John Cutler
Thanks Nigel, that is helpful
I have now rediscovered the source of my concern regarding Loctite 601 being used to retain AG wheels on their axles. For those that are interested, refer to the Scalefour forum thread Re: Rumney Models -Drummond 700.
Also on the rival forum is a thread (Re: knurling tool) about the advisability of knurling axle ends to retain wheels. The consensus seems to be this is a bad idea unless you can be 100% sure that any quartering will be accurate at first installation and are confident the wheel will never be dismantled. The knurling will also cut the plastic wheel apart and potentially render the wheel unusable and possibly off-centre. Surprisingly, Dave Bradwell, engineer and kit designer, contends that pinning wheels to axles is wasted effort; the pin can bend and the wheel plastic can deform. Others disagree.
DB apparently recommends a single shallow groove be turned in the axle with a lathe to hold adhesive. I assume he means the groove to be rotational and to use cyanoacrylate (superglue) rather than retainer (e.g. Loctite 601 or 603). A retainer requires an absence of air so a groove may not be a good idea for that.
I have suffered several instances of AG wheels slipping on their axles. The results require dismantling of the wheelsets and in some cases, worse. After one particularly bad experience with an N, I now always replace the villainous wheels so failure of these components has become expensive.
In the absence of any expert chemist’s advice, I now plan to use liquid cyanoacrylate rather than Loctite retainer to secure wheels to axles. And to scribe a single scratch along the axle; that makes more sense to me than a rotational groove; and anyway I do not possess a lathe.
Any thoughts are welcome!