FVM wheelsets

[Joetrain59]

The wobble test. Did that the other night, after I thought I had it pressed on well enough. It passed, but came undone when car was rolling in a train.
Thanks Max.
 Joe D

[mmagliaro]

Joe, what did you glue the wheel back on with?   If ACC, I'd never trust it.  Best to go with a 2-part epoxy or Loctite,
or even Walthers Goo.  When that stuff sets up, it is REALLY strong, and it sticks well to plastic and metal.

Anyway, I made my jig and fixed a wheel.  I put the rim back on with Loctite 648 Retaining compound. 
It rolls perfectly true, to my eye anyway.  Whether the glue will hold, I have no idea.  I'll put it into a truck on one
of my freight cars so it rolls around in a train and see what happens.

Here's the jig, with a broken wheel in it:



Then you apply glue, put on the other rim, and press the rims snugly so they are flat flat FLAT against the jig.
The other plus here is that you are guarantees that the wheelset will be in gauge (assuming the jig is square and is
the right width).

That jig block is the same one I milled to do the quarting for my 0-6-0.  I just keep finding uses for it, and cutting other notches
and doo-dads in it for other purposes!

By the way, the axle in the jig in this next photo has a reflection on it that makes it look like there is room in the slot.
There is not.  That slot is cut to exactly fit the Fox Valley axle (.058"... probably supposed to be 1.5mm).
I cut the slot with a 3/64" end mill (.047"), and then just made another pass to take off another .011" to get .058".
(And no, I didn't get it perfect in one shot... I just kept taking off .003" at a time until the axle just dropped in... I'm not
that good with a milling machine!)

[nkalanaga]

I had one of the new WOT flatcars lose a wheel.  Fortunately I also have a few extra FVM wheelsets, because I usually don't replace plastic wheels with metal.  The spares were for tankcars, which do look better, to me, with metal.

[Chris333]

If 6 out of every 100 of these are bad that still makes them a bargin!

[Joetrain59]

I tossed the wheelset. But good advice for the future, so I can do all cars I plan to when I order 12 packs.
 Don't have a milling machine, Max.
 Thanks,
 Joe D

[Cajonpassfan]

I tossed a bunch, but none recently. Seems there were a bunch of wobblers in some earlier narrow thread runs.
Otto K.

[sd45elect2000]

They appear to be unavailable for the time being ....

I have a bag full of broken ones, they pop apart during installation for me.

Randy

[peteski]

They appear to be unavailable for the time being ....

I have a bag full of broken ones, they pop apart during installation for me.

Randy

I always install the insulated wheel in the bearing cup first, then slip the solid metal wheel into the other bearing cup. That minimizes the possibility of the insulated wheel popping off during install.

[ryan_wilkerson]

I always install the insulated wheel in the bearing cup first, then slip the solid metal wheel into the other bearing cup. That minimizes the possibility of the insulated wheel popping off during install.

Very good point Peteski, I do the same as I've had a couple loose their wheel doing it the other way.

[mmagliaro]

I always install the insulated wheel in the bearing cup first, then slip the solid metal wheel into the other bearing cup. That minimizes the possibility of the insulated wheel popping off during install.

YES.   I realized that putting any pressure on the insulate side is what breaks them off.   So I do it this way too.

[mmagliaro]

I tossed the wheelset. But good advice for the future, so I can do all cars I plan to when I order 12 packs.
 Don't have a milling machine, Max.
 Thanks,
 Joe D

I think this could be done with a block of styrene and hand tools.  The more I think about it, the more I realize that the precision
of that slot isn't all that necessary.  As long as you are holding the one good wheel flat against the other side, and as long as the chunk of styrene is exactly the correct width, it ought to work fine.  I will repeat this exercise just cutting a slot in some styrene with a
razor saw.

I envision starting with some .250 x .250 styrene strip, and then glue some .040" + .010" to it up to 0.300".
It might turn out to be a hair big, because it's just styrene strip, not precision-machined,  so after glueing it up,  cut the slot,
and test it with a good wheelset.  Assuming it's a little too wide to drop the wheelset in, just flat-sand it down by swirling it
on a flat sheet of sandpaper.

None of this would be as "perfect" as a mill, but it doesn't have to be.  Remember, the diameter of the wheels is very small. 
So the chances of having a variation in the width of the styrene block by more than 1 or 2 thousandths across the diameter of that wheel are pretty remote.

What all that means is that if you are just "careful", the jig should turn out fine and the wheels should end up pretty darn
square to the axle.

                                                                  I'll try this and take pics.   

Now I really wish I had not thrown away all those broken wheelsets I've come across over the past few years. 

(and if anybody doesn't want to try to fix theirs, I'd be more than happy to have them before you throw them out.    )

[jagged ben]

YES.   I realized that putting any pressure on the insulate side is what breaks them off.   So I do it this way too.

Me too.

[robert3985]

I've also had problems with the narrow treads.  I don't run anything but the narrow treads, so I can't say anything about the wider version.  However, I wouldn't classify this as a "problem".  Two of mine also have come apart when putting them in the truck sideframes, and I've never had any come apart in the pack or package.  I haven't found them to be difficult to put back together, and a tiny bit of Loctite has so far kept them together as I have never had any come apart while on the layout or after being inserted into the truck sideframe.

IMO, these are the finest N-scale wheelsets available, and this "problem" won't keep me from buying several thousand more.

Cheerio!
Bob Gilmore

[mu26aeh]

I was wondering if this was a common issue or not.  I just got a bag of 100 axles from show in Altoona.  Now I'm guessing it was probably from the show circuit, packing and unpacking, being picked up, put down etc but I just finished swapping out axles and had at least 25-30 axles where the wheel was already off the axle or fell off when I tried to install it.

[jagged ben]

Well that's a really, really bad percentage.  My percentage has been like 1 in 100.  Yours I think is worth contacting FVM about.