Following on from the Harp switchstand thread, here are some pictures of what it takes to scratchbuild one with materials onhand and a budget. Just think of it as scratchbuilding without the scalerule.
I was only just learning to arc weld here and using a cheap buzzbox from a hardware store. The head had the most pieces to make the ribbed sides and required a heck of a lot of grinding. If I am to do it over with another I'd have more parts plasmacut to profile. The only variation from the actual dimensions was the legs are composed of 3/16" steel flat instead of 1/4" which I was too miserable to buy at that time.
This style of stand was also used by the Harriman lines but with the operating lever at 90 degrees to the rails rather than parallel. The conecting linkage at the bottom was also different and I had to modify how my throwrod attached at the base to compensate for the reduced throw on my 18" gauge tramway. I also need to paint the targets in the correct colours and add a 2nd long switchtie.
Chris
in New Zealand
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/17/2013 03:08PM by Chris Walker.