Weaver G2sa Gearbox Delimma

I sent the gearbox down to Bob at All About Trains, he got the Weaver parts supply when they closed.  He's going to see if he can match it, that's obviously the path of least resistance.  Unless it's abused, it should last me for as long as I need it to.

Any gears on their own will require me to quarter the wheels, that usually ends up a bit of a PITA for me with no quartering gauges for the wheels.

Late to this thread.  Really amazed to see that kind of wear.  @gunrunnerjohn or anyone else that owns one of these... do these Weaver G2s have a flywheel?  I mean a good-sized one that allows a little coasting?  Wondering whether the damage could have been caused by a combination of abrupt stops and self-locking gear train.  Rubber tires are the enemy.  Flywheels are your friend, and back-drivable worm gears are a good thing  :-)

Also, thinking that worm wheel is undersized, and it should have been made of bronze, not brass.  The whole thing reminds me of imported HO brass from the '70s: made for looking at and not running.  If you have a lot of money and at least 5 years left to live you could send it to this guy:

http://www.rodmiller.com/drives.html

Sorry to see you're having trouble, hope you get it solved.

I'm not sure if the gear is bronze or brass, but the steel worm is also worn out, so something bad happened.  Very few of these Weaver or 3rd Rail locomotives have back-driveable gears, but it does have a flywheel.

@Ted S posted:

Late to this thread.  Really amazed to see that kind of wear.  @gunrunnerjohn or anyone else that owns one of these... do these Weaver G2s have a flywheel?  I mean a good-sized one that allows a little coasting?  Wondering whether the damage could have been caused by a combination of abrupt stops and self-locking gear train.  Rubber tires are the enemy.  Flywheels are your friend, and back-drivable worm gears are a good thing  :-)

Also, thinking that worm wheel is undersized, and it should have been made of bronze, not brass.  The whole thing reminds me of imported HO brass from the '70s: made for looking at and not running.  If you have a lot of money and at least 5 years left to live you could send it to this guy:

http://www.rodmiller.com/drives.html

Sorry to see you're having trouble, hope you get it solved.

Hay Ted, where ya been ?  Glad to see you back.   Took the tour of Rod Millers site. Thanks for the link.  I see that Mr. Miller is using a phenolic worm wheel. I have an old Pierce Tool ? /General Models  2-8-0 Connie kit that I built in my teens that uses a phenolic gear and it is as close to dead silent as any locomotive I have heard run.  Not back- drivable though.  Not that I have seen everything under the sun in the way of O scale locos but I have never seen a back-drivable gearbox use a phenolic worm wheel.  Another thing you will find in back-drivable gearboxes is they have rather extreme skew angles. I don't think phenolic is up to the task. The greater skew angle amplifies the wave moving across the face of the tooth as it meets the worm and then retreats. Most gearboxes that use phenolic use a rather large diameter worm which minimizes the need for skew and presents a more even loading and unloading of the teeth.  Another point that Mr Miller makes is the need to re-quarter all drivers if you do one. I found that out the first time I tried to rebuild the  gearbox in a  Williams NYC Hudson I bought dead in it's box at York. Years earlier I bought an "adjustable" quartering jig at a NMRA national convention. I removed an adjacent driver pair and lined the jig up on it and then used that to quarter the drive axle.  Curse word, Curse word !  By the forth try the axle / wheel knurlings were destroyed and I ended up re-selling the loco as parts rather than buy a new set of factory drive wheels.  I think the average quartering jig does not hold the quarter as the driver is pressed on. Wheel cups like those used on Lionel's press hold quarter as you press the driver on.  I have an idea simmering on the back burner how to cast custom wheel cups for a wheel axle assembly before you pull the first wheel off. Have to screen my lady friends porch and make it escape proof for her cats before I can get to that.                             j

@Ted S posted:

Late to this thread.  Really amazed to see that kind of wear.  @gunrunnerjohn or anyone else that owns one of these... do these Weaver G2s have a flywheel?  I mean a good-sized one that allows a little coasting?  Wondering whether the damage could have been caused by a combination of abrupt stops and self-locking gear train.  Rubber tires are the enemy.  Flywheels are your friend, and back-drivable worm gears are a good thing  :-)

Also, thinking that worm wheel is undersized, and it should have been made of bronze, not brass.  The whole thing reminds me of imported HO brass from the '70s: made for looking at and not running.  If you have a lot of money and at least 5 years left to live you could send it to this guy:

http://www.rodmiller.com/drives.html

Sorry to see you're having trouble, hope you get it solved.

Ted, ....great to hear from you!!....glad you’re ok!....it’s just not a thread of mechanical prowess with out you & John A offering insight!

Pat

I hope nobody thinks I am the Rod Miller.com drives mentioned above. I’m just an old guy retired enjoying the hobby with the same name. I don’t know if he posts here or not. He’s great to deal with.