Friends,
I am in need of some bell cranks for point operation but looking through the offers on search engines they all seem to be of the type where us modellers have access to the underside of our layouts!

Anyone found useful ones in Brass or similar with a mounting screw into the baseboard?

NO point in having machine screws, NO access underneath!

Peter.

Peter you come up with the most amazing requests! 

But that's why we are here and I look forward to the info that will undoubtedly come in. 

Peter

This might be a good project for you.

Take a sheet of brass and cut out a triangle. Round off the sharp edges. Drill small holes in two corners for the wire linkages to point and lever. Drill a larger mounting hole in the other corner, to suit the size of your self tapping screw. Use a short brass sleeve over the screw which is a close fit in the mounting hole but still allows the sleeve to revolve around the self tapping screw. Drill a pilot hole in your baseboard and screw in the self tapping screw. You might want a washer between the triangle and baseboard, and the screw head and triangle. I did this on a previous layout and it worked just fine. I used a bit of Vaseline to lubricate the screw thread so it did not wear the brass sleeve.

Peter, assuming your baseboard is wood  and you want to attach the pivot with a
machine screw and nut, you could drill a small hole in the baseboard where the
pivot will be , then insert into the hole a small length of brass /plastic/etc tubing in
which you have fixed the nut with superglue then you could attach the pivot with the machine screw.  Hope I have understood your problem and above makes sense.

Easier to draw it than describe it!

Model aircraft R/C  linkages, including bell cranks, a Google search produces loads of suppliers, these  just  2 of many results. Also a good source of wire and tube bits, rods. couplers (for rods not rolling stock)

http://www.sloughrc.com/default.asp?WMFN=SRCM_Weblet&WMFT=D&WPG=SRCM_HomePage1&PageNumber=1&bc=true&s=c:0,c:140,c:140-020,c:140-020-060,c:140-020-060-080

http://www.lancastermodelshop.co.uk/mall/departmentpage.cfm/modelandhobbyworld/_419865/1

I get mine from a local model shop that does radio control stuff for planes, boats and cars, sadly nowt for trains!

Quote from: woodbury22uk on June 09, 2015, 11:36:29 AM
Peter

This might be a good project for you.

Take a sheet of brass and cut out a triangle. Round off the sharp edges. Drill small holes in two corners for the wire linkages to point and lever. Drill a larger mounting hole in the other corner, to suit the size of your self tapping screw. Use a short brass sleeve over the screw which is a close fit in the mounting hole but still allows the sleeve to revolve around the self tapping screw. Drill a pilot hole in your baseboard and screw in the self tapping screw. You might want a washer between the triangle and baseboard, and the screw head and triangle. I did this on a previous layout and it worked just fine. I used a bit of Vaseline to lubricate the screw thread so it did not wear the brass sleeve.

Michael, thank you for a brilliant idea it would be ideal if I had the facilities for working Brass and especially in the tiny sizes I require for the positions of my unplanned points!

I suspect that I will purchase the items needed and cut them down until they fit!

Thanks anyway for a VERY good idea!

Peter.

Quote from: Agrippa on June 09, 2015, 11:37:50 AM
Peter, assuming your baseboard is wood  and you want to attach the pivot with a
machine screw and nut, you could drill a small hole in the baseboard where the
pivot will be , then insert into the hole a small length of brass /plastic/etc tubing in
which you have fixed the nut with superglue then you could attach the pivot with the machine screw.  Hope I have understood your problem and above makes sense.

Easier to draw it than describe it!

Thankyou, I will consider this as my last resort simply because we are all aware of the foibles of the model railway construction brain?  "Now if I had a siding there I could connect with that point over there but it would need to be moved about 5 mm to the Left!"

Many thanks for a GOOD idea!  Peter.

Quote from: Dorsetmike on June 09, 2015, 12:10:19 PM
Model aircraft R/C  linkages, including bell cranks, a Google search produces loads of suppliers, these  just  2 of many results. Also a good source of wire and tube bits, rods. couplers (for rods not rolling stock)

http://www.sloughrc.com/default.asp?WMFN=SRCM_Weblet&WMFT=D&WPG=SRCM_HomePage1&PageNumber=1&bc=true&s=c:0,c:140,c:140-020,c:140-020-060,c:140-020-060-080

http://www.lancastermodelshop.co.uk/mall/departmentpage.cfm/modelandhobbyworld/_419865/1

I get mine from a local model shop that does radio control stuff for planes, boats and cars, sadly nowt for trains!

Michael, thank you for the links I feel sure that I will find the correct items somewhere on the 'net!

Regards, Peter.

thought  Gem Mercontrol  did  them!!!

They do

http://www.lytchettmanor.co.uk/mercontrol.html