Metal Wheel sets......or are they??

[Toolbelt]

I recently upgraded my rolling stock with Kadee metal wheels. At times I lost track of which were the plastic wheels I removed from the metal wheels I was installing. As wheel sets are typically made of non-ferrous metal (zinc, bronze......), they are non-conductive, therefore checking continuity or resistance is ineffective at identifying plastic wheels from metal wheels. I was lightly flexing the axles figuring metal axles would be less flexible than the old plastic ones, but I discovered that Kadee uses plastic axles with their metal wheels. I resorted to identifying metal from plastic wheels by dropping them on my stove top and listening for a plink (metal) vs thud (plastic) sound. What is everybody doing to identify if their wheels are metal, not including holding them in a candle flame to see if they ignite???

 

[santafewillie]

I use the drop on the workbench surface and listen for the "plink" vs the "thud" method. One could also lightly scratch the backside with the tip of an Exacto #11 knife blade and see if it is shiny or not, but I don't often resort to that.

 

[D&J RailRoad]

I just have the innate ability to know which is which. I have other special powers to that I only use when absolutely necessary.

 

[santafewillie]

I just have the innate ability to know which is which. I have other special powers to that I only use when absolutely necessary.

Is that the "bite with your teeth" method???

 

[Toolbelt]

What threw me off was Kadee's use of the term "insulated axles", which I wrongly assumed meant the axles are attached to the wheels with insulated bushings, etc. These aren't insulated axles, they're plastic that acts as an insulator.

 

[boatwrench]

I use a wire wheel in a Dremel tool and polish the treads of the metal wheel sets after mounting them in the trucks. One hand operates the Dremel and then use the other hand's thumb as a brake on the opposite wheel. Takes the guess work out and the wheels now look more realistic.

 

[santafewillie]

I use a wire wheel in a Dremel tool and polish the treads of the metal wheel sets after mounting them in the trucks. One hand operates the Dremel and then use the other hand's thumb as a brake on the opposite wheel. Takes the guess work out and the wheels now look more realistic.

That's an excellent way to clean gunk off wheelsets as well.

 

[Old 97]

Back in the day, I just knew which was which.
That'll probably change as I get older.

 

[Toolbelt]

As a newby, I thought nobody else is feeling my pain, but it seems others have.

 

[Smudge617]

Metal wheels and axels, no plastic allowed..

 

[D&J RailRoad]

Metal wheels and axels, no plastic allowed..

but ya have a plastic insulator on one of the wheels.

 

[CGW121]

metal looks different than plastic. At least it does to me!

Mike

 

[Toolbelt]

but ya have a plastic insulator on one of the wheels.

The Kadees are only a buck or two cheaper, for a pack of 12, than other brands such as Proto or Intermountain. Given a choice, I would prefer metal axles as well. Which brands use metal axles?

 

[Smudge617]

but ya have a plastic insulator on one of the wheels.

You know what I meant,

 

[Smudge617]

The Kadees are only a buck or two cheaper, for a pack of 12, than other brands such as Proto or Intermountain. Given a choice, I would prefer metal axles as well. Which brands use metal axles?

Here are a few I know of that use metal wheels and axles.

Athearn
Tangent
Bachmann
Bowser
Walthers
Scaletrans
Atlas
Intermountain
Rapido
Kadee

And I know I've missed some.

 

[Toolbelt]

Kadee

Not the Kadee "520's" I purchased. Their website calls them insulated axles but they are actually just plastic and are referred to as such if you read their website carefully.

 

[Smudge617]

Not the Kadee "520's" I purchased. Their website calls them insulated axles but they are actually just plastic and are referred to as such if you read their website carefully.

I think the code80 #522 are, but not 100% on that.
I only bought 1 set of KDs and binned them, but you can get the cheap Chinese ones that are all metal, (well, as Ken pointed out, nearly all)

 

[Toolbelt]

I think the code80 #522 are, but not 100% on that.
I only bought 1 set of KDs and binned them, but you can get the cheap Chinese ones that are all metal, (well, nearlyball)

The 522 axle material is listed as plastic on their website under the specs tab.

 

[Smudge617]

I'd stick to another well-known company like Walthers or Intermountain then, I'm not fussy when it comes to wheelsets, as long as they roll nicely, I'm happy and for me, cheap Chinese wheelsets are fine.