# Erector set part number 'JO' crosshead guide bars



## BGHansen (Dec 1, 2017)

I used to have a pretty large Erector set collection.  I started collecting them in 2000 and at one time had over 350 restored sets!  I got over the “gotta have ‘em all” mentality and started paring down around 5 years ago.  Proud to say at the time of this post I’m down to under 150 sets!

There is an approximately 400 member collecting club called the A. C. Gilbert Heritage Society (www.acghs.org); great group of mainly guys interested in the science toys produced by the A. C. Gilbert Company.  We had a member named Joe Long who did an amazing job reproducing parts from the 1920’s and 1930’s.  Unfortunately, Joe passed away a few years ago leaving a big void in the group.  I’ve been attempting to follow in Joe’s rather large footsteps by starting to reproduce some of the old parts. 

The part in particular here is Erector set part JO, crosshead guide bars, used exclusively in the 1931 – 1937 Erector Hudson Locomotive model.  Pretty esoteric part to make?  Well, a built up Hudson model goes for around $1000 and if you’re missing parts, your options are limited as they are no longer available at the hobby shop!  The part JO is a particularly fragile part; “U” shaped section from nickel-plated 0.020” steel.  The part was formed in the flat, bent to a “C” section, then notched to form a larger “U” really stressing the metal at the bends.  By the way, the built up locomotive is close to 30 inches long.

I started by measuring up an original part.  Then cut a piece of steel to fit into the small “U” section.  Spotted and drilled 1/8” holes which would be used later with a transfer punch to mark the position of a number of holes.

Developed a blank size by trial and error, overall length was pretty easy, but took a couple of shots to get the blank width correct.  The blank is bent up on either side to form a "U" section, tool wide or too narrow of a blank and the section looks like a "J" instead of a "U".

Cut the blanks to size and folded up the “U” section on my DiAcro brake.  Used the punch fixture as a positioning guide on the brake.  After bending, set the punch fixture in place and transfer punched the holes.  Knocked in the holes on my Roper Whitney punch press.  The hole fixture also has scribed lines marking the center location of the bend notches.  Those locations were transferred to the “U” section with a square and scribe.

The notches were put in with a square file on my Oliver die filer.  GREAT tool for working sheet metal by the way.

Last step was to bend the “U” sections into a “C” and give them a little tap on the ends with a hammer to get the sides parallel.  Original parts were made from CRS and nickel-plated.  I used 304 stainless in a #4 finish for these which is really close in appearance to nickel-plating, plus makes the parts a little more durable.  Coming to an Erector set show in your neighborhood!

Bruce


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## 4ssss (Dec 1, 2017)

I don't know about Erector sets, but I can tell someone that is good at making parts. The bends on this piece would screw up anyone's hole dimensions, and this post is a clinic on how to do a difficult job that looks so simple to make.


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## chips&more (Dec 1, 2017)

Wow, EXCELLENT job! Even the way you did this post was EXCELLENT! Question, was using the die filer better than a 90° notcher?...Dave


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## ACHiPo (Dec 1, 2017)

Bruce,
Great work!  This isn't an Erector Set, but I saw this Gilbert set in the Deutsches Museum in Munich and got a kick out of it.  Hopefully you will, too.
Evan


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## BGHansen (Dec 1, 2017)

chips&more said:


> Wow, EXCELLENT job! Even the way you did this post was EXCELLENT! Question, was using the die filer better than a 90° notcher?...Dave


Hi Dave,

I might be able to use a notcher if I notched the blank before bending up the sides.  That might be a better way to make the part.  I'd naturally have to control the depth of the notch so it's right at the bottom of the "U" section.  Will give that a try when I make up the next batch.  Thanks for the tip!

Bruce


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## BGHansen (Dec 1, 2017)

ACHiPo said:


> Bruce,
> Great work!  This isn't an Erector Set, but I saw this Gilbert set in the Deutsches Museum in Munich and got a kick out of it.  Hopefully you will, too.
> Evan
> 
> View attachment 248600


Hi Evan,

Thanks for the compliment.  Ah, the ubiquitous 1950/51 Atomic Energy set!  I had one in my collection that was sold about 4 years ago.  They're a running joke in the collecting club, "so how do you think Airport security would react to a carry on with radioactive elements!"  That one is in really nice shape, no wonder it's in a museum.  They cost $50 back in 1950/51 and go for around $3000 now.

Best regards, Bruce


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## BGHansen (Dec 3, 2017)

chips&more said:


> Wow, EXCELLENT job! Even the way you did this post was EXCELLENT! Question, was using the die filer better than a 90° notcher?...Dave


Hi Dave,

You got me thinking about pre-notching the blank before bending up the "U" section which is the way to go.  I have a 4-ton notcher (photo below) which is the perfect tool for the job.  Kind of embarrassed to admit that I've accumulated so much stuff in my shop I forget what I have . . .   All I'll need to do is make up a little fence that attaches to the table with scribed lines marking the ends of the blank which gets the notches in the right place.  Also, a set up jig for the fence for positioning it for proper depth and position on the table.  Looks like a POTD!  Thanks again for the tip.

Bruce


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## Eddyde (Dec 3, 2017)

ACHiPo said:


> Bruce,
> Great work!  This isn't an Erector Set, but I saw this Gilbert set in the Deutsches Museum in Munich and got a kick out of it.  Hopefully you will, too.
> Evan
> 
> View attachment 248600


OMG! I had that set, it was a hand down from my cousin. I remember It came with a piece of real uranium ore! Imagine trying to market something like that for kids today, lol.


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## 4GSR (Dec 3, 2017)

Bruce,

You're always coming up with these unique projects.  I'm too an member of the ACGHS organization.  I've made a few repro parts back in the years, too. But nothing like this!  Keep up the great work.

And all these darn Erector sets I have laying around here, Wife already has plans for them after I'm gone.  It's not good either.

Ken


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## BGHansen (Dec 4, 2017)

4gsr said:


> Bruce,
> 
> You're always coming up with these unique projects.  I'm too an member of the ACGHS organization.  I've made a few repro parts back in the years, too. But nothing like this!  Keep up the great work.
> 
> ...


Hi Ken,

I've been "thinning the herd" so to speak over the last several years.  The regional and national shows are really good places to unload stuff; no eBay photo shoots or packing required.  Plus a number of guys in the ACGHS still "don't get it".  Ebay pretty much sets the prices these days.  So when a No. 10 1/2 Amusement Park set nicely restored goes for $225 - $250 on eBay (current sales prices), why on God's green earth would you go to a show with (hopefully) knowledgeable collectors and ask $750?  Those types of guys really help me out.  At the St. Louis national show a few years ago I was asked why I was selling stuff so cheaply.  Had cardboard boxed nice No. 2 1/2 sets there for $10 - $20.  I answered, good question, but maybe a better one would be to ask the members asking $100 - $250 for the same set why they are pricing themselves at 5 - 10 times the current market price.  I usually sell at least two-thirds of what I bring.  Something about being reasonable and realistic in your pricing . . .

No end to projects if I decide to take on a few of the other Hudson parts.  Next project(s) will be the JT- JW links.  They're a small part that is missing a lot.  I've made up a few by hand before, but with the 2-axis CNC they'll be a snap.  Make up a fixture block at the proper hole spacing, cut a rough blank to size, knock in the holes, screw to the fixture and mill away.  I have 3 incomplete loco's and need, you guessed it, JO's, JT - JW's!  Plus it's a way to make a few bucks and support my tool addiction.  Bucks for my Bridgeport mill came from about half of my sales this year.

Also helps to have a very supportive wife.  She only cares if my hobbies involve gasoline or blond hair.

Bruce


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## Silverbullet (Dec 4, 2017)

I had two sets at one time , my father's set was real neat in a wooden box , had large wheels about 4" with neat spooked rims. The metal building pieces and motor were Hugh compared to the set I got for Xmas some 55 years ago. It's stored in my treasure chest of toys in my attic along with a bunch of toys cap guns , wwwest belt buckle derenger pistol that shoots, James bond Austin Martin with ejector seat, flip tags in original box. 
YUPP my pops was stolen and sold by an sob my niece is with even tried stealing my mom's house. Spent many lonely winter days and nights building all kinds of rigs with my erector set . 
YUPP my parents did alright for us with what they had.


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## BGHansen (Dec 19, 2017)

OK, update to the string.  I took Dave’s (chips&more) idea and made some fixturing to notch the blanks before folding them up.  In summary, no question the way to do the job!  Thanks for the tip Dave.  Perfect example of what makes this forum great; no one has all of the best ideas, but collectively we come up with great solutions!

I started by making a set up piece of sheet metal with a 45 degree angle cut on a side.  Idea was to have a quick set up jig for aligning a part properly in the notcher.  Otherwise, my miter joints would be skewed.  Set a 30 & 15 degree angle gauge block against the notcher blade and cut away.

Next step was making a master part for setting up the job on the notcher.  Cut a blank to size and scribed the locations of the notches on the blank using the previously made punch guide.  Scribed a 2nd line at depth using a calipers.  Dropped the notcher blades onto the blank and adjusted the angle to a 45 using gauge blocks.  Then cut the notch.  Repeated on the second notch.

Next step was making a fence for aligning blanks to the notcher blades and indicate the positons for the notches.  Used a piece of 20-gauge sheet metal for the fence.  Punched a couple of ¼” holes for cap screws for clamping to the notcher.  Made a couple of nuts from ½” wide aluminum which slip through the slots in the table of the notcher.  Set the master part in place with the notcher blades down.  Shoved the blank notch hard to the bottom of the notcher blades and aligned the blank with the 45 deg. sheet metal guide.  Set the fence up against the blank and tightened the clamp screws.  Marked the ends of the blank on the fence.  The fence was removed and the transferred marks were scribed into the fence.  These scribed lines will be used for positioning the blanks side to side for notching.

Once things are set up it goes pretty quickly.  Set the blank up against the fence and slide the end to align with one of the registration marks on the fence.  Notch away, slide to the other registration mark and repeat.  Flip the part over so the notching is located off the same end of the blank and notch that side.

Thanks again to chips&more for the idea to pre-notch the parts.  Kind of bragging now, but I threw two sets of (2) parts on eBay last week and had bidders at $59, $60 and $61.  Made second chance offers to the non-winners who both took the offer.  I can easily make 30 of these an hour when things are set up.  Not that there’s a market for 1000 of them, but a large enough market to raise some cash for a couple of Interapid dial test indicators or something similar.

Bruce


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