UPDATE (SUCCESS)Using a dremel tool to grind flange less wheels on loco

Sure You'd be better off letting them freewheel to keep them round.

But doing it that way will take longer than if the loco was spinning by power also.

Aim your debris away from the engine, flush it all clean twice , (then flush again maybe  and relube.

Ideally its best to remove them for doing it on a lathe or drill press but I do recall someone doing mods for FT switch shorting. I just can't recall if they thinned them at the tread, or did the O.Dia reduction.

If they are plated wheels, I just keep it shelved.

Before you go grinding yuoour wheels. Put a straight edge on the track you may have a bump in the track

Put some clear nail polish on the rail you think is causing the short, only where the wheel  is touching.

clem k posted:

Put some clear nail polish on the rail you think is causing the short, only where the wheel  is touching.

Better yet, the wheel...   ton the track it will wear off quickly...

It's really the thickness of the wheel, I had the same issue with the Lionel TMCC Consolidation.  I couldn't believe the blind wheels shorted on the curves, but the evidence was clear from the arc marks on the wheels and the center track.

If I were faced with this task, I'd try to do the job with the wheels turning so you could keep the thickness even. You could mask off everything but leave the wheel exposed and minimize the probability of getting chips inside and then power them to keep them rotating.

Doing it stationary is going to be very difficult to impossible to be consistent.  Pulling the wheels is a non-starter for me, I don't want to go through pressing them back on and getting them quartered correctly.

Do not use a Dremel grinding wheel. Use a medium flat file...with just enough bite to remove a small amount of metal. The wheels must be powered (rotating). Use light pressure on the file (just enough to see some metal being removed)  Inspect the wheels...if your cutting groves in the wheels, select a finer file. You also might  want to use a tiny-tiny  drop of oil on the surface where you are filing. This lubricates the file-to-wheel surface and collects the filings. Take your time!  Be sure to protect the motor...especially if it is an open frame motor.

One thing I have not seen mentioned here is the possibility of the gauge of the flange-less wheels being too narrow. It may help to spread them further apart on the axle.

I've ground the wheels using a file and the motor running. I beveled the inside edge. It helped.

I don't see why the admonishment against the Dremel, you can have the wheels running and accomplish the task faster and still have total control over the process. I use a grinding wheel in this case.  If I'm really in a hurry, I use the carbide cutter.

I'm a Tim Taylor fan, MORE POWER!

All depends on how skilled/comfortable you are using a Dremel tool.  At the speed the grinding wheel is turning you can do a lot of damage very quickly. A file may be slower, but is more "forgiving" than a high speed Dremel.

True, but if you run the grinding wheel fairly slowly and have the locomotive wheel rotating, it actually takes a bit of time to take off significant material.  Obviously, I use a variable speed Dremel, and I'd do this process at a fairly low speed, certainly to start until you get the feel of it.

I might have done that too...been a while.

The wheels I beveled seemed hard, not too quick to grind off. In fact I think I went back at them a second time to get more off.

Sounds like the dremel it is. Will try it this weekend maybe. Will let you know how it turns out. 

I ground down the inside of the blind drivers on my Lionel PRR T-1steam engine.  I turned the engine upside down in a foam cradle and ran it slowly.  I used a dremel with a grinding bit to do the job.  It worked great.

Here is a forum post about this:  https://ogrforum.com/...-grinding-of-drivers

NH Joe

That would be my method.   Of course HW posted an admonishment not to attempt it.  However, I guess he didn't realize that the "blind" drivers are the ones without flanges.

The file would produce less abrasive dust, but is a give take against the time the two have to distribute their debri too. I do like the control of files better, but the speed of a high speed grinder is what I'd use here; then maybe a file for final dressing.

Grease applied heavily around axles and trust areas to catch more debri before it can get into the crevices might help to, and grease on gear teeth removed before hand so debris can quickly fall away from teeth are two other things someone might want do if they were really worried. (Two observations from our hot rodding, and being Grandpa's pet work monkey in his machine shop since pre-school.)

Personally, the number of revolutions with debri around is what would be on my mind most.

I had to do this to my Lionel UP 2-8-0 a few years back. I cut a mask out of thin cardstock that would slide between the frame and the wheels then I taped plastic bags to the cardstock to completely cover all but the drivers on one side of the loco. Then I powered up the loco and used a 1" diamond cutoff wheel (Harbor Freight) to take about .5 mm from each side of the blind drivers. My grinder is reversible and I could use that to cause most of the cast off to fly away from the loco.  I also used a vacuum cleaner to suck up debris as I ground away.   forgot to mention I removed the main rod from each side of the loco and globed a bunch of grease around the connecting rods and crank pins to catch any filings before they could work  into the bearing surfaces. I Then removed and cleaned the rods before putting the loco back in service.  I don't think much if any filings got to the rods but easy enough to remove and clean.

cjack posted:

... I beveled the inside edge. It helped.

Maybe I'm reading some of the posts wrong, but it seems like some are taking too much metal off.  As cjack stated, beveling the inside edge is all that is needed, and I would think not much at that.

Regarding using a Dremel versus a file: for the longest time I reached for the Dremel first, but over time found that a hand file worked faster for me and gave me better control. Maybe I was trying to use the wrong bits.

Regardless, if you are going to use hand files, I suggest buying quality ones. It makes a difference. 

If i recall correctly, for USA files, there are bas ta rd , second cut, and smooth (coarse, medium, fine). The shorter the file, the finer the teeth.

I tend to use 4 inch and 6 inch files.

Swiss files use a different nomenclature, which I'd have to look up.

Well, I can believe better control, but if you can take material off faster with a 6" hand file than I can with a carbide burr in my Dremel, you're SuperMan!

Maybe the Dremel was slow for me because of the bits I would use, and the way I'd use it to try to maintain control.

I am certain I never tried carbide bits because I did not have any at the time. I probably tried rotary files or stones.

When I need to remove a LOT of diecast, I turn to the carbide cutting bits.  They will make short work of cutting it away.  However, they don't know when to stop, so you have to tell them.   The stones are a lot slower, but as you say, more precise.  When I have a big cut to do, I rough it with the carbide bits and finish it with small files to attain the desired shape or opening.  For slower work, I've started to use the sanding drums, I can replace them cheaper than stones.  The stones load up fast with diecast, and I take them and grind a bit off them to remove the metal that is ground into the stone.

Now you guys have me asking on question after reading the last half of this post. What type of dremel bit would you recomend? I was thinking of using a round grinding stone type. 

For slower work, I either use a coarse grinding stone or the sanding drums.  You can finish it off with a file or fine stone if it's a bit too rough when you get the taper correct.

Masking with cardboard is pretty slick. Tape mask the other wheels flanges and tread if dremels get away from you.

 Most of my files are about 25 years old. Old freinds, so there are sharp spots and weak, and I know my freinds well now....younger freinds wouldn't hurt though. . Stone is for grinding. Sandpaper works but wears faster mostly.

I.e., machining is an art and everyone uses a taylor made brush to suit their skill to get similar results. Good luck!

I am on the road, so I don'the have my reference materials to be more specific.

When folks (myself included) write "stones", we really should note that there are a number of different materials with different characteristics. I can think of 

Light brown - sandy colored

Green

Dark reddish brown

The Dremel site probably has details.

Yep, there are all sorts of different grits on stones.  I also have a large set of Cratex polishing wheels and burrs.  For finer polishing and deburring stuff these work great.  They are not suitable for this project, but very handy to have around.

Cratex Rubberized Abrasive Introductory Kit No. 777

Thanks guys for all who posted comments and suggestions here.

I got a grinding stone bit for my dremel today along with some caned air. I live in an apartment and dont have a air compresser. I ran the engine upside down in a foam cradle and used the dremel. Masking off all areas that I did not want to get fillings on. Then blew the engine parts clean with the duster cans of air. Now my engine does not short out and is almost usable again. The dremel method was fast and easy. To blacken the drivers back up I used a black sharpie while the engine was running on low upside down in the cradle. 

Now I have to install a cruise m board so this engine will run smooth. With out this step the engine just runs way to awfull. Wow how spoiled legacy and cruise have got me. After the cruise m board and uptating the smoke unit ( cutting of the sleeve around the resistor and new lionel rope wicking. This engine will finnaly see some action on my layout. Even with the old railsounds and two chuffs it will be fine for this engine. To me upgrading to a fan driven smoke unit and a chuff generator is not a priority on this model. Maybe some day a used legacy version will pop up and I will buy one. This engine now at least will be runnable and no longer a shelf queen. Thanks again guys.

Additional "easy fun" would be use gravity for reverse flushing bearings with oil (at least). Getting things clean of all abrasive is important. "Better safe than sorry"

Gun blue applied on the raw metal will last longer and protect better.