Hi folks,
This will be of interest to those of us not able to make our own Gauge 3 wheels ourselves for our G3 loco and rolling stock projects.
I am happy to say that the well-respected model engineering firm of 17D Limited based in Matlock Derbyshire have told me that they can henceforth supply fully-finished and ready to fit G3 wheels and if required axles also. They describe themselves as "Specialists in 5", 7¼" & 10¼" gauge Miniature Railways". Here is a link to their website:-
https://17d-ltd.co.uk/
I had searched in vain for several years trying to find a supplier of fully finished wheels for my various G3 projects. But a few days ago I found a link from Google Images picture search showing some great looking model railway wheels but only to discover that they were only for the bigger, more popular gauges. However on their 17D website it invited enquiries. I currently need ten sets of four wheels for ten G3 freight wagons so decided to take the plunge and contact them asking whether they could make a batch for me, quoting a figure of a minimum of forty 40mm wheels with 1/4" axle bore.(Measurement is overall including flange.)
I was delighted to receive an immediate response that indeed they could. Let me say that probably what made this possible was my being able to send along with my initial request a PDF copy of the " G3 Track Standard S 01" author K Cottle to be found in the "Technical Standards" section of the Gauge 3 Society website. As you will see if you look at it, this gives precise engineering specifications/diagrams for wheels at G3 scale,perfect for precision engineers (so my thanks to its author.)
In my initial request to 17D, I had stated that I was working on a tight budget and could they supply the simplest and cheapest scale wheel along the lines of the "5 inch gauge Plain Steel Disc Wheel" that I had seen in their online catalogue (see photo.) Price of these was £12-98 each including VAT with discounts for quantities.
Tristan at 17D said that he could indeed make that style of wheel to our G3 specification. He quoted a price of "based on 40 off £5.10 each, based £4.60 each." (These prices less VAT).
That was within my budget so I have ordered forty. So that you can get a clearer idea of the actual cost, the total quoted for forty wheels including VAT was £247-20 which means £6-18 each or £24-72 for a set of four. The delivery charge on my order of forty was £12-00.
Tristan quoted a delivery time of about three weeks due to their current workload. I had a long and very useful chat with Tristan. He told me that any style of Gauge 3 wheel could be made such as dished, spoked etc.at cost. He said that buyers often also ordered axles made to size. He very was helpful when I explained that I would be making my own axles cut from lengths of 1/4" "Imperial Silver Steel Bar Ground Shafting" and that I would be chemically bonding the wheels on. Tristan said that this should be OK and recommended using Loctite 648 and so I have just ordered some.
I chose a 40mm diameter as this gives a reasonable close G3 scale equivalent to BR wagon wheels which were around the 3ft mark. If anyone else would like any of these 40mm wheels, email me:- roligdag@gmail.com. Once we had a requirement for ten further sets, I would arrange manufacture and posting out. Or contact Tristan yourself to discuss your requirements - the firm's telephone number:- 0í1629 825070
Regards and stay safe,
Clive
Clive,
Whilst it's great to encourage more suppliers into the G3 world, I'm struggling to understand what you've gained that wasn't already available at a considerably lower price.
10 wagons-worth of Slaters 3'-1" wagon wheels would set you back £157.00 - including the axles & bushes - with free postage. And the 3'-7" carriage wheels would be £173.
Sorry if I've missed something.
Andy
Hello Andy,
Well it's a bit late for me now to discover that " Slater's Plasticard" don't just sell plasticard and similar model building materials!
And I'm too far into building the wagons themselves to change the design now - it has to be wheels running on my own 1/4" axles now.
So who buys all those nice 17D wheels? I must be in good company!
Thanks anyway - you tried!
Clive
I've never purchased wheels directly from Slaters Andy - but (and I've just looked again) they do seem to quote prices per wheel.
It may be that this is just not very clear in the product description but the 3'1" wheel (G3122 - 3 hole) on their web site is described as a "wheel" (not "wheels") for £15.70. So I will admit that £3.92 per wheel does sound a lot better than paying £628 for forty of them.
Regards,
IanT
Ian, depends where you look...
A case of assumed knowledge on my part, I guess. Most people coming up from the smaller scales expect to buy complete wheelsets, whilst in the model engineering world people are used to individual castings / blanks. (I've been in both worlds for a long time...)
I had only looked on the page that shows all wheels, and there it is clear (my highlighting)
Slaters1.JPG but on the page for a specific wheel size then it does only show one wheel with no mention of what you actually get.Slaters2.JPG
Andy
Yes, it could be much clearer I think... :-)
Regards,
IanT
Maybe it was a typo when Ian just put £628?
Actually I think that he may have been looking at the 17D advert for the 5" version.
So to quote from my original:-
"the total quoted for forty wheels including VAT was £247-20 which means £6-18 each or £24-72 for a set of four. The delivery charge on my order of forty was £12-00."
Phew, now that's a bit better!
Clive
Sorry!
Ian must have meant 40 x the Slater's complete wheel and axle kit.
Now I'm totally confused - time for a lie down!
Clive
Your quote vs Slaters Price list.
Slaters vs 17D.png
If I may add my twopenno'th? As no-one makes wheels under 3 ft dia, I needed to commission some for my 1938 tube stock which are 2'7". These worked out at around £50 for 16 plain discs to G3 tread and flange standards, with axle holes bored to 4mm, but no axles supplied. Supplier was WMI. Around £3 a copy.
This correspondence seems to indicate that there are choices available to them who have a need. I have to say that Slater's are my first choice, as I have not encountered any of the problems sometimes reported with them.
Regards to all
John
Yes, indeed, the Slater's stuff looks first class. I decided to order a set for closer examination - I'm virtually certain also that they will have stepped axles to perfectly set the gauge, a real boon.
My plan is to use up the supply of the 17D wheels and then revise my design to use Slater's from then on.
If only I'd spotted these earlier. It sounds a bit lame but it was the "Plastikard" monika that put me off even browsing the site. I wonder whether plasticard is still even a big part of their business?
For the record I have ordered the "3' 7" Plain Disc Coach Wheel" at £17-30 for a set of four wheels plus two axles. As well as coaches, the wheel might be OK for very small locos, too.
I'm really looking forward to getting the wheel kit so thanks for pointing me in the right direction.
Clive
Quote from: John Branch on Mar 10 2022 15:38As no-one makes wheels under 3 ft dia
Slaters do a 2ft 9in Mansell wheel - see Andy.B's post above. In the past they have indicated a willingness to make other centres if they already have a tyre of the right diameter. If you ask them about that please let us know because I am toying with asking Slaters for some 2ft 9in split spoke wheels!
Miie
I too can vouch for the quality and service offered by Walsall Model Industries for wheels & axles. I have had a lot of these, well over 100, made to my diameter of 50.6mm and G3S standards, with recessed outer faces. They are used on all of the Class 25 diesel-electric locos supplied by ALD Models over the past 12 months. The consistency of every wheel in terms of dimensions and surface finish has been excellent, and the interference fit onto the axles has been nigh-on perfect too. Price-wise they will cost more than Slater's nylon/steel composite wheels, but the end result is more solid.
Just a tiny word of caution to Clive; when specifying wheel diameters I have only come across suppliers that refer to the tyre diameter, so have taken this measure to be the industry standard. So please be careful to know what you are getting, if you order more "40mm" wheels. I take it these are approx 36mm tyre dia and scale at 2'8".