Sun 3-15-2026 9:54 a.m.
Hi:
It used to cost me about $150 worth of gasoline to get to train shows in Denver and Phoenix. So, my supply of junk parts / spare parts has always been limited. Now the gasoline cost is much higher. eBay purchase costs (with tax and shipping) are not particularly attractive either.
That is the primary driver behind repairing / fabricating / scratch building my own parts.
I have some common sense too, but what I am limited on is "common cents."
Here is another example. Sometimes I find a locomotive chassis (say a zamac chassis from a Mantua steamer) where an internal threaded feature has been stripped out (partially stripped out). Yeah, I am no dummy and no I don't want to drill and re-tap the threaded feature. I also don't want to be breaking off drill bits and/or taps. I sometimes will take a #2-56 machine screw and squeeze the end of the fastener in my bench vise. This decreases the fastener diameter in one direction and increases the diameter in the other direction (oval-shape cross-section). If I am lucky, the fastener I modified will catch a few threads and hold things together. I can't get carried away with over-tightening the fastener either. I also tend to make notes on what I have repaired. My intent is to pass the information along to a future owner of my train item so they know what kind of "hair-brained" modification I have made.
Best Wiish
