Aussie Fred Posted June 20 Share Posted June 20 I thought it might be worth mentioning here a solution given to me on the DCC forum, for when I lost a screw holding the body to the chassis of a loco while fitting a decoder. It was suggested to get a box of mixed laptop screws from Ebay. I did so and the first screw I selected out of the box fitted like a glove. A definite addition to my bibs and bobs in the train room. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
threelink Posted June 20 Share Posted June 20 Good tip. I routinely scavenge screws and other bits from scrap IT kit. There's all sorts of useful stuff to be had and it's all free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aussie Fred Posted June 20 Author Share Posted June 20 Mine cost 9 dollars, postage included and if I never have to use it again I will be happy, but I know it is there at any time should I need them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deem Posted June 20 Share Posted June 20 18 hours ago, Aussie Fred said: I thought it might be worth mentioning here a solution given to me on the DCC forum, for when I lost a screw holding the body to the chassis of a loco while fitting a decoder. It was suggested to get a box of mixed laptop screws from Ebay. I did so and the first screw I selected out of the box fitted like a glove. A definite addition to my bibs and bobs in the train room. Along with Model Railway, my second hobby is to repair Laptops, so I have tons of screws which came from those laptop which I break down to use for parts. I would say I have not come across any which are suitable for Loco, but it could be I repair mostly Apple laptops and they hardly use or not at all any self tapping screws or others, which, I may have not seen as yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rana Temporia Posted June 20 Share Posted June 20 I bought a set of small metric taps and dies (1mm to 2.5mm) for a particular project off eBay but now I am surprised how much I use them. You can check a particular screw for size using the dies and tap holes to hold things together. I doubt they would stand up to much use with metal as my very old and heavily used BA sizes do but for plastic they are perfect, just drill a pilot hole of the correct diameter and use the tap, hey presto a perfect fit. VERY useful for obtaining the sizes of small screws which are very cheap off eBay in various sizes. One of those multiple packs would be great, I might see what is available in the UK or just pull an old computer to bits! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
What About The Bee Posted June 21 Share Posted June 21 BA taps and dies are available to sizes likely smaller than required for your old locos Rana. The Romford / Markits parts use BA threads, so I have been investigating their purchase. Bee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rana Temporia Posted June 21 Share Posted June 21 9 hours ago, What About The Bee said: BA taps and dies are available to sizes likely smaller than required for your old locos Rana. The Romford / Markits parts use BA threads, so I have been investigating their purchase. Bee A colleague at work gave me my box of BA taps and dies years ago. I think they go down to 12BA. There are also a few obscure imperial taps in there which I have no idea what they are for. I did have to replace the 8BA as I snapped it in an old cast chassis and it was easily the most used. During COVID I once drilled and tapped a chassis by hand during a frustratingly long Zoom meeting. It helped me to focus so was a benefit to me and my employer. We use Teams now which is a lot more interactive. The most useful tool for the Markits/Romford wheels is the special screwdriver for the wheel nuts and crank pins. They are self quartering so a great bonus! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
81F Posted June 28 Share Posted June 28 If I remember correctly triang crank pins used 10 BA. I remember this as I was able to re-use the hornby screw when I re-wheeled and old Hornby Hall to make Grange a long time ago. The other slightly larger brass screws for holding pick-up plates in place are 8 BA as well as some body fixuing screws. However, I noticed that the China made B12s and Dean singles seem to use different threads despite the chassis origins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinB Posted June 28 Share Posted June 28 Most modern Hornby locos use a range of metric screws. If they are not self tappers they tend to be m2 or m2.5, I have never measured the crank pin threads as those are special anyway. I get most of mine from China via EBay or a firm in the UK https://www.laptopscrewsdirect.com/. You can get stainless steel stepped ones for drawbars from China via EBay. The other way is to buy a drawbar that comes with stepped bolts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deem Posted June 29 Share Posted June 29 14 hours ago, ColinB said: Most modern Hornby locos use a range of metric screws. If they are not self tappers they tend to be m2 or m2.5, I have never measured the crank pin threads as those are special anyway. I get most of mine from China via EBay or a firm in the UK https://www.laptopscrewsdirect.com/. You can get stainless steel stepped ones for drawbars from China via EBay. The other way is to buy a drawbar that comes with stepped bolts. Would it be possible if you can share eBay item numbers or link? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinB Posted June 29 Share Posted June 29 2 hours ago, Deem said: Would it be possible if you can share eBay item numbers or link? I generally do a search for M2 screws on EBay. They are Chinese suppliers so the items are always changing. Laptop screws, the link I gave you, do the better quality ones and they are here in the UK. As for the stepped ones, do a search for M2 shouldered screws. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deem Posted June 29 Share Posted June 29 5 hours ago, ColinB said: I generally do a search for M2 screws on EBay. They are Chinese suppliers so the items are always changing. Laptop screws, the link I gave you, do the better quality ones and they are here in the UK. As for the stepped ones, do a search for M2 shouldered screws. Thanks ColinB I have found the shouldered screw especially with allen key so they are easy install on Loco. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinB Posted June 29 Share Posted June 29 35 minutes ago, Deem said: Thanks ColinB I have found the shouldered screw especially with allen key so they are easy install on Loco. The other source is the W1 drawbar, it comes with two stepped screws. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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