I recently received some MEW replacement drive wheels that I'll need to install in a BAL motor, and wanted to hear people's thoughts on doing it properly.
For starters, given that all 4 drive wheels are being replaced, is it worth the trouble to reuse the original axles or should I just cough up a few more bucks for a fresh repro axle? Originality is not big deal for this particular piece, given the number of other bits being replaced already. If I do reuse the old axles, is there an easy way to get the old wheels off without damaging the axles?
As for actually getting the new wheels on, I gather there are several approaches with varying costs and precisions. It sounds like the cheapest, least precise approach is just to squish the wheels on in a vise (after checking bore/axle tolerances, of course). The issue there would be whether the vise will exert force perfectly square to the axle. Correct? Then the next step up would be an arbor press or the more specialized press system made by TTRP (which also does lots of other things). If one were to use a plain arbor press, is there some makeshift way to hold the wheels in place or do you really need one of those wheel cup installation tools?
Then there's the whole quartering issue, which I know I've read about but don't recall all the details of at the moment.
I've managed to survive without a vise so far, though it would have been useful from time to time. I'm sure that would be the cheapest option, but even a mediocre vise that's large enough to fit an axle won't be that cheap, and it's not the best tool for the job anyway. Perhaps I'd be better off investing in a more specialized setup if that would be easier and more effective? I'm not planning to go into the toy train repair business or anything like that, but I would still like to tackle the occasional restoration project in the future just for fun. Otherwise, I'd just have sent the whole engine to a professional to fix, as that would surely be cheaper and less time-consuming than acquiring the tooling and know-how to do it myself.
Thanks for any advice you can provide.