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Parts 13-18b: Axle rods
One of the first things decided upon with the design of Meccano was the use of 8 gauge wire for axles. This determined the size of the holes in the perforated strips, and from there the unusual size of the nuts and bolts. It is one of the few Meccano parts that has hardly changed in a century, and yet there are subtle differences, as you will see.
13 | Axle rod, 11½'' | 1901 | - | 4 | 8 | 2 | N°6 | Was 12'', then 11'' |
13a | Axle rod, 8'' | 1910 | - | 13 | 7 | 4 | N°8 | |
14 | Axle rod, 6½'' | 1901 | - | 13 | 13 | 4 | N°6 | Was 6'' until 1925 |
14a | Axle rod, 5½'' | 1962 | - | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | |
15 | Axle rod, 5'' | 1901 | - | 6 | 6 | 6 | N°5 | |
15a | Axle rod, 4½'' | 1915 | - | 6 | 6 | 6 | N°5 | |
15b | Axle rod, 4'' | 1934 | - | n/a | 2 | 2 | N°3 | |
16 | Axle rod, 3½'' | 1901 | - | 12 | 12 | 8 | N°00 | Was 3¼'' until 1906 |
16a | Axle rod, 2½'' | 1920 | - | 4 | 13 | 6 | N°9 | |
16b | Axle rod, 3'' | 1924 | - | 2 | 5 | 4 | N°10 | |
17 | Axle rod, 2'' | 1901 | - | 12 | 12 | 8 | N°00 | |
18a | Axle rod, 1½'' | 1922 | - | 9 | 9 | 6 | N°3 | |
18b | Axle rod, 1'' | 1915 | - | 7 | 7 | 4 | N°4 | Was 18/a until 1922 |
The parts
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Chronological variations
The first (MME) axles were grooved to accept the MME 'feather' key. As stated above, part numbers and lengths changed considerably during this early period. But, after around 1907, the groove was removed and the parts became as we are all used to. The only significant change was to the ends.Early (pre-war) axles have their ends cut off sharply, as shown by the left-hand axle in this photo. Lengths were not particularly accurate. In the 30's the axles gained 'milled' ends and a much better consistency of length (as per the middle axle in the photo). The length is measured including the rounded ends.
Variations and oddities
The axles in the Mechanised Army outfit (1939-41) are blackened, and easy to identify. However, in an outfit recently investigated, the 6½'' and 4½'' axles had milled ends (as would the normal axles), but the 2'' axle had cut-off ends as shown to the right. This is unexpected for this era.
Dealer spare parts boxes
All images on this site are copyright. This particular image belongs to the
webmasters, and you may copy it for your personal use, or for a non-
commercial website - if you credit the source. All other rights reserved.
The picture above shows a range of different packs for axles. At the top is the oldest, the patterned brown shiny paper pre-war (although these I believe are wrapped axles from an outfit, rather than for individual sale). The paper envelope at the bottom left is also pre-war. Yellow boxes date from the 50's, and the lighter yellow long box for part 13 is later still.
Note that the axles are packed in a similar way to the strips: parts 15 and 14a are in the same box, as are parts 16 and 16a. Part 18b is still packed in 12's. At the bottom right is an unusual red box from the late 60's (is it?), with a white sticker showing the part number (16A).
This image does not belong to the webmasters and is copyright.
Please do not download or copy it for any purpose. It has been
kindly provided for use on this site by the image owner,
Clive Weston
The photo above shows a range of pre-war axles. The bottom one is the earliest, with the green sticker indicating the red/green era (1928-33). The red-on-yellow scalloped stickers follow this, we believe, with either brown or light red paper wrappings. The top axle (part 15a) is immediately pre-war. Note that all the lengths are also shown in centimetres at the bottom of each label.
Individual part numbers
Part numbers for the parts on this page are as follows: Unique part numbersFor identification, each variation has been given a suffix to the main Meccano part number. These suffixes consist of a two-character code for the colour, and if there are many variations, a further number and sometimes letter code to identify each variation. See the bottom of the 'Parts' page for further details.
You don't need to worry what the codes are, just click on any one for a photograph.
The button above turns on and off the display of DMS numbers (where they are known). The DMS (Development of the Meccano System, Hauton and Hindemarsh) published in 1972 and added to in 75 and 82, suggested part numbers for every variation of every Meccano part. These numbers aren't perfect, but they are recognised and also referenced in the EMP (Encyclopedia of Meccano Parts, Don Blakeborough).
Description | from | 13 11½'' | 13a 8'' | 14 6½'' | 14a 5½'' | 15 5'' | 15a 4½'' | 15b 4'' | 16 3½'' | 16a 3'' | 16b 2½'' | 17 2'' | 18a 1½'' | 18b 1'' |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Grooved rod | 01 | .mm | .mm | .mm | .mm | .mm | ||||||||
(shortened to 11'') | 05 | .mm1 | ||||||||||||
(11½'' silver steel) | 05 | .st | .st | .st | ||||||||||
Mild steel, cut off | 07 | .ga1 | .ga1 | .ga1 | .ga1 | .ga1 | .ga1 | .ga1 | .ga1 | .ga1 | .ga1 | .ga1 | ||
With central hole | 25 | .ga2 | ||||||||||||
(length changed) | 25 | .ga2 | ||||||||||||
Rounded ends | 34 | .ga | .ga | .ga | .ga | .ga | .ga | .ga | .ga | .ga | .ga | .ga | .ga | .ga |
Black (Mech A.) | 39-41 | .bs | .bs | .bs | ||||||||||
Milled (army mkit) | 72 | .zn | ||||||||||||
ALL | ALL | ALL | ALL | ALL | ALL | ALL | ALL | ALL | ALL | ALL | ALL | ALL |
2: Although EMP gives the date of removal of the MME groove as 1905, Love & Gamble show the introduction of plain rods only in the Duke St factory in mid-1907.
Please send us pictures of missing parts! Hints and tips for pictures
Take a picture of the part in very good light, preferably on a plain yellow background, without a flash but with a tripod.
Ideally, trim the picture to about 150 pixels per inch of the Meccano part (unless the part is particularly big or small), save it as a reasonably good quality jpg file with a filename of exactly the part number, for example 19b.ni1.jpg, and email it to us by clicking on 'Contact us' at the top of the page. Thanks!
- A greyed-out box shows that no part exists for that colour combination.
- Part number codes with a green background have an attached picture of the part, just click once on the code to show a photograph of that part in a separate window.
- Parts marked "" were temporary or economy parts, or existed only within specific themed outfits. The previous part continued throughout or afterwards.
Further information
Total number of messages on this page: 11. This is page 2 of 2.
stan knight (at 2:01pm, Sun 9th Aug, 15) |
In this section about axle rods the illustration shows a 6 inch one, and the text infers it, but I think the only 6 inch one Meccano ever produced was one that replaced the 6 1/2 inch one in 1924. Is that right? |
Bruce Gemmell (at 9:09am, Fri 15th Mar, 13) |
I have acquired a Meccano Masterbuilder set that contains axle rods whose cross-section is not round but like equilateral trangules with the corners rounded off. What are the part numbers for these, and is there a one-inch pulley that would fit on them? |
Tim G (at 5:17am, Sat 27th Nov, 10) |
Hi Charles, thanks for confirming and for exaplining how the site has been built up! BTW, I could supply pics of 11-1/2" silver steel rods from the ~1916 dsiplay cabinet. ~Also, there was a 1-1/4" rod from memory - supplied with the more recent Meccano c/w motors, at least. Keep up the excellent work! |
Tim G (at 3:06pm, Fri 26th Nov, 10) |
Hi - What is the evidence for the rod with central hole? There was certainly something similar, with rounded ends, supplied with the early US-made motors... |
Rob Mitchell (at 7:23am, Fri 28th May, 10) |
A section with no additional comments - I'll soon sort that out! I have a 14" long Axle Rod, plainly Binns Road with the domed ends but it can't have been the most difficult part for them to make to a different length. |