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D

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Discussion Starter · #1 ·
hi,
my parents recently returned me all my old train stuff (and mounds of other stuff) and for the most part everything is sound. however, there were two engines that needed minor repairs.
my question is where can i get these impossibly small machine bolts? and what sizes do they come in?
one bolt is needed to hold the bottom plate on to a HO narrow gauge roco mine engine.
any help appreciated.
john
 
tkruger

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#4 ·
duki said:
i went to one train store in brooklyn they told me HO was basically disposable, like a razor was his analogy. is there anywhere on line?
john
Click to expand...
That depends largely on what you have. The entry level Bachmann, Life Like and Model Power are like that. Tyco require cannibalism to make most repairs requiring a part. Older (cast metal pre Tyco) Mantua engines can be repaired and parts are available online. Athern locos also have parts available.

What is the manufacturer of your trains? Do you have pictures? There might be common issues that we have solved already and can tell you what is needed. I have seen locos repowered with motors from CD ROM drives. I fixed a Tyco Chattanooga Choo Choo with a dab of solder on a gear.
 
D

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Discussion Starter · #8 ·
ah, the english system....
in walthers screws are described as, for instance, 1.4 x .43 x 2 mm
i would guess 2 of the dims are width and length but the third?

maybe i'm belaboring this too much?
john
 
Reckers

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#9 ·
No, duki, all knowledge is valuable. First, though, welcome to the forum! Now...screws and bolts. American stuff...SAE, or Society of American Engineers, as T-Man mentioned, is based on the inch, foot, yard and mile. If you are in the USA, it's the stuff you grew up with. Metric is the European standard, based on the milimeter (mm), centimeter, meter and kilometer.

A machine screw or bolt is defined by material, head style, diameter, length, and thread pitch. Let's ignore material and head style, since most people know steel from brass and a phillips head from a blade-tip head. One of America's favorite bolts is the 1/4-20. That means it's 1/4" in diameter and has 20 threads per inch. Add the length you want for the shaft (2", for example), and you have a 2" 1/4-20 screw or bolt. For metrics, I quote a website: "For metric threads, the thread pitch is given in millimeters per thread. Thus, an M2 x 0.4 screw has threads every 0.4mm". Here's the site: http://www.wikihow.com/Read-a-Screw-Thread-Callout

Hope that helps!
 
M

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#10 ·
It worries me that your hobby shop calls HO scale disposable; considering this stuff is ranges in price from a few dollars to a few hundred dollars! I would consider, seriously, of not buying anything from that shop, since he considers his wares as "disposable" (trash) you will get nothing from him if you buy a 200 dollar locomotive and it doesn't work from the box. Wonder if this guy sells his "disposable" wares on ebay?
 
tjcruiser

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16,705 Posts
#11 ·
John,

Do a quick web search for "tiny machine screws" ... add "metric", too. You'll find lots of supplier sources.

MicroMark (which sells hobby stuff) has tiny metric screws ... either by individual type, or via an assorted kit like this ...

http://www.micromark.com/MICRO-SCREW-ASSORTMENT-10-SIZES-100-EACH,8545.html

Follow Reck's advise to see if you can determine (count, really) the thread spacing ... 20 threads in 10 mm would be a thread pitch of 0.5, for example. Do you have access to a micrometer? (Accurate small-distance measuring tool.) If so, determine the screw "major" diameter, i.e., the diameter to the outside edge of the threads.

You can certainly go the "drill and tap" route, too ... but you'll need a proper thread-tap.

Good luck!
TJ
 
T-Man

· Yard Master & Research
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12,505 Posts
#12 ·
I started with cheep tap and die sets so now I have the thread rulers. Screws can be found at a good hardware store. Fastenal is another company if they are in your area. I would not mail because of cost.
 
Big Ed

· Railroad Tycoon
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26,390 Posts
#13 ·
Mit said:
It worries me that your hobby shop calls HO scale disposable; considering this stuff is ranges in price from a few dollars to a few hundred dollars! I would consider, seriously, of not buying anything from that shop, since he considers his wares as "disposable" (trash) you will get nothing from him if you buy a 200 dollar locomotive and it doesn't work from the box. Wonder if this guy sells his "disposable" wares on ebay?
Click to expand...
I agree is that shop in Brooklyn,:confused: NY City?
 
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D

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Discussion Starter · #14 · (Edited)
wow thanks reckers and tjcruiser and T-man that helped alot! i'll check follow up on all this advise.

yes trainland in long island, they have a sister store in brooklyn. trainland is heavily invested in bigger gauge trains, and trainworld (brooklyn) is a discount place with good prices. I'm not knocking them, but when i was a kid it seemed there was a bigger emphasis on modeling as opposed to, more or less, toys.

I can see from this site though modeling isn't dead.



john
 
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