Hi, as a complete novice to 009 can anyone give me any ideas on how much weight to put into wagons,vans, and coaching stock. I, ve built plenty of 00 gauge stuff, but this is my first foray into 009, I, ve got a Parkside Ambulance Van on the work bench at the moment and am at the stage of putting the roof on , so I want to add some weight first. Cheers, Roy
Before fitting the roof it might be worth drilling a couple of holes through the floor. I'm not sure if it is solvent fumes or air pressure changes but I used to find that my finished vans - essentially a sealed box - would warp out of shape over time, but those with poorly fitting roofs tended not to as the solvent fumes / air pressure changes could vent.
As to weight you will need to add some to improve the stability of the wagon, ideally on (or even under) the floor. As to how much I think you'll find opinion varies. The NMRA (I think) produced a formula based on the vehicle's length / number of axles, but from memory this results in some quite heavy stock. Personally I have found the stick on wheel balancing weights used on alloy car wheels (not the clip-on type used on steel ones) quite useful as they come pre-marked in 5g and 10g sections (at least the ones I got do), and I use 10g on the bogie stock and 5g on 4 wheelers and that seems to work.
Whatever you decide to use for weight you must make sure it is firmly fixed to the floor, preferrably within its own 'box' so that there is no chance of it coming loose at a later date. There is nothing quite so galling than to see your favourite wagon tipping over because the weight has rolled to the outside on a curve. Some metals can react or oxidise making the glue useless in many circumstances, which is why it is best to secure it within a close fitting 'box'.
Thanks for the help, I, ve just found a large bag of 6mm stainless nuts at work, think I, ll weigh a few out to do some testing before I fix the roof on, good idea about the holes too .
Quote from: DeadHorse on March 27, 2014, 16:08
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Some metals can react or oxidise making the glue useless in many circumstances, which is why it is best to secure it within a close fitting 'box'.
The usual problem occurs when PVA is used to stick "liquid" lead. The fine mist shot (liquid lead) reacts with the small amounts of acetic acid (vinegar) produces as the adhesive cures. The resulting lead acetate has a much bigger volume than the lead, so if the lead was poured into an encloses space (loco side tanks, boiler, etc.) the resulting lead acetate will split these open.
If you use one of the epoxy resin adhesives (Araldite and the like) or cyanoacrylate ("super glue") then there should not be any issues.