Problems with Regner Gears...

[Andrew]

Evening all,

I've recently repainted the frames of my Regner Konrad which necessitated moving/removing the gears. Since putting it back together the gears have been significantly noisier than before ( I don't recall hearing them at all) and so I'm reluctant to us it - I'm guessing whatever's going on isn't doing it much good. After some tweaking it's running fairly smoothly, but the noise persists... If anyone has any ideas as to the cause and possible solution I'd be grateful...

Thanks!

Andrew.

[DLRdan]

Noisy gears is usually an indication of them not meshing correctly either through wear or misalignment. If the noise changes as the gears are rotated then the shaft could be very slightly oval. If its constant then they are either too close or far apart, being to close would make it feel "notchy" if that makes sense.

[Big Jim]

Silly question but do they need lubrication?

I know it sounds daft but I have done it myself on a set of lathe gears, I cleaned them and put them back, but in doing so I removed a layer of grease that had been keeping them nice a quiet.

Have they gone back in the same way round? Not in the wrong place but perhaps turned over, back to front. Any gear train will wear in (as it wears out!) and will wear unevenly. Maybe you have a worn side running against a not so worn side.

Is the mesh the same all over, I used to use the 'fag-paper' method when playing in the smaller scales. Place a bit of fag paper between the gears and adjust until tight, roll the gear train over to remove the paper. It should lead to a constant mesh all round. (newspaper may work better on larger scales.)

[Andrew]

Thanks chaps...

The noise does come and go as the gears rotate, so a slightly oval-shaped shaft could well be the problem? Presumably, because it was running well before, there must be a "sweet spot" somewhere - I'll have to try and find it, I'll give the fag paper/newspaper method a try... As I recall I only removed one gear, and there's only one way round that can go, so I don't think that's the problem, I could try a slightly thicker oil to see if that helps it all bed in again...

I'll let you know how I get on - in the meantime, all suggestions gratefully received!

Thanks again,

Andrew.

[Big Jim]

I have used grinding paste in an attempt to shut up a semi-rebuilt (ie only one gear replaced out of four) Landrover rear diff but I don't recommend it!

DLR Dans post was posted as I was posting mine so I did not see it, but it does sound like an oval axle might be the cause. Can you remove the gear again and see if there is a mark where the grubscrew was originally sited to get the original 'sweet spot'?

[Chris Cairns]

Sounds like you have re-mounted the gear too tight so it is rubbing against the chassis side frame. I'm assuming it was one of the gears behind the flywheel here.

Regner use steel shafts through brass chassis frames which have no bearings. So I've found they run best with a very slight free sideplay on those steel shafts.

My Lumber Jack, Vincent and Max all run with noticeable gear noise but they have more gearing (and a chain on the Vincent) compared to the Konrad, and the gears on the Lumber Jack & Max do overlap so you need to allow for any sideplay to prevent them contacting each other - not a problem on your Konrad.

Regner advise to use a 3 in 1 oil on the gears. However I recently read a recommendation to use steam oil on the Vincent's chain, and I've just started to use steam oil on my Max's gears as well.

You do need to regularly clean off the Regner gears then re-lubricate them otherwise they can wear out quite quickly as they attract dirt, grit, hairs, etc.

Chris Cairns

[Andrew]

Thanks Chris,

I've loosened the gears slightly to allow a little more play - weather permitting I'll raise steam tomorrow to see what happens...

Andrew.

[Andrew]

Hello again - success!!!

I've just had a trouble-free test run - thanks Jim, Chris and Dan, your advice is very much appreciated. "Daisy" made a fine sight on a grey and blustery day, those red rods really brighten things up...

Andrew.

[Chris Cairns]

Phew! That's a relief Andrew.

I've had my 3 Regners (Lumber Jack, Vincent & Max) apart to different degrees so when you asked about removing your Konrad's coupling rods I could not see any problems after looking at the photos of a Konrad in the Sidestreet Bannerworks review.

Chris Cairns