How to fit 2mm axles to Gibson driving wheels

[Ray BydeParticipant]

I have a Heljan GWR 1361 class pannier tank I wish to convert to EM. I am thinking of using Gibson ‘P’ class drivers as these are the closest available at present. They are the correct diameter and No. of spokes, albeit not quite perfect in profile.
My main stumbling block is they are designed for a 1/8″in. axle, the Heljan loco has 2mm dia. axles – is there a (simplish!)way to fit a 2mm axle to these wheels? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Ray

[Paul WillisParticipant]

@Ray Byde said:
I have a Heljan GWR 1361 class pannier tank I wish to convert to EM. I am thinking of using Gibson ‘P’ class drivers as these are the closest available at present. They are the correct diameter and No. of spokes, albeit not quite perfect in profile.
My main stumbling block is they are designed for a 1/8″in. axle, the Heljan loco has 2mm dia. axles – is there a (simplish!)way to fit a 2mm axle to these wheels? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Ray  

Ray,

You could try bushing them. I’ve just checked my big tray of miscellaneous bearings, and I have a number that are 1/8″ OD and 2mm ID.

So I would press them into the loose wheels and slide them onto the 2mm axles. You would then have to loctite or pin the wheel/bush/axle to make sure that it didn’t move after you’d quartered the wheels.

An alternative would be to remove the Heljan wheels from the axle, and the final drive gear from the axle. Then, using a pillar drill and increasing sizes of drills, drill the holes out until they reach 1/8″ in size.

Well, I say that I’d do that. I wouldn’t. Those are about as simple as I think a solution could be using the original axles or chassis. I’d just sell the Heljan chassis and build a new one with 1/8″ bearings and a nice High Level gearbox/Mashima motor combination. I suspect that it won’t take much longer than getting a Heljan chassis conversion like that described above.

Good luck!
Paul

[Peter HillParticipant]

Alan Gibson produce a 1/8″ to 2mm reducing sleeve….I used this to bush some 1/8″ wheels for 2mm axles by using 2mm silver steel for the axles, pressing the bush into the wheels, and loctiting the bushed wheel onto the axle.
Quartering could be done in the normal way after the Loctite has cured, as the wheel will move sufficiently on the bush, just as a normal 1/8″ wheel will on it’s steel axle.

pete

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