Con-cor NYC 4-6-4 Hudson (plastic siderods)

[timwatson]

I have a simple one for you all.

I need to add better side rod pins to my Con-cor hudson NYC J3a 4-6-4. I am missing 3 of the 4 it came with. As you can see in the picture I found a very small screw that is holding court on the one side but I need something better and I only had one screw (that size).

Any suggestions or alternatives are greatly appreciated?

Thanks, Tim

[sizemore]

You may have screwed yourself putting that screw in the hole (, puns). You've threaded the hole by inserting the screw, enlarging and diminished the surface area that the correct pins need to hold in the wheel. If it was me at this point Tidbits makes some hex head screws that may fit that and actually look somewhat prototypical.

HTH,
The S.

[timwatson]

What or where do I find "Tidbits"?

[sizemore]

Sorry it's Hob-Bits and they come from Woodland Scenics:

http://woodlandscenics.woodlandscenics.com/show/category/HobBitsScrews

The S.

[mmagliaro]

I would go to Michaels, and look at the packages of craft and sewing pins.  They have
them in many diameter shanks with decent smooth heads on them.  You can get them in
a semi-blackened dark gray or black too.

The screw has probably enlarged that hole (as has already been pointed out to you).   But if need be,
you can fill it with some JB Weld 2-part epoxy (find it at any auto parts store or auto parts department
in a department store).  Then use a pin vise to drill a new smaller hole.

The pins on that engine were plastic so they "crush" a little in the holes and stay put.
Be very careful with them.

The Hob Bits hex head screws should work well, but the heads will be thick. (Not "wide", I mean "thick")
They will stick out far.  But you can fix that by carefully filing down the face of the hex head.  If you paint them
silver, they should look really good.

[timwatson]

Many thanks Sizemore. I hadn't seen those "bits" before.

Max I was hoping you'd chime in here. I really like the pin idea (we have Michaels nearby). This is the Dreyfus you'd sent the NYC ovals for (lonngggg ago).

It's sat on the shelf for awhile since it had busted all of it's side rod pins. I really am contemplating using a small microengineering spike painted silver if the pins don't work out. I had trouble with some thick screws I had having thick heads so I am not ruling it out but those holes are tiny. I also might try a z scale coupler screw.

Thanks to you both. You got me out of my rut like thinking.

[mmagliaro]

Other things I've used in a pinch like this:
Tiny brass nails for jewelry boxes and doll house furniture.  You'll find that stuff at Michael's too.
You can clip them as short as you need to.

Remember, those plastic siderods don't do much.  There's no stress on them.  You ought to be able to
use almost any little pin that has a close enough diameter and head size. 
Put a tiny glob of Walthers Goo down in the hole first, and then it won't come out if it's a little loose,
once the Goo sets up.  And it can still be pried out someday if need be.

You just need a pin with a shank that's not so thin that the rod flops all over the place on it.

Glad you're going to get the old Hudson running again!