-bay today.
You can see in the pictures there are enough saddles and stirrups to handle a 4-8-8-4. The instructions are there as well as 3 very small wrenches. The ball bearings on the saddles all roll freely as they should. I bought these from Steve's Depot. They were not an inexpensive item,
(http://www.trainboard.com/highball/index.php?media/img_0399.133200/full&d=1537458473)
(http://www.trainboard.com/highball/index.php?media/img_0401.133202/full&d=1537458564)
I have decided "no more tinkering", if a problem with new item it goes back to vendor or mnfgr. and if old item it goes to somebody. My eyes and fingers just do not work well anymore.
If interested, before I place on the bay, pm me.
Carl
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Thanks Max! Much appreciated.
(embarrassing!) I just re measuring them and found you are correct. the major dia seems about 0.073" so in the #1-x series... that is, if these are ANSI set screws.
Hex tool still at 1/32"
Length of set screw = ~0.155" so 5/32"?
black oxide cup point setscrew.
Of course, without a fine thread gauge, I'm at a loss if they are 1-64 or -72 [2A or 3A]. I assume they are fine (72) but have no way to confirm. Do you have a thread profile gauge (or other method) that small? If not, no worries... as I could just order an assortment and try a few.... carefully.
Also, thanks for the offer Mark, but obviously confirming size w/o needing to mail stuff is preferable.
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DCC Concepts makes a rolling road that is similar and looks available.
I wouldn’t recommend that. I bought one and it didn’t last all that long. The problem is that the screws go into plastic holes, and strip very easily. If you’re only using it for one gauge, it may be fine, but I was swapping between multiple gauges, which is one of the selling points.
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I can confirm that the N Scale Bachrus holes are 1-72, because I can smooth turn a long 1-72 screw in and out of them by hand, and I don't think I could do that if they were 1-64. I've also got a couple of replacement screws in there that are 1-72 and they tighten well and hold fast. I had to do this because I stripped the hexes out of the heads of some of the set screws.
This is a weak point of the product, in my view. They are very well-made and the *threads* do not strip out, but the hex heade on a set screw that small are very fragile and they don't hold up. I ended up replacing them with plain slotted screws. As long as the heads are flat and low, they don't get in the way.
By the way... the hex tool I use is .035", which is a little bigger than 1/32". I would not recommend using a 1/32" tool. If I rounded out the hex heads with .035", it will be even worse with 1/32"
(Really, I'd just use a low, flat-head 1-72 screw, phillips or flat blade, to replace any set screws that strip out).
This place has them:
https://www.boltdepot.com/Set_screws_Allen_Cup_point_Alloy_steel_black_oxide_finish_1-72.aspx?nv=l (https://www.boltdepot.com/Set_screws_Allen_Cup_point_Alloy_steel_black_oxide_finish_1-72.aspx?nv=l)
I would go with the 3/16" and grind a little off the tip if they stick out too much.
Note they specify the tool size as .035".
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I just found this 3 day old thread and the timing is great. This complete set is going up on e-bay today.
You can see in the pictures there are enough saddles and stirrups to handle a 4-8-8-4. The instructions are there as well as 3 very small wrenches. The ball bearings on the saddles all roll freely as they should. I bought these from Steve's Depot. They were not an inexpensive item,
(http://www.trainboard.com/highball/index.php?media/img_0399.133200/full&d=1537458473)
(http://www.trainboard.com/highball/index.php?media/img_0401.133202/full&d=1537458564)
I have decided "no more tinkering", if a problem with new item it goes back to vendor or mnfgr. and if old item it goes to somebody. My eyes and fingers just do not work well anymore.
If interested, before I place on the bay, pm me.
Carl
Carl,
I have the EXACT same set up for ACs (and anything smaller)
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Just a comment on folks not having thread gauges that are finer than 40 tpi: can't you use other screws of known thread pitch as gauges? I often hold screw threads against each other to see if their threads match. With a white paper behind them, I often don't even need a magnifying glass to see when they don't match.
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@mmagliaro Thx!
@Maletrain Sure, one can use a screw of known thread if you have, but using it as such - or even as a thread profile gauge, gets tough with miniature screws. That's whey the pro tool and die guys uses something like these... https://www.threadcheck.com/southern-style-thread-ring-gages-unified-inch-steel/ which would be total overkill when my need was sourcing existing screws.
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Seriously!!!? The prices for thread gauges in the link you provided are well over a hundred dollars apiece for one thread size! I don't know of any modeler that uses anything like those. The "screw checkers" that I have are simple plates with tapped holes drilled in them for various machine screw thread sizes and pitches, inches and metric. Even those aren't cheap, but nothing like what is in your link. And, the ones in your link don't go smaller than #0-80 tpi, anyway. And #0-80 is certainly easy enough to check with another screw as an impromptu thread gauge. Use a magnifier if you must.
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Seriously!!!? The prices for thread gauges in the link you provided are well over a hundred dollars apiece for one thread size! I don't know of any modeler that uses anything like those. The "screw checkers" that I have are simple plates with tapped holes drilled in them for various machine screw thread sizes and pitches, inches and metric. Even those aren't cheap, but nothing like what is in your link. And, the ones in your link don't go smaller than #0-80 tpi, anyway. And #0-80 is certainly easy enough to check with another screw as an impromptu thread gauge. Use a magnifier if you must.
Yeah, buying bunch of screws and nuts (yes, nuts make good gauge too) in various sizes and using them as gauges would be a bit cheaper than the professional gauge for one screw.