First loco steel choice

Hi,

I have drawings for Juliet 2 and the ME articles for Juliet 1. As a beginner, I'm wondering what sort of steel to use for the Baker gear links etc? Am I right in thinking that I can't weld EN1? If so, should I be making brackets and links in EN3? There's very little info regarding this that I can find. At the moment, I'm very unsure about starting this project, without knowing what I should be machining from. There is a lot of work to do, even with this beginners loco

Thanks in advance

Ian

It is true that you can’t weld EN1 due to the lead content, and is usually sold as round bar, any flat plate is usually EN3 and this is fine for frames and valve links etc. Why not silver solder, much neater than weld.

Thanks Baz. Am I right in thinking if it's "Bright Mild Steel" or "Bright Steel"... it's likely EN3? (Just looking at the Kennions catalogue, which mentions EN1, but just Bright for others)

Just looked on Kennions site and it looks like round bar is EN1 or EN8 and flats are listed as EN3, angle etc will also be EN3, if it doesn’t say it is most probably EN3, give them a call, they are very friendly and offer a very fast turnaround on orders, I have used them for many years and never had any problems, I suppose I must now state that I am only a customer and have no commercial connection to them at all.

There is no lead in EN1A, but there is in EN1Apb (pb shows it is leaded)so you can welld EN1A

Thanks both. So, would I be ok to machine the links in EN1a? I'm guessing the wear faces will be bushed in bronze anyway. If I suspect harder working parts in EN3... that should be ok ?

You will more than likely have to machine it all from round stock if you want to use EN1A as the hobby trade does not do it in flats and squares and probably hard to find anywhere. EN3B or EN32B is the usual choice for bright though if you are going to be machining more off one side than another you night want to consider hot rolled (black) bar rather than cold rolled (bright) bar to reduce the risk of distortion.

Ian,

Model Engineers Laser do quite a few laser cut bits for Juliet. A pair of accurately cut frames will set you off on the right track if nothing else.

http://modelengineerslaser.co.uk/locoparts.aspx?loconum=276&locotype=4

Reg

Cheers chaps. Much appreciated. Reg, yep... I've got my eyes on engineers laser. I will be ordering from them if the links are OK. Certainly frame sides to start anyway. Many thanks

Reg, how do you find their CR4 and S275 for machining? I always find it a bit gummy, OK for fabrication work but not the nicest stuff to machine. Probably OK for frames but not sure I would want to use it for links, rods etc.

Hi Jason,

So far, I haven't had any problems machining anything from M.E.L. However, I always use sharp tools otherwise it can end up looking like a ploughed field.

Reg