Some more ideas for the front wheels

Fixture to shorten the lengths of the M3-bolts:
For easy shortening of the bolts I made me a fixture, which you can see in the lower part of the next photo. This fixture I can fasten in a vice. Usening a file it is very easy and comfortable to shorten the bolts.

Templates for line-painting:
After the final paint-coat I definitely want to add yellow lines on the spokes as they are shown in the pictures in the home page of Steam Traction World. I know that I would never be able to do this free hand. So I had to design and to make templates, which you can see in this photo:

They look very similiar, but their dimensions are slightly different. You need 8 templates:
- one pair for the outside faces of the outer spokes
- one pair for the outside faces of the inner spokes
- one pair for the inside faces of the inner spokes
- one pair for the inside faces of the outer spokes
The next photo shows how the lining is done:

It is a bit tricky to hold the template fimly in place while you are drawing the line. So if I would have to make these template again, I would prefer another design, which is shown in the first photo as well.
I took enamel-paint from Revell, the lining tool is an Easy-Liner-Pen 1 mm from Chris Arundell. The result was not satisfying at all. I think it was the poor adhesion between the bright steel surface and the paint, which makes it difficult to get even lines. So I hope it will work much better, when I will make the lines on top of the final coat.
For those who do not own a CNC-controlled milling machine it would be very tiresome to make these templates. So I should like to ask the guys from Steam Traction World: Couldn't you provide us customers with those templates? As far as I am concerned I would be ready to pay the extra price.


Cap nuts instead of hexagonal nuts:
The ball-shaped heads of the M3-bolts look exactly like rivets. The hexagonal nuts on the other side do not. So I decided to use hexagonal domed cap nuts instead. I am still not shure wether they look really better. But anyway, now they look as they look. In the above photo you can see the difference and you may make up your own opinion.

With best regards from Duesseldorf
Karl Heinz Marschner

That’s a lot of work, and I guess it’s needed for the small wheels - if you assemble them before painting.... if I was building a 2” , I think I would be tempted to try to paint the spokes before assembly.... I don’t know how successful that would be, but I don’t think I could go to the extremes that you have !! I hope it all works out well for you.

milford59 wrote:That’s a lot of work, and I guess it’s needed for the small wheels - if you assemble them before painting.... if I was building a 2” , I think I would be tempted to try to paint the spokes before assembly.... I don’t know how successful that would be, but I don’t think I could go to the extremes that you have !! I hope it all works out well for you.

I thought about painting the spokes before assembly as well. I don't think that this would make it easier. On the other hand I already have some experience with making lines on wheels. The photo shows one of the rear wheels of my 2-inch-Shand & Mason, and it shows the corresponding template.
For this job I used a Derwent Graphic Liner Pen with acrylic paint 0.5 mm

Hello Heinz,

I am not sure about the 2“ version, but on my 4“ the nuts for the rivet bolts were kind of domed so after fitting them, only a very small hexagon part was still visible and I was able to cut it down and round it off. As on the rear wheels the nuts are on the inside and thus barely visible, especially after 6 layers of paint. So I would possibly stay with „normal“ nuts possibly rounded off a bit.



The nut on the left ist partially finished, on the right just as fitted.

Cheers

Elwood

elwood-59 wrote:Hello Heinz,

I am not sure about the 2“ version, but on my 4“ the nuts for the rivet bolts were kind of domed so after fitting them, only a very small hexagon part was still visible and I was able to cut it down and round it off. As on the rear wheels the nuts are on the inside and thus barely visible, especially after 6 layers of paint. So I would possibly stay with „normal“ nuts possibly rounded off a bit.



The nut on the left ist partially finished, on the right just as fitted.

Cheers

Elwood

This looks very good!!
For the 2 inch Burrel I only got standard hexagonal nuts M3. I would think, those special dome nuts are not available in this small size. To machine them down would have been just too much of very tiresome work for me.