Nut size on 2-6-0 driver

[Terry Toenges]

Does anyone know what the size is of the nuts that hold the rods to the wheels on the 2-6-0? Are they standard or metric? I need to buy some small nut drivers.

[Terry Toenges]

Maybe I should ask  this - Are they screwed into the drivers or just pressed in?

[2foot6]

Terry ,they are screwed in,but I don't know what size metric or imperial,I have a nut driver that fits but no markings on it........Peter

[dutchbuilder]

Most of the screws i have left over from Bachmann trains are M1.4.
Definitely Metric.

Ton

[Terry Toenges]

Thanks guys. That helps some.
I've accumulated some fuzz in there. I've gotten most of it with tweezers but I'd like to take them apart and make sure I get it all. The fuzz is one of the draw backs of operating around fake snow.
In looking on-line, I see that small nut drivers are pretty expensive so I want to make sure that what I buy is the right size.
I have a digital micrometer but it doesn't work right anymore. I tried different batteries and the numbers still jump around and go off and on. I guess I'll have to buy a new one of those if I have to measure these.

[Len]

You should be able to find a good quality "Wiha 26592 7 Piece Nut Driver Set" for about $30.00. It includes 1.5, 1.8, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0mm sizes.

Len

[Terry Toenges]

I went down to Harbor Freight and bought another digital caliper for $20. This one is better than the one I had because displays fractions, too. I also bought a tweezer set and a pair of small hemostats.
I measured the screws/bolts and they are 3/32" or .0975" or 2.45 mm.
Harbor didn't have any real small nut drivers.
I was able to get the drivers undone using the pair of hemostats on the screws. I got all the fuzz out that was in there from years of running on Christmas layouts. I bought this Mogul in '05 so it was due for some maintenance. I hadn't done anything to it other than lube it since I got it.
I had a heck of a time with it. Can't pull the bottom plate off with the wires attached. Couldn't get to all the screws without removing all the wheels from it. Had to undo the main rods from the center wheels then lift up the bottom piece and slide the wheel assembly out.
From looking at a picture, I guess there's a screw down the smoke stack hole to disconnect the frame but I was afraid that it if I got it out, I'd never get it back in there. The headlight wires are partly in the way in the hole. I tried to shine a light down there but couldn't see anything.
While I've got it part of the way apart, I painted the front of the boiler black and those side pieces that were silver. I never cared for the silver anyway. I had some Rustoleum Satin in a can so I sprayed some in a bowl then used a brush and dipped it in there to do the paint. It looks like I'll have to go over it with flat. It's too shiny.
I had to paint over the little decal things on lower front because there was no painting around them. I tried to pull the front emblem off thinking maybe it was just press fit and found out it wasn't. It might end up staying off because I don't know if I can glue it back right.

[railtwister]

If you can find a good hardware store that has a good selection of Allen headed cap screws (around here, we have Ace). Take your loco in and find the screw whose head properly fits your bolt (it may be metric). Select the screw (a longer one is better), and then for a handle, take a piece of a wood dowel (3/8" diameter by 2" should do) and drill a hole in one end just large enough for the screw to thread into with a dab of epoxy on the threads. Wallah! Cheap socket driver!

Bill in FtL

[Terry Toenges]

That's a great idea Bill. Thanks.

[Terry Toenges]

I picked up some Allen head cap screws today. One looks like it could work for the rod screws but these don't have the Allen hole flush with the top of the screw. I would have to grind them down. The rod screw is very thin and the cap screw won't grab on because of the indentation.

[dutchbuilder]

I have used the method mentioned  before to mount G scale couplers to a body, works fine.
If you don't have a lath to flatten the screw use a drill as a lath.

Ton

[jkemp]

You should be able to find a good quality "Wiha 26592 7 Piece Nut Driver Set" for about $30.00. It includes 1.5, 1.8, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0mm sizes.

Len

Thanks for your note.  Ordered my Wiha nut driver set from KC Tools.

Wiha makes good stuff, and I've always been happy with their tools.

[Terry Toenges]

I got my Wiha in the mail yesterday.