Tom Myers writes:
.001-.002 brass foil can be used to reduce the slop between an axle and its bearing. In may cases I have found axle wobble to be a real problem, especially when say a single BT is used and two CJ's must mesh and track well.
Gale Wollenberg writes:
Here are some of the things that I have found to enhance erector sets.
Ladder chain and sprockets can be found in obsolete copy
machines--check with a copy machine repairman. Also sprocket chain
and sprockets that are about half the size of bicycle chain can also
found in them as well as miniature ball bearings etc.
These miniature ball bearings would be of help if you build a working
model that will need to operate in a display for a number of hours.
Sometimes you will find those small ball bearing stamped housings to
be compatable with hole spacings on erector set parts etc. Clear
scotch tape or pop can aluminum can be used to "bush up" a shaft to
fit the bearing for the above. This way you will prevent hole
elongation in the erector parts themselves.
Also to be found in junked copy machines are proper size cable drums, several feet of
very miniature cable which works quite well on the erector pulleys, and
110 volt miniature fan motors. The shaft of the motor usually has an easily removed
plastic fan blade and if the shaft isn't quite the right diameter, a
good hobby machinist can machine a small pulley wheel for it. Someone
with good sheet metal cutting and filing abilities can easily make the
end frames to somewhat resemble the original 1916 batery powered D.C.
motor.
There is a hand punch holder at harbor freight with various sizes of
punches that work quite well for punching holes in replica erector
parts.
I have also found that the spray paint cans from Wal-mart make nice
looking boilers when the bottom is carefully cut out and the nozzle is
carefully taken out of the top. The label is cleaned off, one coat
then of gray primer and then a coat of shiny black.
The more squat cans of shaving cream make nice boilers for an erector
horse drawn fire engine--preferably using the 1916 stamped spoke
wheels with o-rings for tires.
Dave Ware writes:
To keep a string drive belt from slipping, tie the loop with it only around one pulley and around the axle of the other pulley. Put a drop of Elmers on the knot. When it is dry, trim the ends of the knot and stretch it over the pulley.
For heavier loads, use pulleys made from 2 BN Turret Plates and a BT Pierced Disk. Tie the loop slightly smaller than needed and glue the knot. Put rubber bands in the slot of the pulleys. If done right, the motor will stall before the string slips. Slightly looser will allow the drive to slip a little at the start up and shut down and serve as a sort of clutch for high inertia models.
MV Flat Car Trucks can be made by flattening P29 Car Trucks. Go easy or you will end up with 2 pieces.
NM 10" by 2" Flange Plates can be made from MN 12" Base Plates. This requires hack sawing them to length and clamping them between 2 pieces of wood to make the bend.
Do what Gilbert did:
Make O Pawls by bending F 5 Hole Strips. (Some O Pawls have a hole at the bend and some don't)
Make NL Bolster Brackets from H 11 Hole Strips.
Make NN 1" by 2" Flange Plates from ME 1" by 4 " base plates (or cheaper shortened MF 1" by 5" base plates).
Of course, P20 5 Hole Strip Formed, OG 21 Hole Strip Formed and NS 41 Hole Strip Formed can be
made from their namesakes.
A small rubber band wrapped around an axle with a washer next to it can substitute for a P37 collar.
Washers can be used on axles to keep gears or collars from rubbing on the sides of gear boxes or other axle supports. Several of them can be used to keep a gear or pulley in place when there isn't room for a collar.
If holes in overlapping plates don't line up well enough to get a screw through, use an awl to align them.
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