Continuing work on the Mail Wagon. I put together the rear axle assembly.
The front assembly required drilling a hole using the provided jig. I was able to use my hand tools – a pin vise – to make this hole. For the rear assembly, the metal was thicker and the pinvise was no match. I got a blister and two shallow pilot holes for my efforts. :\
To finish drilling the holes, I bought the Dremel chuck #4486, which holds bits with 1/32″ to 1/8″ shanks. The buggy kit provides a 1/32″ drill bit (shown here in the pin vise).
Since the metal parts are delicate and easily marred by pliers, I had to figure out a way to safely hold the assembly while also not breaking any of the parts already assembled. I folded a small hand towel to protect and brace the assembly. I attempted to drill, and the metal wagon spring heated up fast, so I added a tipped clamp to hold and protect my fingers from the heat.
The first hole worked great since I had been able to get further into the metal with the pin vise. The other hole wanted to wander, so I had to work more with the pin vise to get the pilot hole deeper and in the right line. The excess hole will not be visible after assembly.
I reapplied the epoxy to the wood piece that sits on top of the wagon spring. I added the brass rods right away to make sure everything lined up properly while the epoxy set.
I added the square nuts and trimmed the brass rod to complete the rear axle assembly. It’s not very level or straight, but that is a limitation of the cast metal spring. It’s somewhat pliable, so it doesn’t want to hold the proper shape. I think it will be barely noticeable once the parts are painted a uniform color and the wagon cabin is added.
There is a spring for the front axle assembly, but that will have to be added later since I’m not using the reach (the rod that connects the front and rear axle assemblies). I’ll be making my own reach once I have the wagon cabin built, so the front spring will have to wait for now. Next up will be working on the wheels, which seems like it will labor intensive. If all turns out, they should be beautiful.
