# Brass Inline Scratch-Built



## K.L. VanAtta (Mar 23, 2009)

Good Morning,

With the "Dropped Magnet Build" nearly complete, making rear tires for it today, it was time to start a second thread on a new and bit more complex type of chassis/car. The interest generated by Al Thurman's "Landshark" line made me think that it was right time and place to build a legal BRASCAR/Gravity class brass inline car powered by the venerable Mabuchi HT-50.

This will be a one-off chassis based on what I remember worked in 1971 combined with as much modern innovation as I can get away with. The chassis also falls into the category of, "If I Knew Then What I Know Now..." type of build because I now can correct the mistakes I made. I will be building this and the "Bob Young" Brass Chassis at the same time as both use many of the same components...

As always questions and comments welcome.

klv


Photo 1

Began with a 6" x 12" sheet of 0.040" brass by K&S Engineering (**Note** you can get all K&S supplies from their sales arm called Special Shapes, first on Google search) cut down to a workable 1.5" x 2.25" piece.
As you can see, I have laid out (sometimes) accurate lines to guide my Dremel cutting and filing. This is a raw piece, hopefully, in a short time it will be a nice, competitive slot car.


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## joegri (Feb 13, 2008)

alright! now you really have my attention klv. i,m headed down to the cave to see what i have for sheet brass. and i see yer scribe lines, is this from memory? or did you copy from an already made chassis? i do have a doug morris pan that i can get the front from and i guess i can get the rest from a riggen. very cool to have you showing a scratch build. thanx for this.:thumbsup:


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## sidejobjon (Jun 3, 2010)

Brass "ATTA"BOY
SJJ


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## K.L. VanAtta (Mar 23, 2009)

SJJ and joegri,

Every chassis I build that involves any type of brass or steel pan or center section I draw-up and dimension first. I have found it to be easier when building to work from a basic set of plans. This ensures that 95% of my work is original, I may copy someone dimensions but not the part.

Out of respect to that other racer's imagination, hard work, and skills I refuse to copy anything I see. I far prefer to congratulate the racer on the cleverness, functionality, and execution of the idea. 

While I may want to snap a photo of the plan for this chassis and post it in this thread I will not. Just my thing about copyrights and intellectual property. If anyone really wants a copy of the plans then send me a PM with your real email address and we'll talk about it.

klv


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## K.L. VanAtta (Mar 23, 2009)

Afternoon All,

Some photos to document the cutting and filing progress on the chassis....klv


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## chaparrAL (Oct 31, 2008)

Keith! So I am not the only one cutting brass now lately it seems! NICE JOB!
PSST! Keep this under your hat. Need more motors like that but with modern material magnets? allelectronics.com . . And cheap too so don't get greedy out there. PLEASE buy only what you need. They say they only have a few thousand.
I look forward to 2015 when we can race again on the 1972 PARMA track at Modelville. 
I also just started a Facebook page called; Vintage , Historic, and Scratchbuilt HO Slot Cars.


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## chappy2 (Jan 7, 2013)

KL, very cool, looking forward to the progression of this one, for sure. Thank you for sharing.

Rob


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## K.L. VanAtta (Mar 23, 2009)

Good Morning,

I've skipped over the boring part of cutting and filing brass sheet into a workable base to build an inline slot car from. Other things you've missed out on; the exploding Dremel cut-off disc, cracked skin, eye strain, some inhalation of small particles (I do wear a mask!), confusion, file burn, and assorted cursing at nothing particular.

All of these trials are worth it when you look at the piece of brass that serves as the foundation of your new chassis and can say, "I did that myself!".

*On to Part 1*


Parts list:

0.040" brass sheet


Tools List:

Dremel tool
Cut-off discs
Various grinding bits, one barrel type, one disc type, others
Dial Calipers
Files
Magnifying devise


X Factor list:

Time
Patience
Focus

This first photo is the finished chassis "pan" bottom that all other components will be attached to. From the raw sheet of brass to this piece took me close to 8 hours to complete. Please remember that this is the first "custom" brass HO chassis I've built in 35 years, so my skills are rusty and I'm slow. I used a total of 7 different files while making this piece, you can never have too many tools.

Standard words here; take your time, measure often, don't try to do it all a once, even pressure on the files, etc......












This photo (second one) is of the top side where all the work will take place. The chassis itself will be a "rattle pan" type (think Riggen) with pillow block construction for axle support and the requisite bracing to stiffen the chassis. Haven't decided on running gear yet.











Third photo to give a better perspective of the chassis/motor combination. Look close and see the three noticeable mistakes I made. Nobody is perfect, thank goodness!

As always questions and comments are welcome. Thanks for looking...klv


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## sidejobjon (Jun 3, 2010)

KLV,
You are finding your self a home here. Looks manufactured. Nice work
SJJ


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## joegri (Feb 13, 2008)

i,m following along the build here kinda. the hardest thing for me is how to cut out the stock where the motor drops in and where the crown is gonna fit. the .040 is tough to cut with the cutoff wheel (i,m using the thin type) and i need to make better lines so to see where i,m going. do you guys use the machinest ink over a scribed line? i also think i need better files too. but i,m jazzed to see the pillow block construction for locating the front n rear axels. i agree that this does not go fast at all so i,m in. klv this is lookin like a lot of fun.


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## K.L. VanAtta (Mar 23, 2009)

SJJ...Thanks! I'm working on the other questions.

joegri...Sounds like you need a few "tricks of the trade" to help the cutting move a bit faster. 1) if you are good with a drill, power of course, drill a small hole near the each corner of the section you want to cut out. Then, cut from hole to hole, a bit more filing perhaps, faster dremeling.

2) once you have made the initial cut on one side of the brass, flip the piece over and look for the cut opening or the protrusion and carefully begin to cut from the flip side. You should be able to get real close to each corner such that a screwdriver will break the final piece of brass.

*Don't* try to cut on the line. Leave yourself some working room, maybe a 1/16th of an inch. As your skills become better you can shrink this distance. *Don't* work at the fastest Dremel speed; now days most of my cuts begin at the slowest speed to lay down a nice groove from the disc to ride in. I'm working in my upstairs office (on sick leave from work, not to be in cold, damp places, my normal work room) using two battery powered Dremels and doing 90% on low speed.

I don't use anything but the lines that I scribe in the metal. Use dial calipers, precision squares and straight edges, and a hobby knife to scribe lines.

Hope this helps....klv


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## joegri (Feb 13, 2008)

thanx klv for the tip. gonna try that cuz my next move is to cut out motor n crown area. just finished shoveling more snow so i dont much feel like goin back down to the cave. spent a good part of the afternoon reworking some braids n recoating tires...think i,ll hang by the pellet stove for a bit.


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## gonegonzo (Jan 18, 2006)

KL ,

When you cut from hole to hole . are you using a cutting disc or ????

If using a disc , how do you come close to the holes or is there some hack saw blade cutting necessary ?

Thx
Gonzo


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## K.L. VanAtta (Mar 23, 2009)

gonegonzo,

No hacksaw, please. Yes, use a cut-off disc. Maybe this diagram will help










The holes are drilled on the inside of the rectangle, maybe a 1/16th of an inch or so away from your scribed lines. Then cut from center to center of each hole. If the hole is an eighth of an inch there is a good chance that you can make all the cuts with out touching any of the scribed lines.

Hope this helped....klv


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## slotcarman12078 (Oct 3, 2008)

I'm sure most of you guys have a Dremel. The optional flex shaft makes this job easier as it's diameter is narrower and easier to control. Also, the Dremel cut off discs with the special spring loaded mandrel's discs are slightly bigger than the ones that attach with a screw. They're also a tad thicker and are 100X less likely to break apart. (I've never broke one in the 6 years I've been using them).


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## bobhch (Apr 22, 2007)

I'm watching and reading along. 

Bz


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## K.L. VanAtta (Mar 23, 2009)

Good Morning All,

Sorry for the silence, but, the past week has been filled with necessary things in preparation for my return to work from sick leave and other family related doings.

However, in those brief moments I had to work on the projects I did:

Began making a HT-50 bushing alignment tool
Found the correct screws and drill to hold the endbell to the can so we can cut off those tabs
Began making a brush tube alignment tool
Found and tested the tap, drill, and screws to make threaded HT-50 brush tubes
Began making brass and bronze bushings for the scratch-built

and

Got the Dropped Magnet MagnaTraction Chassis running


Now, I will admit to being an ardent Detroit Red Wings and University of Michigan hockey fan (hockey in general) and got some Olympic hockey viewing time in. I'm not going to make any comments about two of the big four teams other than, it's a team sport!

Will post again in a few days....klv


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

No worries! We come we go.

When your gone too long, your face will be on the annual "Whatever happened to so and so?" milk carton list.


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## sidejobjon (Jun 3, 2010)

That's the ultimate dream, to sick for work. Not sick enough for slots. LOL I use to stay home from school & slot & watch Andy G, bewitched Tjets 1.99 wish I knew then what I know now. 
SJJ


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## ruralradio (Mar 11, 2011)

Knock, Knock..... KvA?? Crap, don't see him here, either.....


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## K.L. VanAtta (Mar 23, 2009)

Pat and Everyone,

Sorry for the silence. Life intervened with my slot car plans and for me family comes first. My wife, while on a mountain hiking trip, fell and her injuries required surgery. This was almost 4 weeks ago and while she can go to work, she is unable to drive so, I've been playing chauffeur and maintaining a sense of normalcy about the house ( whatever normal is for me ).

To add to the confusion we had scheduled new flooring to be installed during my wife's recovery period ( scheduled months before the accident ). Our daughter's graduation from culinary school also occurred during this period with out-of-town guests, grandmother and aunt.

I managed to survive thus far and my wife's prognosis is good for her to return to her lovable first generation Sicilian self by the first of May. Our daughter prepared a fantastic "final" meal for 8 guests and 3 instructor/judges and really did graduate. I lived through the "oh so necessary" debates about everything with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law, whew.

With a little luck, slot cars will return to the agenda within a week.

Thanks for being patient,
Keith


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## slotcarman12078 (Oct 3, 2008)

Oh man... When it rains it pours!! Best wishes to the wife for a complete swift recovery, and a fast return to normalcy in your home!! Congrats to you daughter, the chef!! Glad you survived the in laws!! :thumbsup:


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## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

Keith, family FIRST always.
relax and get back in the groove when you are comfortable.
love your stuff and always anxious to see new


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