Bend Your Own Brass?

[Showme]

  So, I picked up several Intermountain SD40-2 chassis. They run well but most are missing the brass pickup strips. They are the same as Atlas SD50 strips, but Atlas is out of them. Has anyone bent these using available brass? Known suppliers of the brass stock?

[Peachymike]

K and S metals has phosphorus bronze sheets in .008” which I have used to cut and bend pickups. If you can find .006” (or .15mm) would be best and I believe closest to the stock pickups. Both can be cut with a hobby knife by using lots of light strokes and sanding the edge smooth. I tried brass, but it doesn’t have the same “spring” to it and looses it tension and you get poor continuity.

[Lemosteam]

Agreed on the phosphor bronze. Buy a pair of these for cutting any thin material.  Works really well on etched frets too:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Fiskars-6-Non-stick-Micro-tip-Garden-Pruning-Shears-Orange-and-Black/3072167567

[peteski]

Eh, forget the strips - just hardwired the trucks! That's what Atlas did, dumping the Kato design. 

I'm just kidding of course - I prefer the old-school Kato design.

I think that the factory-made strips are made from spring temper brass, but most hobby brass sheets are not as springy. As mentioned, phosphor bronze is likely better material for home-made strips. Choosing the right thickness is also important.  Cutting your own will almost guarantee that the strip will curl during cutting, so some extra effort will be needed to make it flat.  Making the shallow Z-bends will also require some care.

[tehachapifan]

Eileen's Emporium in the UK carried phosphor bronze strips that were (almost?) the exact same width and thickness as those contact strips you speak of. But, alas, Eileen's is no more and I haven't found them anywhere else.

[garethashenden]

Eileen's Emporium in the UK carried phosphor bronze strips that were (almost?) the exact same width and thickness as those contact strips you speak of. But, alas, Eileen's is no more and I haven't found them anywhere else.

A lot of Eileen’s metal stocks ended up with Cambrian Models.
https://www.cambrianmodelrail.co.uk/store/Phosphor-Bronze-Strip-0-15mm-thick-c160284011

[tehachapifan]

A lot of Eileen’s metal stocks ended up with Cambrian Models.
https://www.cambrianmodelrail.co.uk/store/Phosphor-Bronze-Strip-0-15mm-thick-c160284011

Good to know, thanks!

[Showme]

   Thanks to everyone for the replies. I will pick up one of the Fiskars shears and try that along with the phosphor bronze sheets. I had tried automotive bearing shim stock and regular scissors but ended up with a shoddy cut. The fact that the shim stock is pretty soft contributed to the edge curling. I do have the Atlas SD50 trucks that I am using, and they all came with the wire but like Peteski, I am not too keen with those. Bending the Z is no problem with small needle nose pliers with a long nose.