Front axle and perch - any tips and tricks ?

I am just about to start on the front axle and perch.... I set the axle on stands and attached the wheels for painting... that was much easier than having them flat on the bench, which I had to do before I received Kit 2.

Any tips for the axle and perch ? I can see for starters that the 2 bushes that go through the middle of the axle are too big (i.e. the hole is too small - by about 0.3mm). I guess the Dremel is the way to go with that issue.

There are a couple of blow holes on the perch that will get filled with some JB weld.... apart from that it looks pretty clean... how smooth should the surface be before paint - have other builders taken the flap wheel to the perch, or should it look like a casting underneath , and not be too pristine looking ?

Thanks very much (and Happy Xmas to all !! )

Don't over "clean" parts. As a casting should still look like a casting.

I ran a flap disk over my perch, it looks just a little too clean and smooth. It’s not too bad if it’s a showman’s engine.

Took a Dremel to the front axle to get the pin to fit, just go slow and only take a little bit off at a time

Thank you very much to both for your advice - much appreciated - I will be making a start on Kit 2 in the next few days.

Hi,
I too have Kit 2 for my DCC, and have been working on getting this to fit.
I eased the axle pin rather that the holes, used wet & dry sandpaper 600 grit with a bit of oil on it.

Took a while, but I thought it would be easier to get a better fit for the axle & perch bracket, as well as the spring bracket the DCC has.

Trev.

Didn’t need to resize the casting on the axle or the pivot luckily, the main issue was the paint. A few passes with the Dremel and the pin slides into place with ease. The spring and bracket needed to be slightly modified on mine, little bit of grinding and filing to the bracket and a little bit on the casting but nothing too severe. Had to remove 2 (I think) leafs to get the assembly to set down far enough to be compressed just a little to fit perfectly.

Luckily the SCC doesn’t have a front spring to worry about.

I am now painting the parts in Kit 2... I have ordered a Beugler striping tool and I will try it out on the perch and the axle.
My engine is going to be Crimson Lake with some red and yellow pinstripes