Poor man's guide to flange turning

[Ray H.]

I was asked to post a how-to regarding turning down pizza-cutter flanges to run on code 55. While my method would probably make a machinist have some kind of episode, it's always worked pretty well for me. I've done a couple dozen locomotives this way, and they all function just fine on my Atlas c55 track.

As always, not everything works for everyone, so your mileage may vary. And if you're uncertain, I'd recommend making sure that NWSL makes replacement wheelsets for whatever you're trying it on.

It works, but you have to be very precise and careful, taking only a few thousandths of an inch at a time. Before you start, head to the nearest machine tool shop and buy yourself a good caliper that reads down to at least .001". I chuck them up on a Dremel XPR-400 that is held and leveled in a vise, take the tool to about 15000 RPM, and very lightly begin taking the metal off with a small flat file. Use a good file, not one of the Chinese 10-for-a-buck models, and card the file frequently to keep it cleared. Also, use a VERY light touch. A Dremel works by speed, not torque, so go easy and be patient. You'll want to hold the file perpendicular to the axle for a cut, then angle the file to smooth it, very gently, then measure twice, then repeat until you're down to where you need to be.

When you remove a wheelset from a locomotive, it is a two-piece axle. This one is from a LifeLike FA-1. Each wheel has half an axle, and the two connect via the plastic geared sleeve in the middle.



Before you fire it up at all, make sure to measure the OD of the wheel at the tire, then the OD at the flange. The NMRA's max flange depth in N is .022". So, for example, if the wheel mics at .269" at the tire, the measurement of the diameter at the flange should be no more than .313". Tire diameter plus twice the max flange depth, or .269 + (.022 x 2) = .313

Then just put each wheel in the Dremel one at a time. I have an XPR-400 to which I attached a universal chuck (in this pic), and it works fine.


continued in next post.......

[Ray H.]

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For a wheel permanently attached to the axle, just chuck it up and fire away. For a wheel that comes off the axle, I keep an assortment of various leftover freight car axles to use as a "temporary axle" while it's in the Dremel. Flatten one end with a pliers so that the wheel doesn't launch into orbit while you're working on it.A round wooden toothpick works for this as well, but you really have to be careful not to use too much pressure, or the wood will flex and the wheel will not be spinning true, and you'll end up with an egg-shaped flange.



Keep the speed on your Dremel at about halfway, take your time and MEASURE FREQUENTLY. It will come down quicker than you realize.

Here's a set of wheels from a Minitrix K4, which show the difference pretty well. On the left is a driver with the flanges turned to .022" On the right is an unmodified driver, with flange depth of .0345".



Again, take your time...just go slow and measure frequently. If you're just chucking it up in a Dremel and using a file rather than actually setting it up on a lathe, you likely won't get the exact wheel contour as shown in RP-25, but you can get it in the ballpark and usable. It's really a very simple machining, as long as you take your time and MEASURE FREQUENTLY.

Here are the NMRA's wheel standards and contour RP pages:

http://www.nmra.com/standards/S-4_2ScaleWheels.html

http://www.nmra.com/standards/rp25.html

If you give this a try, I recommend practicing on some old freight car pizza-cutters before you start de-flanging any of your locomotives.

If doing it yourself doesn't seem to be for you, you can always send your wheels to Trainworx. I've had a couple engines done by them, and they do nice work, fast.

http://www.wic.net/trainworx/wheels.html

Good luck and happy de-flanging!!!

Ray

[Pete Nolan]

Ray,

Thanks for posting this! I think it's not for the faint of heart, and the advice to work on some old freight car flanges is a point well taken. Were the rods on the K4 hard to get back into proper alignment?

[Ray H.]

Originally Posted by Pete Nolan

Ray,

Were the rods on the K4 hard to get back into proper alignment?

Let's just say I ran out of beer twice.

[Pete Nolan]

Well, just remember you'd also have to take it apart to ship it out!

I have a K4 in all its pieces. Luckily I have a second K4 I can use as a reference. Since I destroyed the worm on the first one, it will probably become an Atlantic with a totally new motor and worm. The NWSL gear puller couldn't handle the very narrow shaft of this old motor.

[Powersteamguy1790]

Ray:

Thanks for posting the pictorial on flange turning.

Stay cool and run steam.....

[Robert Lovell]

I considered doing something like this a few years ago when a friend built a module featuring code 40 track laid on wood ties using Walthers Goo (if I remember correctly), but I never got around to doing it. In fact, almost all of the track I own is code 80 (Atlas flex and Peco turnouts), so what's the point? However, if I ever get that Helicon software and start taking highly detailed pix of my trains, I may want to reconsider...

Here's my question: How long does it take to turn down all the flanges on 200 + pieces of rolling stock? If time is money, might it not be better to just buy low-profile wheel sets? While I really like my fleet of N scale steam locomotives, I'm not sure I like them well enough to go through the whole process of disassembling them and reassembling them...