Next I had to decide if I wanted to build up frames or whether I wanted to make resin castings. Either way it called for a jig to help hold the frame members during gluing.
The best bet was to mill a jig out of aluminum. A quick cad drawing to show the build up and a second cad drawing showing just the centers of the beams. This was
necessary because the beams are .050" wide and the cutter I had was .056" wide. Using the engraving portion fo the CNC program allowed me to cut the grooves in the jig.
NOTE:Click on picture to enlarge. Click back button on your browser to return to this page.
Cad drawing of the frame beams. |
Center line drawing of the frame used to program the engrave file for cutting. |
Once the G code was produced the jig was milled. |
The finished jig. A couple of improvements are going to be incorporated if I make another jig. |
Styrene strips all set to be glued together. |
The finished frame. |
After printing out a templot of the frame a piece of ceiling tile was cut to a standard size sheet of paper. |
I used a set of push pins to hold the paper. (not shown) |
Using regular pins I held the frame in place over the drawing. This holds the frame securely to the drawing. Makes gluing easier. |
The needle beams and built up truck bolster are glued in place. Note the glue is still wet. |
Once the liquid glue dried the pins were removed giving a perfectly square frame. Next a set of trucks will be added to set the proper height for the couple above the rail. |