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Alignment jigs and soldering blocks, 2
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The Dave England Ajustable Jig
by Chris Briggs, March 8, 2003
The jig in the pictures below was designed by Dave
England, and he was able to get a few of them made. I was lucky to get my
hands on one.
The jig consists of a front and rear axle carrier, milled out to take 1/8 inch
axle. You can use 3/32 inch axles if you slip a 1/8 inch OD tube over the axle
where it fits into the axle carriers. The width between the
right and left axle carrier is 2 inches.
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The Jig can be adjusted to fit any chassis wheel base. For all of my
chassis building, I use a propane torch, so I use metal jig wheels.
My jig wheels are usually made out of aluminum stock.
I have also found that some of the old spur gears
or even old inline gears are the right diameter for the wheels and tires I
use on my cars.
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Dave's design is based on the Russkit jig (above) that was very popular in the 60s.
To make the jig a little more builder-friendly, I have made up a jig plate to
fit in between the two axle carriers. The jig plate is made of 1/16 inch thick
aluminum sheet. You should be able to get the sheet alumimun at any good
hobby store.
The idea behind the jig plate is to give the
chassis parts a nice level surface to sit on when soldering.
The jig plate also sets my ground clearance for me.
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The notch in the jig plate is cut out so I can fit my sidewinder or
anglewinder gears on the axle. This lets the gear clear the plate and lets
the jig wheels sit flat on the outside surface of the sxle carriers.
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A good jig is a must-have for me to do any type of building. The
design of the Dave England Jig is simple for a good machinist to make up. It should
serve you well for many years.
--Chris Briggs
Chris
Briggs Slot Car Page |
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