Loose the Binding

That was my next project. I needed to be sure I had the correctly milled coupling rods as I was told by Jeff Runge that I needed to be sure there was no binding and he had to work through a similar issue with one he assembled. So, even though my intention was not to commence the chassis assembly, I wanted to check for my peace of mind.

I put the Driver axles in the side frames and had to use a bit of oil to have them slide in a bit better. It is here where one must be careful to follow directions and diagrams to ensure the proper placement of the driving axles in their respective places in the side frame. Now was time to place the coupling rods on the drivers. Since this was only a "dry" run, I did not put the axle springs in or secure the rods with the hardware. However, I did make sure everything was where it would be had I done so.

Then I rolled it forward and it did move until a certain part where it would bind up. After consulting with people like David Leech, Jeff Runge and Hans, I was able to find the source of the binding. It was, to my relief, not the rods, but rather some tight fitting on the front most Driving axle. After some oil and some rolling back and fourth, coupled (no pun intended.....well perhaps just a little) with switching coupling rods to opposite sides, the chassis rolled very smoothly at just a touch of my finger. In both directions too. So, when I do assemble it later, I will file a bit of paint off of the frame where the axle will fit into. I carefully labeled the parts so when I put them back in the box and took them out later I would know the orientation that worked best.

Those cylinder studs won't be too much of an issue. I can always get some longer ones from Aster, or I could back out the threads a bit to give me more on top the valve covers which will allow for more threads to secure the retaining nut to.