Building HO Scale SA Style Signals

Started by DACS, February 03, 2019, 06:31:52 PM

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DACS

    I had tried to do a thread on building the jigs to make these signals.  But things happened beyond my control.  Microsoft did an upgrade to my OS, when the upgrade was finished, it took out my OS completely.  When they replaced my OS, it wiped my hard drive of all files and programs.  Once I had gotten everything back together, I tried to come back into the old thread and begin again.  It was an impossible task.  Too many changes had been made to the jigs and I was not able to repair the old thread.    I had the moderator completely remove it.
   So, I begin again.
   During the downtime, I had completed the jigs and have built 24 signals with them.  I was able to build two styles.  Single head mainline and interlocking two headed signals.
   With minor changes, I will be able to build at least two more styles with the same jig.
   The soldering iron was too hot for such small work.  It was scorching the jig as you will see, and melting previous joints.  To stop this, I built a 12V 2amp resistance soldering unit.  Works perfect for this light job.
   Here are some pics of signals built with the jigs and the new soldering unit. 











   I am starting this new thread at work.  So, this is just about it until my weekend arrives.  Which is Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.  So just around the corner.
   I will start with the jig on Tuesday.

Dave
Seattle




I am never having another birthday.  The candles for the cake are starting to cost too much!

DACS

#1
   To begin, we first have to build all the jigs. These are all mounted on one piece of 3/8" x 6" x 12" piece of birch plywood.

Before we go any further, here is a pic of all the tools used and a materials list.



Tools Used

Dremel
Assorted drill bits and cutters
Soldering iron and solder, also paste solder not in pic. 
Razor saw and miter box
Digital caliper
Steel rule
Assorted jeweler files
Tweezers
Small side cutter
Sizzors
Razor blades
Making a small edit here in tools:

The soldering iron produces way too much heat. Especially with something this small. So, I built a 12V. 2amp resistance soldering unit. Absolutely perfect.
I will show this later in the thread.

Materials: for jig and signals

3/8" x 6" x 12" birch ply
1/32" birch ply
3/16" x 3/16" x 24" strip wood (an option here is a solid piece of wood. I will bring this up in the next post.)
3/16" x 5/16" x 24" strip wood
1/16" x 1/16" x 12" strip wood
5/64" x 3/64" x 12" strip wood
1/32" x 3/32" x 12" strip wood
1/16" o.d. brass tubing
3/32" square brass tubing
1/8" o.d. aluminum tubing
3/32" o.d. aluminum tubing
1/16" o.d. aluminum tubing
.010 mm x 1/4" brass bar stock
3/64" x 1/4" strip plastruct (this is just what I have on hand to use as a spacer. It's purpose will be seen later in the thread.)

For the LED's and wire I will be using in the signals:

1.8mm bi-color LED's
#35 enamaled magnet wire

Now to the jigs:

First measure in 15/16" from one long side and make a mark. Then measure up from the short side 3 7/8" make another mark. Then measuring in from the same long side measure in again at the 3 7/8" mark, 15/16" and make another mark. Now connect the two marks with a line.



Now, measure in from the short side of the ply, 3/16" then using a square, line this mark across the long line. This is where the first piece of the jig is to be placed.

Cut three pieces of the 3/16" x 3/16" stock, 11/32" in length. Measure at least one of them for C/L. Then using CA, glue them together. Then glue them onto the ply at this first line, making sure you line up the C/L with the main line on the ply. A picture tells a thousand words.

Place the third piece in front of these first two onto the base, keeping them all aligned. Well, I can't seem to find that pic. But onward and upward. It will show up in later pics and will show location.



Next, cut another piece of 3/16" x 3/16" stock 5/8" in length. Then cut two pieces of 1/16" x 1/16" stock 3/8" in length. Again finding dead center on the 3/8" piece, glue the two small pieces to this. There will be a 1/16" gap between the two small pieces. This will be for the mast tube to rest on and between.



Location on jig.



From this point forward, I am going to show the actual finished jig to demonstrate positioning and making of the various parts.  Many pics were lost.

Back in a bit.

Dave


I am never having another birthday.  The candles for the cake are starting to cost too much!

GPdemayo

Nice looking signals Dave.....I'll be looking in.  :)
Gregory P. DeMayo
General Construction Superintendent Emeritus
St. Louis & Denver Railroad
Longwood, FL

PRR Modeler

Curt Webb
The Late Great Pennsylvania Railroad
Freelanced PRR Bellevue Subdivision

DACS

Thank you Gregory.  Much appreciated sir.

Ok, time to get back to it.

Here is a pic of the jig in part.  It is a bit on the rough side, but it has been used to build a now count of 24 signals.  As I stated earlier, the soldering iron is just to hot and it has scorched the jig.  It has not however, altered the jigs accuracy in construction.  To stop this, I also mentioned that I had built a 12V 2A resistance soldering station.  It does a marvelous job and no more scorching.

The piece my pointer file is at, is that third piece I mentioned above.  A little out of order here, but if there are any questions about anything here, please do not hesitate to ask.



The next piece to apply to the jig, is the base stop.



Cut a piece from the 1/8" x 3/16" stock 3/8" in length. Always find dead center on all these pieces. (To keep from repeating myself, all this woodwork is fastened to the base with CA.)
This piece is glued exactly 5/64" from the piece before.

Next is the number board platform.



Cut this from the 3/16" square stock 11/32" in length. Glue it onto the ply base oriented as shown exactly 1/2' up from the stop piece.

Now it is time to build the main jig head.
When you build this:  DO NOT GLUE TO THE PLYWOOD BASE YET.

The pics following this one, shows me having glued it down.  But we do learn from our mistakes...I think.



Still using the 3/16" stock. Cut 2 pieces 1 3/16" in length. Find C/L on both.





Once this is finished, 8 more pieces of 3/16" stock must be cut to a length of 9/16" each.  I know, the pic shows only four.  But... Begin by gluing these to the bottom two pieces.   Keeping the outer edges flush with the bottom pieces. Stacking as you go. Keep everything flush front, back and outside edges.  You can use a piece of 1/16" brass tube to keep the slot between them true.





Ok, that's the six pics I am allowed per posting.  Will return shortly.   

Thanks for the drop in PRR.  Your orwellian statement was rather disconcerting ....LOLOLOL  just kidding.  :D

Dave
I am never having another birthday.  The candles for the cake are starting to cost too much!

DACS

Ok, back to it.   A little notation here I should have made earlier... Once the jig is completed and you are ready to build signals with it, I highly recommend using a resistance soldering unit.  I know only too well how expensive these are, so I will also show how to build a very inexpensive unit.  It is low voltage and amperage and very inexpensive to build.  It is perfect for building something this small.

Picking up where I left off.  Just continue gluing the 8 pieces together.





Till you get to here.



Now we have to cut a slot on what will be the front face of the head.  Sorry they are a little blurry.  But, I think it will not hinder showing what is going to be done.





Ok, that is five pics.   To go to the next stage, I am going to post again without breaking it.

Dave
Seattle





I am never having another birthday.  The candles for the cake are starting to cost too much!

DACS

  Those slots are for two pieces of aluminum tubing.  These are to lock the mast in place as you assemble the signal.  You well see this more clearly in later posts.
Make your first cut exactly 1/16" inch above the top edge of the bottom piece. Go no deeper than 1/32"



Make the second cut on the joint between the bottom piece and the cut you just made.  Again, no deeper than 1/32".



Gently pry this piece out.  Now using a jewellers file, keeping it square in the slots, file this slot down to a depth of 3/64".



Now cut two pieces of 1/16" aluminum tubing 9/16" in length.  Place them in the slots.  These should look as the pic shows in the slots.  That outside measurement still showing outside the slots is 1/32".  The exact measurement of the tube wall.
Yes I nicked mine as you can see, but it does not go all the way down and it is still ok.  Not pretty, but it will work just fine.







These tubing pieces are glued in using CA of course.  Make sure they are well seated.  Accuracy is important here.

Well shucks, there is one more pic.  But again, I have reached my limit per posting.

Dave
Seattle



I am never having another birthday.  The candles for the cake are starting to cost too much!

DACS

#7
Here is the pic that was left over from the last post.  It is just a pic of the opposite end.



Now you can permanently glue the head jig to the base.  The measurements for it's location are 1 25/64" from the rear centering piece.  Keep this piece very square to the center line.



Once that is done, we will add the platform centering tabs on either side of the mast slot.

This is where I used the plastruct as a guide to locating the piece of wood on either side of the slot.

This piece of 1/4" wide by 1/8" thick. Cut a piece 11/16" long. Make sure it is square on one end at least. This is the end that will rest on the face of the ply base. This will keep everything square.
Measure the center line which is 1/8". place this piece against the baskside of the main head.  Make sure it is centered.  This is very critical.



Cut 2 pieces of 3/64" stripwood, 9/16" in length. Glue these to the wooden face of the main head. Do not glue the plastic nor the strips to the plastic.  This how it should look.  Once done, you can remove the plastic piece.   I have used a mast with a platform in place to show how it works.



Now we will build the ladder support guide.  This piece is what holds the ladder at proper orientation for soldering to the platform bottom.





You will notice that their is a bottom slot is on both ends.  You can just see the other end.



Dave
Seattle







I am never having another birthday.  The candles for the cake are starting to cost too much!

bparrish

Did you ever notice how many towns are named after their water towers ! ?

PRR Modeler

Curt Webb
The Late Great Pennsylvania Railroad
Freelanced PRR Bellevue Subdivision

DACS

Thank you Bob and the other Bob too.  Also, thanks PRR.  Is it Curt?  Your comments are greatly appreciated.

Dave
Seattle
I am never having another birthday.  The candles for the cake are starting to cost too much!

PRR Modeler

Curt Webb
The Late Great Pennsylvania Railroad
Freelanced PRR Bellevue Subdivision

DACS

Ok, let's get to building this little gem.

We will first cut all the parts needed.



The two upper pieces are made with 3/4" x 9/32" x 1/16" strip wood.
The two lower pieces are made with 1 1/8"x 9/32" x 1/16" strip wood.



This is the top made with a piece of 3/4" x 9/32" x 1/16" strip wood.



These two pieces are the end caps. Made with 5/16" x 3/16" x 1/8" strip wood.



These two pieces are the side braces. Made with 3/4" x 3/32" x 3/64" strip wood.



The two pieces on the top, are the ladder alignment guides.

These two pieces are 3/4" x 3/32" x 3/64" strip wood.

Dave
Seattle



I am never having another birthday.  The candles for the cake are starting to cost too much!

DACS

To begin construction, we first glue the side pieces together.



Then we add the top piece. Keep everything square.  This piece is glued to the top edge of the side piece.



Then we add the inner braces.





Then we place the other side piece.



Next glue on the two alignment strips.  Keep these flush with the top outer edges.



Next we add the side braces.

Dave
Seattle
I am never having another birthday.  The candles for the cake are starting to cost too much!

DACS

Then, as you see, the two side braces. These are glued flush with the top of the ladder guides. You will notice there is a space at the bottom edge on both sides of the ladder guide. This is necessary. It's purpose with be revealed shortly.



Now to make the slots in the bottom of this piece.  This is done so when placed in the jig, it sits over the signal mast.





File this to a depth of 3/32" on both end caps.





Sorry about the blurry pics. 

Next I will show how it mounts in the jig.  But I think, I am calling a day.  Thanks for looking in everybody.

Dave
Seattle



I am never having another birthday.  The candles for the cake are starting to cost too much!

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