Hand Rail Stanchions... A Suitable Candidate for 3D printing?

I think so for a resin printer. My FDM isn't going to be able to handle something like that without some serious tuning and I'm dialed in for bigger stuff.

I have thought about this, as I really need some Fairbanks Morse stanchions and they just dont exist.  My thought would be to have them printed then cast in brass, like Shapeways can do. Or use the print to make a mold. If they were short and squat like the ones in the link above, I think you could probably do them in resin. But a diesel handrail.... I just think its going to be so thin it wouldnt survive long.

My guess is that making functional versions of those parts would be just fine given the proper resin. Certainly worth a try.

That's a good idea, many of the plastic ones are no longer available from the manufacturers.  For replacing them on TMCC/Legacy, you're kinda' stuck for matching stanchions.

@Boilermaker1 posted:

My thought would be to have them printed then cast in brass, like Shapeways can do. Or use the print to make a mold.

I could print a mold I bet. Not for brass, obviously, but maybe for epoxy or something.

Brass is only good for stuff that doesn't want to use the handrails for antennas.   It's the plastic ones that usually break...

If it worked with resin... how many Stanchions would fit on an 8" x 8" plane ... 64, 128, 256???

I was lucky to get a couple of replacements for my PRR H-9 a few years ago but wish I could get some spares.

Plastic ones break too easily with handling.    I think brass is a better choice if possible.    I don't need antennas.

I would be in for the 6-18056 Vandy tender stanchions, both the short and long ones. Most are broken on mine and not through careless handling...they're just super brittle.

Either plastic or brass would be fine with me.

John

both large and small stanchions. But both are very small.

I need more dimensions to more accurately make them like the top hole diameter ( what is the handrail diameter?) and diameter of the stanchion itself.

Sweet!

Wonderful craftsmanship Alan! Your incredible work has solved a huge O gauge problem.

John

printed plastic? they will break

No... a different material than the super brittle originals. These will absolutely outlast me...I trust Alan's craftsmanship...

John

@Dave Koehler posted:

printed plastic? they will break

The plastic ones on TMCC/Legacy already break!

If you look closely at Alan's rendition I think it 'probably' is closer physically to an actual stanchion.  What pops out to me is the top... most stanchion tops appear as a sphere/ball with a handrail hole through it.  Alan's top is flat all the way around and tapers around and into the handrail and stem.  Someone with better eyes and familiarity with real trains may correct me on this.

Gee, Alan comes up with a nice useful pattern and everyone's dumping on him!

Not me.  I need some of these.  This gives me an approach,  Thank you Alan.

Mike

Dave K.  It's gray resin not plastic printed on a FormLabs 3 resin printer not a tube-printer.

The shaft is thin so if you bend it backwards it will bend a bit before it breaks.

However, the application is static not moving so resin will perform well.

Alan, what in the world are you going to do with all of those?

Well before 3D printers I made hand rail stanchions from small cotter pins.  The railing were made of music wire.  I bet they are stronger than plastic 3D ones.

Charlie

Nice work.  They are -- but they look more like cotter pins and less like stanchions.

Mike

Those cotter pins look great!   I think Alan's are more prototypical than the originals... plus, they are insulators.  I think the 6-18056 was fairly popular and I've seen quite a few posts from folks looking for them.  At six per pop on the Vandy... that's what ...25 units or so.  I don't think they'll be in Alan's inventory very long.

@Choo Choo Charlie posted:

Well before 3D printers I made hand rail stanchions from small cotter pins.  I bet they are stronger than plastic 3D ones.

I doubt they insulate all that well for TMCC/Legacy antennas.

John

They serve as insulated on a plastic postwar coal tender !  And many postwar coal tenders had them made from wire.  That is what got me to use cotter pins and music wire for railings.

Charlie

@Choo Choo Charlie posted:

They serve as insulated on a plastic postwar coal tender !  And many postwar coal tenders had them made from wire.  That is what got me to use cotter pins and music wire for railings.

I typically don't need them for a PW coal tender, I typically need them for diecast TMCC stuff that requires insulated stanchions.

choo choo C

I like the creative use of cotter pins. before I had a 3D printer that's something like what I would have tried.

but having the printer allows me to make things differently, closer to the actual part design.

The top of the eyelet is flattened due to the printer having some surrounding resin present when the top of the eyelet is being lasered.  So the issue is solved by re-orienting the print at a slight angle.

When parts are unavailable it’s time to have some fun and make your own. I too have the18056 vandy tender with broken stanchions. I’ve replace it with a scale tender but wanted to fix the stanchions on the vandy anyway. I am using 3/32 and 1/16 brass tubing. A little solder and a lot of patience so far is working. Once painted they should look OK. Very strong.

Rod

What's the wire thickness or diameter?

Alan, I’ll have to measure the wire. It is however the original handrail from the vandy Lionel tender.

I have one in the closet with a bunch of broken stanchions, and since it's a TMCC tender, they have to be plastic.  Naturally, they're not available from Lionel.  However, the complication is they're also several different sizes and shapes.

John

The stanchions I am printing are sized above. If you  want others send me the dimensions.

I'll have to dig the tender out, but as I recall, there are angled ones as well.

John

no problem you may have to send me the angled ones

I think fir some of them I'd have to send pieces.   I think this tender got dropped or something, many of the stanchions are broken.

I see the point of plastic stanchions that is without question and I don't doubt the need for replacements. I removed the hand rails from the grand kids Polar Express locos to get the plastic stanchions. The kids don't miss them and likely it makes the loco safer for kids.  However on several of my TMCC conversions which have metal stanchions I used the hand rails for antennas.  All I did was to drop down a couple thousands on the handrail wire diameter.  I then gave the wire two coats of polyurethane either clear or black and allowed a couple of days for it to fully cure then very carefully slip it into the stanchions.  I then confirm the handrail is insulated from the boiler with a VOM.  This does rule out using the claw from the sky method of lifting locomotives as you don't want to press the handrails hard against the holes in the stanchions.   When possible I spin a dull slightly oversize drill bit to chamfer the edges of the hole in the stanchions and insure they don't scrape the paint off.  If you don't have a dull bit spin a sharp one backwards. A small conical diamond grinder point will also work.           j

I wanted to share what I received in the mail today from @AlanRail.  Yes...it's the Vandy tender hand rail stanchions!  I am very grateful for Alan's kindness, craftsmanship and extraordinary attention to detail. Well done Sir!

From the handcrafted box to the perfectly designed stanchions (the measurements taken from my last two unbroken ones) I can now fix this tender that has been on my shelf for twenty years! Talk about bucket list..   I still have painting and placement to do. 

John

Wow, just the hand crafted box is something, not to mention the stanchions!

John

Thanks but my GlowForge Laser Cutter did most of the heavy cutting and scoring.

The GF actually has a "Cardboard cutting and scoring" setting built into the GF software.

    So nice and no fires!! 

Alan, the box is just so "classy", pretty cool!

Alan, I suspect when the Forum catches wind of this your local post office may have to put on extra shifts...

John

i could not believe my eyes when I saw the postings on Alan's stanchions for the Vanderbilt tender.  I have a Lionel 18056 TMCC NYC locomotive and tender that needs the two different size stanchions.  The original Lionel plastic stanchions were terrible about breaking off and the replacement stanchions were worse than the originals.  Are any of the new resin stanchions available from Alan?

@J611Man I'll probably have some left over. I'll try to contact you through your profile email.

John

These are really nice looking.  Thanks for sharing.

John Meyncke'

Thanks for the "heads up".  You should be able to reach me without difficulty.

Mission accomplished ... 3d stanchions installed. Perfect fit! Sturdier than the originals but use common sense when lifting!

John

john

They look good. If anyone needs them, let me know in Private Message.

alan

Fantastic Job Alan!  I'm in... and, PM'd.  Thank You!

Shout Out to Alan on my Vandy Stanchions... I just received them!  Beautiful... Fabulous work!!!  Better than the originals (and, way better than the replacements).

Thank You Alan!!!

Just received the stanchions for my UP tender, I can finally fix it!   The packaging is a hoot, even the text is laser printed!  There there's the custom holder for the individual stanchions, very professional!

I do have a question.  I was thinking about the best way to paint these black, and I wondered if maybe a dunk in India Ink would be a good way to do a permanent coloring without adding bulk.

John, I just used a tiny brush and a bottle of Floquil steam black I had laying around. A light touch did the trick. No bulk or globs that I can see. Look at my post above to see the stanchions installed.. it's easy  and I was satisfied with the result. I did not paint the base tabs. By the way...cool box!

John

I don't have any paint lying around as I'm not much of a painter.  I figured the India Ink wouldn't add any thickness to the inside of the railing holes.

I knocked a handful into the box... this is seriously nuts Alan!!!!

This makes me tempted to get a 3D printer, but I don't have the time to learn to use it, and probably no room to set it up!  However, it certainly is a cool tool!

John,

My concern would be ink coverage on plastic. I think a black sharpie would work easier for you. Make a pass with the pen. Let dry. Repeat.

See if that works.

John

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

I don't have any paint lying around as I'm not much of a painter.  I figured the India Ink wouldn't add any thickness to the inside of the railing holes.

I'll bet I'm a worse painter than you John!  Is Indian Ink indelible?

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

This makes me tempted to get a 3D printer, but I don't have the time to learn to use it, and probably no room to set it up!  However, it certainly is a cool tool!

I didn't have time either... and, I still don't ...but, I do have TPU tires!

@Dennis-LaRock posted:

I'll bet I'm a worse painter than you John!  Is Indian Ink indelible?

Yep, it should be indelible.

I wonder if a quick dip in Acetone and then a dunk in Indian ink would do the trick?

Well...I suppose as a last resort you could ship them to me in California, I paint ' em and ship them back...what do you figure THAT would cost us? 

John

It's Holding (well, it's not coming off on my fingers or the stanchion).  Swished in acetone to clean it, let dry for a couple of minutes... then, an indelible magic marker and let it sit for 10 min.

Outstanding!  That's  why they call them "Magic Markers"...

John

I did do the bottom collar but 'not' the stub that goes into the tender either John... I think it will be easier to see and install that way.  Touch up would certainly be a breeze!

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

Alan, the box is just so "classy", pretty cool!

Alan’s boxes are collectors items. Worth more than the contents. Pass them on to your heirs.

Pete

My box is NOT for sale! A legacy heirloom for sure...

John

Now that is sweet!

Mike

Does the box have an automatic dispenser included? LOL. Nice job in total.  Pat B.

Alan saved me as well!

During COVID, i had a bad time finding parts from the best parts suppliers, including a headlight for one of my switchers. Alan could not have been nicer as I sketched the shape and dimensions and before I knew it, I had 2 boxes of headlights (and the custom boxes)!

https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/...team-switcher?page=8

Alan is saint!

Tom

Thank you to all of your reply's and to Alan I sent an email

@AlanRail posted:

The top of the eyelet is flattened due to the printer having some surrounding resin present when the top of the eyelet is being lasered.  So the issue is solved by re-orienting the print at a slight angle.

Alan, those stanchions are simply remarkable. Great work.

i will print any sort of stanchion that was made (in scale); but I need dimensions for them

I have the dimensions for the ones John wanted for the sloped tender and the Vandy ones.

If yours are not the same, send me dimensions in decimal (not fractions) inches or send me a sample piece to measure.

Alan how do I go about purchasing the vandy tender stanchions from you . I am in desperate need if you printed them already .

thank you

Anthony

Anthony

OGRR rules do not allow me to sell in these threads.

email me or send me a private message.

thanks

Alan