Shane, when I did these cars, the smallest diameter rod that I could find was .025", so the existing holes had to be drilled out, probably with a #74 drill bit (.0225") or #75 (.021"). I use lacquer thinner as a styrene cement, so a touch of it to the rod and another touch to the hole, and the softened rod in the under-sized hole gives a nice snug fit. After it hardens (next day is best), I re-drill for the .012" wire grabs. I understand that styrene rod as small as .010" is now available. I've never bothered to measure the holes cast into the plastic bodies, so I don't know if the smaller size rod will work or not. Many of the cast holes are "blind", so they'll need to be drilled through for the wire grabs anyway. Most freight car grabirons are 18" wide, and I usually buy these ready-made by Tichy or Westerfield. When I run out of pre-made ones, or need an odd-size, I make a simple jig out of .060" styrene sheet: basically, it's just a piece the proper width that can be held securely. Bend a piece of wire with a small "L" on the end, lay it over the jig and bend the long end parallel to the short end, forming a "U", then cut it off. I use an old X-Acto blade to cut the soft brass wire. If you want to make a "drop-style" grabiron, you need a second jig. This consists of a base of sheet styrene: I used a piece of .060" about 1 1/2" wide by about 3" long. On top of, and along one of the short sides, cement a strip of sheet styrene of a suitable thickness for the "drop" part of the grabiron: I used .050", which yields a drop similar to most commercially- available drop grabirons. Now, take a piece of .015" styrene sheet, and stand it, on edge, atop the base and alongside the .050" piece, then cement another .050" piece parallel to the first, trapping the .015" sheet temporarily between the two .050" pieces. Remove it from the groove thus formed, and set aside to dry. Now, using the same .015 sheet, cut a strip about 1 1/2" long and a bit narrower than the grabirons that you're making: this is a retainer. I made three such strips, one each for 18", 24", and 30" grabirons. When the cement on the jig has set, place a straight grabiron in the groove between the two .050" pieces, with the open ends facing up. Now insert the proper-width retainer into the groove and between the two uprights of the grabiron. While firmly holding the grabiron in place with the retainer, bend the two free ends of the grabiron flat onto the jig. Usually, the grab thus formed will benefit by having the bends sharpened a bit with smooth-jawed pliers, but if you hold the grabs firmly in place with the retainer while making the bends, the grabirons should turn out uniform in appearance.
To fasten them in place, I first insert them all into the pre-drilled holes, then slip a spacer strip of .030" thick styrene, slightly narrower than the width of the grabs, between the grabirons and the car body. Holding the grabs tight against the spacer, bend-over the ends of the grabirons that are protruding into the car, then use c.a. to secure them in place. I remove the spacer before applying the c.a.
Other than an X-Acto knife with a new blade for cutting the styrene jigs, and an old blade for cutting the brass wire, you'll need a pin vise and a #80 drill bit. (A #79 will also work, as I found out when my old pin vise would no longer grip a #80
) In fact, I find the #79 is what I now normally use, even with a new pin vise. While doing the six Fowler boxcars, with 78 holes per car, (72 for the grabirons, and another six for the roofwalk corner grabs), I broke only one drill bit, a real record for me, as I've at times used more than that to install one grabiron!
ops: Don't try to drill the holes using a Dremel tool, as even the slowest speed will heat up the plastic, causing an over-size hole.
The plastic grabirons on the Fowler cars measure just under .020", those on the gondolas are about .022". With .011" roughly equalling 1", the .012" wire grabs are still probably a bit oversize, but in my opinion, the improvement in appearance is worth the exra work.
While I make my own corner steps for passenger cars, for freight cars I prefer the ones from A-Line, available in several styles.
Russ, I don't recall the style of the grabs on the 50' cars, but I redid all of mine with the simple drop-style mentioned above. If the ones you're referring to are bracketed grabs, Details Associates makes a very fine-scale rendition in Delrin, although these don't hold paint very well.
Wayne
