Glue for bachamnn plastic

[bigreds]

Hi guys Since bachamnn don't have a good parts dept (no parts)What glue will work on there Plastics?
Thanks
martin

[Loco Bill Canelos]

Martin,

You may want to call service at Bachmann as they will try to find uou the parts you need if they happen to have some on hand.  They have helped me several times and charge a flat rate of shipping of $5 fr most light items.  in one case they went overboard to find a tiny part for me.

Not sure what you are trying to fix, but for body parts like freight car sides, cab sides or other molded plastic parts I have successfully used several kinds of liquid cement for plastics, or regular tube plastic cement. They both work well.

I have also used ACC Super glue on parts that have a tight fit, and will not be under stress.  Freight car and passenger car trucks and handrails of all kinds do not glue welland are best replaced.

You may want to aquire a spare car or two just to use for parts.  I have a box car, and a tank cars which I got cheap at a swap meet just for parts.  I also have an annie I got cheap on Ebay which was sold as for parts. 

In my own little way I have become my own parts supplier.

Hope this helps, and don't get discouraged!!

[the Bach-man]

Dear  Martin,
I agree with Bill.  I use Dr. Mike's super glue for repairs, but I always try service first. If they have a unit with the parts you need that doesn't run they will send you the parts.
Have fun!
the Bach-man

[jsmvmd]

Dear Mr. B,

Is "Mike's" better than generic CA?  I will use whichever (or is it "what ever") you say.  You are my hero!

Best Wishes,

Hazel

[altterrain]

I have never heard of Dr. Mike's and I'm not sure if one brand is better than another. I have used a few different brands (Jet, Zap, HobbyLobby) and all seem to work. If you go to a hobby shop you will find that CA glue comes in a wide range of thickness from ultra thin to gels. It also comes in a range of setting times from a few seconds to a minute or so. There is also a product made by Zap called "Kicker" which will make your CA set up ultra fast.

-Brian

[JerryB]

Dr. Mike's is way different from any of the other ACC adhesives. It is the ONLY adhesive I've found that will permanently glue the Delrin-like material of the Bachmann truck side frames and wheel sets. Yes, it's expensive, but it really does work on Delrin plastics where no other adhesive will. The working time is absolutely zero, it's quite runny, and is very aggressive! Use caution, as it can easily get on things where you don't want it and trying to wipe it off only results in the wiper becoming part of the assembly.

I've successfully used it to attach aluminum parts to the Bachmann trucks where I am narrowing them for use on my 1:20 scale / 32mm gauge cars. I had tried just about every other adhesive, including various ACCs and stuff like JB Weld with no success. Dr. Mike's works great and the bond is stronger than the original material.

I certainly do not recommend replacing all your other ACC-type adhesives with it, but it is the only solution for some types of material. It tends to have a short shelf life as compared to the other ACC materials. Be certain to keep it in the fridge to extend the storage life.

BTW, Micro-Mark sells Dr. Mike's. It's not available at most hobby stores and outlets.

Happy RRing,

Jerry

[jsmvmd]

Dear Jerry,

Much thanks for your very thorough response.  Should it work for AristoCraft plastics, which I presume are delrin, as well?

Best Wishes!

Jack

[JerryB]

Jack;

You're welcome.

I haven't tried it, but I would guess it would work on the Aristocraft truck material as well.

Happy RRing,

Jerry

[Loco Bill Canelos]

Hi All,

At 13.50 a bottle plus shipping, Dr. Mikes isn't exactly cheap for somthing with low shelf life.  If you repair something with glue it is still repaired, and not original.   

For the price of two bottles you could almost buy two Bachmann freight cars on Ebay and have lots of spare parts and keep your good rolling stock original. 

If I ever have a critical need to repair delrin I will certainly use Dr Mike's CA and I appreciate the info from the Bach man, and Jerry.   Jerry maybe you could post pictures of your 32mm cars.  Sounds neat!!

[JerryB]

Bill:

You're right about the cost for repairs, but there aren't any 32mm trucks of the size and type I'm building, so fabrication is the only choice. Dr. Mike's adhesive makes using the trucks from what Bachmann calls "1:20.3 scale 20 foot freight cars" possible. The converted trucks look great. The adhesive shelf life is OK, especially if you keep it in the fridge. Dr. Mike's now have a shelf life guaranty statement.

I'm not a photo guy, so no pix. I want some ~2' gauge construction RR equipment and decided on 32mm (0) gauge track, scaling to 25.6" in 1:20.3. I've narrowed the Bachmann truck bolsters and wheel sets from the "20 foot freight cars". I'm also using the floors and underframes from those cars as the floors for my construction RR cars. The superstructures are being scratch built from wood and / or styrene. I expect to have something like 8 to 10 cars when this project is complete. I plan to use a couple of IP Engineering's (UK supplier) 32mm gauge Lister Diesel or other 'critters' for motive power.

I started this a couple of years ago, building a milling fixture to cut the bolsters and completing that machine work. Then I couldn't find any adhesive to successfully rejoin the bolsters and wheel sets, so the project got set aside. I finally found and successfully tried Dr. Mike's late last year and have now recommenced work on these cars.

First, I'm working on a couple of tool cars based on the SR&RL tool car #562 drawing that appeared in the July / August 1994 NG&SLG. The Bachmann floor is very close to the 6' 2" width of the SR&RL tool car in 1:20.3. The Bachmann floor is a little short at ~20' as compared to the SR&RL car at ~24', but I'm representing a NG construction RR's home built equipment rather than a scale model of that prototype.

I have a couple of the floors sitting on their re-gauged wheels, but have now found that the Bachmann wheel set flanges are too wide to work through the frogs on the PECO SM32 Narrow Gauge turnouts I am using. I now have to decide whether to try turning the Bachmann flanges or to purchase some new 32mm wheel sets from Sierra Valley Enterprises. Nothing's easy!!

Happy RRing,

Jerry

[Loco Bill Canelos]

Jerry,

Thanks for the info on the project, and I did understnad that you had no choice but to use the Dr. Mikes to rework the bolsters.   The truck sides on the 20 foot cars are a great starting point for your project!!  Your project is really ambitious and when finished most certainly will be quite a sight to see pulled by one of those critters.  Thanks for sharing the info!!