Choo Choo Charlie posted:overlandflyer posted:Choo Choo Charlie posted:Duknfish
You can easily make the pickup from a piece of tin can. Or if you want to get fancy and go to the trouble find a piece of brass shim stock at a auto shop or machine shop. It should be about the thickness of the other pickup. ...
the prewar pickup shoe (copper) is quite a complex little piece that needs the shape to function properly. the flexibility of the material needs to be great enough to allow the part to mount yet strong enough to hold shape in operation. imo, not a very easy task for homebrew construction.
Choo Choo Charlie posted:Duknfish
.... Lionel and most ever other switch will not pass that old Marx gear flange. ...
There is a flat spring under the pickup piece that provides the flexing. See the spring in your picture of your post of 12/17/2015. The pick up piece has a slot in one end and a key in the other end that allows it to move.
The pickup piece can be cut from some tin can stock with small tin snips. It may have to be made in two pieces. The slot can be made by drilling several small holes. A Dremel Moto grinder with various bits and cut off wheel can be helpful.
Charlie
the flexibility i was talking about is how the shoe needs to be pliable enough to mount having to stretch over the end of the fixed part of the pickup and then snap back into shape. if the material is too thin or too flexible it will probably fall off in short time, especially if it is rear pickup.
to be fair, i didn't say it was impossible. i once replaced the alternator bracket in my TR6 with part of a screen door hinge but that was because a replacement part (a simple L-shape piece of metal) would have set me back ~$30. the door hinge was free and only required drilling one hole.
cheers...gary
