New brass chassis development

[Audi1]

That's pretty cool, Dave! I'm sure not easy to get the holes to line up and the bends in the brass to be 90 degrees. I hope your first one is a screamer on the track! :text-bravo:

Allan

[Gameover]

Way cool! I too have tried and failed. Congrats bro

[Junior]

You're an animal. So instead of building a chassis a day, now you can do two?

[waaytoomuchintothis]

I've tried using aluminum channel, bent brass, soldered brass, and even bent brass on both ends of a motor making the motor the chassis frame. Of them all, the bent brass is really the best chance at success, and you proved it. Good for you, bud.

[Florida_Slotter]

Dave,

Please add another front axle support. I have found a good wall hit will defeat a single front support.

Also is you have a piece of .064 x .500 brass strip, you can make a properly spaced guide flag mounting surface. Try something cool, raise the front edge of the guide tongue about .015. I think you will see an immediate difference.

Looking good.

BTW - one of my "go to tools" is a Champion Tech Tool. Nice size straight edge, .750 "U" slot for checking squareness of motor mounts and something I use all the time.

Keep on building.

[ccobra]

What I used to do on the Brass motor mounts was to model it up in CAD, print out a flat pattern at 1:1, glue the pattern to the brass, drill the holes that were laid out in the flat pattern, and bend at the bend lines in the flat pattern. I did this on one of the anglewinders that I did but I used the 0.0625 brass sheet and then soldered 1/16 rod to it for reinforcement. I had issues drilling after bending the part due to the part flexing since I couldn't get a good grip on it in the vise.

[chappy]

Dave here is what I have been working on to make rear brackets.
I have the shape and bends right, but not the holes for axles or motors yet.
It is steel and fairly tough so a vise works great to put the squeeze on the brass.
I just have to machine it so the axle holes are right, and the motor mount holes are right.
As with everything , I work real slow.







Bob

[bill from nh]

Dave, your motor bracket looks great! How about showing us some of the jigs you came up with for bending them, or is that "Top Secret"? You got to be a glutton for punishment to bend them out of .062" brass. Many are bent from .032", then braced with piano wire. :)

[HomeRacingWorld]

Impressive sir, very impressive.

[Retro Racer 44]

You've nailed it, Dave. When are you going into production?

I make mine from three pieces soldered together and they work well if the motor plate is straight up when I solder it, but my attempts to make it in one piece have failed miserably. They are either out of square, or the axle holes are crooked. I never tried it with 1/16 brass, always 1/32, which is easier to bend but still didn't work well.

I put a strip of tape or sticker paper on a piece of 1/2 inch brass, and lay out all the holes. Then I have a jig to use on my MicroMark drill press so all the holes are on the centre line. Luf has one of MicroMark's cut off saws, that I borrow to cut the strip into pieces. I can get four or five brackets out of a foot long strip.

If you got a block of wood that exactly fit between the arms, you could drill straight through both sides and it would always line up.

I also like the pinion to be close to the axle. That is one thing I don't like about the PM bracket. With our dollar in the toilet, that's the other thing. A PM bracket landed in Canada costs more than $10.

Cheers,

Keith

[munter]

This thread is one of the main reasons I come to HRW.....compliments to everyone who posted here.

Brass is beautiful stuff.

[Audi1]

Somebody out in CA is having fun.......................! :text-bravo:

Allan

[bill from nh]

Dave, thanks for posting photos of your "high tech" tools. My philosophy is the simpler you can keep things, the better. It isn't the tools that make the craftsman, it's how one uses the tools at hand that does. :text-bravo:

Not that it matters, but I like brass/wire chassis. I might have tried two side-by-side rails of .055 or .047 wire. But square tubing or brass rod will work well too. :)

[bulldog]

Dave I have done the same but used 1 inch square steel tube from the home center. Cut a piece off to length, drill all holes then cut off one side. No bending required and it is not as heavy as you might think. And yes it will solder. I have a small bender/brake in myshop but it won'tdo .062.

[bill from nh]

bulldog, you sound very much like Steve Okeefe. If you are Steve, your article building inline motor brackets with 1" square steel tubing is still on scratchbuilt.com, some 12.5 yrs. later. :)