Model Railroading > Athearn SD70/75M : How to make nose door thinner????

Hi,

the nose doors of Athearn's SD70Ms are far to thick, anyone a experience how to make thinner?


Greetings

DRGW5401

In my experience, the glue they use at the factory is applied sparingly enough that it allows them to be popped off with a little gentle prying from the outside and pushing from inside. Once they're off, just sand the back until you reach a more prototypical thickness, then reattach.

Joe

This method works for me.

IAISfan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> In my experience, the glue they use at the factory
> is applied sparingly enough that it allows them to
> be popped off with a little gentle prying from the
> outside and pushing from inside. Once they're
> off, just sand the back until you reach a more
> prototypical thickness, then reattach.
>
> Joe

Ditto.

Alternatively, go and make about 2000 really thick doors and go and attach them to the real ones. This plan may take a little longer than the methods already mentioned.

Yep, pop it off, file it down, glue it back on. Easy as that.

rugbytown Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Alternatively, go and make about 2000 really thick
> doors and go and attach them to the real ones.
> This plan may take a little longer than the
> methods already mentioned.

:-)

Tom Y

sp8192 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Yep, pop it off, file it down, glue it back on.
> Easy as that.


This indeed works like a charm (have done five so far)... although popping off or having to file down the oversize door hinges attached separately from the nose door is a problem too....

If you have a lot of units to do, decide the thickness you want them all to be. Then lay a couple of brass strips parallel to the width of the door. Solder a couple of brass square rods to the pieces to keep them apart. Probably .010 or .015 strips will provide the thickness you need. The square rods should be spaced to rest on the top of the door and you will find the bottoom of the strips will ride above a piece of thin sand paper glued to a wooden or plastic sheet. Then you gently sand the back of the door inside the jig and when enough material is removed the brass strip will prevent removing too much material from the door. The thickness of the door should be uniform across the entire surface.