Carbon Fiber Sheet

I'd take the low route and find a suitable donor material to work with for a drawbar.  I just bought a cheapie plastic putty knife from my local ACE hardware and I'd use that to make a drawbar.  Any kind of perhaps 1/16 inch thick plastic would work too, but the putty knife comes to mind right now.

I could likely cut it roughly with tin snips, drill with a regular drill, and size it up with a file or a sanding wheel.  A carbon fiber sheet would work too, but it seems like overkill for the mechanical stresses involved.

Dale

As I helped my wife finish dinner, I saw a black plastic slotted spatula.  If you choose carefully you can get by with two cuts - if your spatula has slots the right size and the spatula parts are the same width that you want for your drawbar.

Dale

J.,

I'd avoid carbon fiber like the plague.  A good friend of mine worked in a carbon fiber components manufacturing plant for a couple of years.  Two of the big problems with it include:

1.) Slivers -- If small bits of material penetrate the skin they can cause serious infection, even tiny bits can do this.

2.) Dust -- Not good for the lungs because of the same kind of result, but deep inside you.  REQUIRES an N95 dust mask.

He had to quit the job so as get away in order to heal up from the infections caused by the slivers.  Localized reactions kept appearing on his hands and arms until he did.

M.H.M.

I use 1/16 and 1/8" thick Bakelite or the equivalent.  And I am using my last little piece almost as I type.  It has a greenish tint and is probably fiberglas cloth reinforced.  I think it is called phenolic - not sure.

Looking for more - hoping to find suitable sheets on Amazon.  Rarely have drawbars break.

Carbon fiber is nasty stuff, I'd avoid it.

I'd also avoid phenolic sheet, here's what the EPA has to say.

Phenol is considered to be quite toxic to humans via oral exposure. Anorexia, progressive weight loss, diarrhea, vertigo, salivation, a dark coloration of the urine, and blood and liver effects have been reported in chronically (long-term) exposed humans.

An easy to work with material is 1/16" Aluminum sheet, it's readily available and cheap.  I think I paid a couple dollars each for 5 x 10 chunks of 1/16" aluminum sheet.

Guys, thank you so much for your great answers.  I will look for some 1/16" aluminum sheet and make one from there, I have some laying around in the garage probably but the trick will be to lay my hands on it.  Thanks again, I really appreciate it.

Why reinvent the wheel.  I typed in "o scale draw bar" on the bay and got a lot of results.  Maybe one of them works or can be modified to.

If you're going to modify one you buy, the aluminum one will be just as easy.  I suspect that around 10-15 minutes tops I could have a suitable drawbar from my aluminum sheet.  I just cut the rough shape on the bandsaw for the length and width, drill the holes correctly spaced, then the grinder rounds edges and tapers the sides.

Boss284, I don't shop on Fee Bay anymore, I probably should but don't really care for them anymore but I thank you for your suggestion.  GRJ, just got back from Home Depot with a 1/2" X 36" X 1/16" bar of aluminum, I just need to sit down and sketch it out and then go to town.  Thanks for the guidance, this gives me a good reason to put my new Laguna bandsaw together.  I gave my old Delta to my youngest son.

Cheers

Did you buy a metal blade for the bandsaw while you were at HD?

GRJ, no I didn't, they won't have one, I have a LaGuna and the blade is 115", it figures, they don't have the close to standard 93 1/2" blades.  Oh well, I'll go to Rockler and pick up a couple, especially a 1/8".  One of my friends at the club has the same engine, he took his drawbar and made me photocopies of it, I cut it out as best I could and will rubber glue it to the aluminum bar and then cut and grind it to shape and then I'll drill the holes.

Thanks and have a good one.

Amazon has a bunch of 115" bandsaw blades, you can save yourself a drive.