My 1910 Mitchell "parts car" project

[JV Puleo]

I decided to do these one at the time rather than two at a time because, with two, if the width's aren't perfectly matched one can be loose. This is cold drawn stock and it's very close to the dimension but, I discovered, not EXACTLY the same. Oddly enough, I don't think it took any longer because I was able to take deeper cuts. This is clearly the best I've ever done with face milling.

 

 

And with the LH threaded rods screwed in...

 

 

The RH threaded rod is supposed to arrive today but I also need 4 steel bushings, 7/8 OD and 5/8 ID so I made those...

 

 

 

They have to be trimmed to length but 6 hours of standing at the machines leaves my back hurting and I'm starting to make errors so more tomorrow.

Edited April 1, 2021 by JV Puleo (see edit history)

[Terry Harper]

Hello Joe,

 

Did the tube with the drawings show-up yet?

[JV Puleo]

Yes...thanks again. I've never had such nice drawing to work from!

 

j

[JV Puleo]

The bushings trimmed to size...

 

 

I then centered, drilled and reamed the end pieces to 7/8"

 

 

The bushings slipped in. Teal bushings are made slightly oversize so they will press in.

 

 

I could use Locktite "slip fit" to retain them but I'd like them to press in so I put a knurl on each one...

 

 

Then put them together with Locktite. The press fit was surprisingly tight too. I used the press fit Locktite because most of the bushing is smaller than the hole. If I remember correctly, it takes 72 hours for it to completely set up but these were tight enough so that I felt I could keep going. I may not be in the shop again until Monday so there is time for the Locktite to harden too.

 

 

Though it may not be necessary, I added a tapered pin to secure the threaded rod. I use these sparingly - they are a fantastic PIA to remove so I only use them on parts that really should be made in one piece and that there is virtually no chance will have to come apart in the future. I put in a center hole with the big drill press - which is still set up to put it in the center - and then drilled them with the small press which runs at the much faster speed appropriate for a .120 drill.

 

 

The drill was selected as being about right for the pin at the center of the thickness it will fill, in this case, half an inch from the bottom. Then it's reamed with a taper pin reamer...

 

 

I insert the pin and hammer it - it makes no difference if I bend the end. Then I grind off most of the pit that is protruding and file it flat.

 

 

The blocks are 1.050 thick. I've measured the brackets they attach to and will surface grind them to .997 - .004 under 1". That should allow them to slip into place and they won't be as loose as the original pieces which were more like .015 undersize.

[JV Puleo]

I had the 2nd Covid shot on Saturday and everyone warned me there would be side effects...thankfully, except for a slightly sore are, there weren't. so, I came into the shop and ground one side of the radius rod ends. Today I came in and finished the job.  My surface grinder is very worn out, the belt keeps slipping off which makes using it something of a chore but, in the end they came out really good. You can hardly see the bushings and you can't see the tapered pin at all.

 

 

These are going to be tie rod ends. I hadn't planned on making them now but I have material left over from the radius rods so it seemed logical to just keep going.

 

 

I decided to use the big chuck because it holds this square stock better.

 

 

I faced the end off and drilled a center hole. Then I started turning it. I have to reduce the end to 1-1/4" round. For some reason - I decided not to spend much time trying to figure out why, I got it slightly off center. A small amount would be acceptable but, in this case, it was pretty dramatic – more than I was willing to work.

 

 

To correct this I put the small chuck back on since I've had good results using that. The trickiest part was re-drilling the center hole because that was really off. I used a much bigger center drill and fed it in very slowly, just taking slivers off the sides of the old hole until it wanted to seat properly. It worked better than it had a right to.

 

 

 

Then proceeded to turn it again. This time it looks right.

 

 

More tomorrow...I've one of my two local old car friends stopping by and have to run downstairs to the shop.

 

Edited April 5, 2021 by JV Puleo (see edit history)

[JV Puleo]

Turned round and drilled to 13/16

 

 

I then opened the hole up slightly with a .820 end mill. I used .825 on the lock nuts but I was able to find this one which is withing .0005 of the optimum size.

 

 

Then started the thread on the lathe.

 

 

I finished it in a vise. Because its a blind hole I had to take the tap out two or three times to clear the chips. When I'd finished I started over and made the second one.

 

 

With an hour left to the day I did a couple of experiments to decide on the best thread for the inserts that go in the ends of the radius rods. The first is counter bored and threaded 15/16-20. That worked but it will be a bear to thread. Since the rods are 55" long I've no good way to put them in a vise or chuck to hold them and threading 2-1/2" deep on the lathe will be difficult.

 

I also tried the 7/8-18 in a piece of the tubing without counter boring. It worked to an extent but the hole is really too large. Then it occurred to me to use the formula Southpaw gave us earlier and work backwards - seeing what thread I could come up with that is close to the hole. It looks like 7/8-32 might work but I'll think about that...there is no hurry as I don't want to make the new rods until I am setting up the chassis - maybe in a year or two!

 

 

[edinmass]

A year or two.......for the chassis. Hell, I expect my ride before the end of this year! Pick up the pace........after reading all these pages it’s time for you to start giving rides in your car! 👍

[JV Puleo]

Well...I have to admit this chassis stuff is a lot easier than the engine parts so maybe...

Another reason I'm doing it is that I'd really like to see something FINISHED. ...

I do have another problem though. There isn't any place to put the car together. If I do it in the shop I'll have to dismantle it to get it out...I'm still thinking about that one. I'll have to build a garage at some point but it's out of the question this year - and probably next year as well. twenty years ago I'd have just built it myself but I'm getting long in the tooth for that much long hard labor outdoors. My plan, in as much as I have one, is to rebuild all the components and then assemble it...like a bit erector set.

[JV Puleo]

At the end of the day Wednesday I set up this fixture to mill a radius on the ends I've been making. I actually made this for the spring shackles...

 

 

 

About 20 minutes into milling I decided it wasn't going to work and I'd have to think of something else. While an idea was germinating, I took Thursday to paint over the graffiti "decorating" the back of the building the shop is in. It's a pointless waste of time because now the local "artists" will see a new, blank canvas. But, the insurance company threatened to cancel the policy on the building unless we sent them a picture of back of the building minus the decorations...

 

I can't believe I got this done in a day...but I admit I wasn't making any effort to be especially neat or careful.

 

 

I did think of a possible solution to my fixture problem and started on that this morning.

 

 

It's actually very simple and relies on a big shoulder screw to hold the piece firm. I was skeptical that it would work but it seems to.

 

 

When the first one was done I tried fitting it to the rear axle and discovered that the bracket is threaded on one side...so I chased the rust & dirt filled threads out...

 

 

And slipped the new piece in. It seems fine...

 

 

 

So I went on and did a second one. They aren't absolutely perfect but the flaws are so minor no one but me will notice and I'll forget them in a few weeks.

 

Edited April 9, 2021 by JV Puleo (see edit history)

[1912Staver]

Joe, there's something I don't understand about the bushings you have installed. I would normally expect them to be something like bronze or even sintered bronze . But it appears you have used steel . So you still have a steel on steel connection. I am assuming the pin { bolt in this case, my Staver uses a very similar set up but with a regular pin , flat washer and cotter pin rather than a bolt }  will of course be steel.

Am I missing something ?

 

Greg

Edited April 10, 2021 by 1912Staver (see edit history)

[JV Puleo]

I could have used bronze and I did think about it but in this case I'm replicating a part that was made in one piece – from a forging – and did not include bushings. I will use bronze bushings on one side - where the pin is 1/2" in diameter. I used 5/8" on all of them to avoid having to make a 2nd fixture, though as it turned out, that wouldn't have been a problem. In the case of the steel-to-steel connection, this is a place where the original parts show very little wear so I am guessing that a bronze bushing isn't necessary. What wear there is, is on the bolt that passes through the bracket so I may re-make those. Also, there is no good way to lubricate them and there will be very little movement.

[1912Staver]

Sounds reasonable. The pins on my Staver also show relatively little wear. It's the spring shackles that were quite worn on my project, otherwise most of the suspension shows little wear. I agree about the difficulty of lubricating , unless one just liberally squirts oil on the outside of the connection.  If a bushing is used oilite material would be the way to go. But steel on steel may result in annoying squeeks when driving. I doubt anyone cared in 1910. Mechanical things made all sorts of noises in operation back in the day. 

 

Greg

[JV Puleo]

I haven't gotten to them yet but I have the identical problem with my spring shackles. Some of the original "pins" which were hardware store grade carriage bolts - were very badly worn. Those may have been old replacements but they were drilled for oil fitting that match others on the car so I can 't be certain of that. The holes in both the springs and the shackle mount attached to the chassis are very egg shaped and the hole in the spring, which is just the bent spring eye was none too fine to begin with. I will bush the springs. I haven't decided whether to use bronze or some modern steel bushings with an impregnated lubricant that I have. That solution, while it ignores my caveat of working with the technology of the time, will allow me to ream the spring eyes the smallest amount, thereby fixing the hole without removing much metal. I've also thought of having the shackle bolts I made hardened but that runs into a potential problem given the way I made them. As it is, I used a much higher grade steel than the original which, though worn, hadn't broken. The new pins, unhardened, running with a close tolerance and careful lubrication and rarely, if ever on dirt roads (though I wouldn't hesitate to do that) - will almost certainly last more than another 100 years.

 

Another reason for using steel on the radius rod ends is that the hole for the threaded rod runs into the pin hole so, in its original form, there was a big gap on one side. With the steel bushing I've pretty much restored its structural integrity. And yes, they probably expected some mechanical noise, more so with inexpensive or medium quality cars. I doubt it was acceptable at the top end. The problem with assessing that is that virtually all the surviving cars, regardless of whether they are "restored," ignore these mechanical details. All too often its a well-worn chassis with a fantastic paint job. As I'm sure you must realize, it can be extremely time consuming (and/or expensive) to address them...

[JV Puleo]

I finished the radius rod ends today...

 

 

And, because it's the same set up, did the tie rod ends. In this case I don't have a 5/8 x 1-1/2" shoulder bolt so in order to hold them to the fixture I pressed in a bushing. The bushings are actually for one end of the radius rods so I'll have to press them out to re-use them.

 

 

The length of cut on this end mill is just enough to do the job. In this case, the radius is strictly cosmetic - they would work if I'd left them square but would look completely oout of place.

 

 

Done with that...I'll clean the machine up and press the bushings out on Monday.

 

 

The tie rod ends still need a slot cut in them and I've another fixture I need to make to hold them firmly in the mill.

[Gary_Ash]

I addressed the grease problem of my shackle bolts by drilling a 1/8" hole down the center of the shaft about half way down and cross drilling, then put a grease fitting in the head.  Of course, my bronze bushings also have wide spiral grooves to distribute the grease.  Eaton Detroit Spring can supply bushings with grooves.

 

Grade 8 bolt center drilled, cross drilled, and screwed-in grease fitting.

 

Bronze bushings in spring eyes with spiral grooves.

[JV Puleo]

Gary, I like those. I'll have to look at the springs again and decide if I have enough material to bore them out for bushings like that. My problem is that they had no bushing at all.

Today was one of those where most things went sideways...I started by losing the keys to the shop. Everything eventually worked out but I didn't get a lot done. I did make this fixture to hold the tie rod ends while the slot is milled in them. I have to hold them by the round part and coming up with a way to do that took some thought.  I used this piece of 1-1/2" square aluminum and bored it to 1-1/4...

 

 

Then slit one side.

 

 

This piece fits over the round section of the tie rod end and will be arranged so that the vise will clamp it tight.

 

 

I also pressed the 1/2" ID bushings out of the tie rods and pressed them into the radius rod ends where they belong.

 

[JV Puleo]

Today's project was one of my own ideas...an adjuster for the front tie rod. Why? Because all I have are bent fragments of the original rod. I will be able to calculate the approximate width when the front axle is reinstalled but the tie rod is bent to miss the front springs – it runs in front of the axle. I will have to thread the ends before it is bent which means getting the exact width is critical - and I will have to compensate for the bend. By threading on the tie rod ends and adding this adjuster I will have a good 2 to 3 inches of adjustment so I will not have to be precisely on when making the rod itself. I started by cutting 6" of 1-3/4 brass bar..

 

 

Then drilled and reamed it to 5/8". I intended to turn it on a mandrel but discovered (when I was done) that I don't have a mandrel long enugh.

 

 

So I elected to do the entire thing in the chuck. Fortunately, this brass bar indicates well and if it's out a few thousandths that will be both invisible and unimportant.

 

 

2-1/2" on both ends were turned down to 1-1/4"

 

 

Then I took a .005 cut on the raised section in the middle.

 

 

And knurled it. This will also get notches for a hook spanner.

 

 

The last step is to drill, bore & thread each end but by this time I was tired and made a few minor errors - nothing I couldn't correct easily but I decided it was time to quit before I spoil the day's work.

 

[JV Puleo]

Quitting when I did was the right thing to do because the the rest of the job went smoothly once I was rested.

 

After drilling the hole to 1//16 (.8125) - I used an .820 end mill to bore the hole and give it a flat bottom. This technique seems to work best when the finished size is very close to the drill hole. The size, .820, is withing .005 or the optimum size - well within the tolerances for threading.

 

 

Then I lined up a tap and started the thread.

 

 

And finished it using the tap wrench.

 

 

That was the RH threaded side. I then repeated everything and did the LH side. This is the piece as it will be used with two lock nuts. It's essentially a big turnbuckle that will allow me to adjust the length of the tie rod to set the toe in.

 

 

I'll put notches in it for a hook spanner as well but that can wait until I have set the mill up to do it.

[JV Puleo]

Nothing very exciting went on today. I'm waiting on some minor parts so in the meantime I made two die holders...one of 1-3/4" dies and the other for 45mm dies. Most of the odd thread size dies I've bought in the last few years are Chinese. They seem to have carved out a niche market making taps and dies in otherwise very difficult, or impossible to find sizes. The quality is quite good. I can't say how well they would wear over a long period of time if heavily used but when I buy something like this it is often only going to be used a few times. I find it very useful to be able to get odd sizes at readily affordable prices even if I have to wait a month for them to be delivered. In any case, while the threads are imperial they are often made from metric blanks so the OD of the die doesn't match my antique die holders. My primary use is chasing threads on the lathe...I single point them to within a few thousandths and then run the die over them. This gives me a sharp and consistent thread - probably better and certainly less work than single pointing to the finished size.

 

I made the die holders from the first two test gears for the White - both of which I couldn't finish because I had problems with the dividing head. I started by turning the teeth off...

 

 

Then bored to 1-1/4"

 

 

And counterbored for the die.

 

 

Drilling and threading the holes for the set screws and the bolts I'm using for handles took longer.

 

Edited April 15, 2021 by JV Puleo (see edit history)

[chistech]

Making tools and jigs is half the battle in many cases. Just knowing I’ve got a jig for something in the case I might need one down the road makes me “rest” easier if you know what I mean. I realize springs, for instance, can break at any time, so having the jigs I made with instructions written down and kept with them let’s me not have to worry about one failing. Sometimes the tools we make work better than the commercial ones do because the commercial ones are made with production costs in mind and not always best functionality. We might make something that’s crude looking but works like a fine watch. 

[JV Puleo]

I can't even guess how many times I've spent two days making a fixture and two hours doing he job, But, that is the secret to doing it right...when these things were made even the small factories had toolmakers preparing jigs & fixtures. I save nearly all of mine and many times I've found that a fixture I made for one job is useful for another.

Edited April 16, 2021 by JV Puleo (see edit history)

[JV Puleo]

I liked the way the first two came out so much that I made another one today and...I thought of "line up" tool I can make to use the lathe to make certain the threads are centered on the piece. Any of you who have tried to thread a piece of rod with a conventional die stock will know how difficult it is to get the threads to start straight. In my experience it's nearly impossible. I wonder how the old machinists did it - I have 4 antique die sets - two of which I use regularly but all they are really good for is cleaning up threads that are already there.

Edited April 16, 2021 by JV Puleo (see edit history)

[JV Puleo]

This is the 3rd die holder - made from an aluminum blank I originally got to make test gears but didn't need.

 

 

This will be the alignment tool.

 

 

Drilled and reamed to .0005 under 3/4" and mounted on an expanding mandrel to turn the back end down to 1-1/4".

 

 

Then drilled and tapped for a set screw. Between the press fit and the set screw it will never come loose.

 

 

Then I pressed in a short piece of 3/4 shaft. This was the first test I did for the taper on the end of the White water pump shaft so It's not going to waste.

 

 

And back in the lathe to turn the other end to about .003 under 1-1/4. By doing this on the finished shaft the surfaces are absolutely parallel.

 

 

And this is how it works... the alignment tool goes in about 3/4". If you get that much straight when threading it is very unlikely it will run out. In any case, the purpose of these is to chase larger threads that I've already single pointed within about .010 of the finished size.

 

 

All this is preparation for the next round of making parts...I'm trying to anticipate the problems and avoid them.

[JV Puleo]

I really have too many things going on at once... but, its a choice between keeping busy or standing around waiting. I'd rather be busy. I was expecting a drill and a tap & die set today but the postman hadn't come by when I arrived so I amused myself by doing an experiment. When I get to the pile of wretched motorcycles in by back yard I'm going to do the 440 BSA first - because it's the easiest and because my first bike was a 440 Victor Roadster so I already know a good deal about them. However, since these are really "parts bikes" I'm not concerned about making them exactly as original. In fact, I'm going to "archaic" the BSA and include various features that I've always liked but never had. One of those is inverted hand controls - common before WWII but not used much since. You can buy them but everything I've seen is either too expensive or simply not up to my idea of quality so...I'm making some. One part of my design is a tapered  pin to lock the control in the handlebar and to do this I need to drill and thread a hole in a tapered pin. This is a fixture I'm reaming with a #9 taper pin reamer.

 

 

The pin is pressed in and center drilled...

 

 

Then drilled out...

 

 

And threaded.

 

 

It worked well...as well as I could hope for. This is a case where I'll have to make a prototype as I want to make 3 sets of these - one for the BSA, another for the Royal Enfield and a third set for my brother-in-law who's currently working on a 500 BSA single I gave to his son several years ago.

 

 

By the time I'd finished that the postman had come so I drilled and reamed the tie rod ends to 11/16.

 

 

 

And pressed 11/16x9/16 bushings in either side. I want these in place before I mill the slot so the inside surfaces are perfectly flush. They are ready to go but I have to change the mill from vertical to horizontal so I decided to make the special bolts that will hold all this together. This is 7/8 hex stock turned down to 9/16".

 

 

Then the end threaded...

 

 

I finished the thread with the die I was waiting for as it gives me a smoother and absolutely uniform thread.

 

 

I'll make the 2nd one tomorrow...the heads have to be finished, they have to be drilled for an oil passage and I've ordered some little oilers that will screw into the tops.

Edited April 19, 2021 by JV Puleo (see edit history)

[JV Puleo]

I'm reminded of Matt Harwood's comment on why professional restorations cost so much. I've just spent an entire day finishing two bolts...special bolts but still, a hardware store bolt would have done the job, albeit not very well. The two bolts threaded...

 

 

To finish the heads I took the measurement from this original bolt. They are 5/8" thick – at least half again the thickness of a modern bolt.

 

 

They were trimmed to that size and I set up the radius tool to give them the rounded crown the old bolts have.

 

 

Then they were drilled & tapped 10/32 for the oilers I've ordered.

 

 

Except, I'm having 2nd thoughts about that and think I should use something like this...I did not know these "push button" oilers were this old but this is an original part. I know I have some and the thread size is larger than 10/32 so I won't have ruined anything.

 

 

The last step was drilling the hole for the oil to escape...

 

 

And there you have it...the result of something like 6 or 7 hours work.

 

 

That's not a complaint either...just an observation that were it not that I can do this sort of thing I would never be able to have it done.

Edited April 21, 2021 by JV Puleo (see edit history)

[Mike Macartney]

As always Joe, an excellent job. One quick question - would there be any benefit in putting a small groove for the oil around the diameter of the bolts at the position of the oil hole? Mike

[JV Puleo]

I don't know. I read something recently that posited that modern oils are so improved over 100 years ago that they don't really need the grooves that were included in bushings and bearings. I'll still put them in the mains but I haven't been too concerned about these smaller, lower stress applications. Also, I will be oiling these joints with machine tool way oil. It is slightly sticky and does not contain the numerous additives that engine oil has - since it isn't intended to be subject to great heat.

Edited April 21, 2021 by JV Puleo (see edit history)

[JV Puleo]

 

I don't really like switching the mill from vertical to horizontal but I have to admit that in horizontal mode it does a really superior job. I switched it over and set the tie rod end up to mill the slot. I'm using the two-piece vice so that the pressure from the milling cutter will be against the face of the vice and took a few cuts.

 

 

I'm very pleased with the finish on the surface. I've never gotten such a smooth finish from a spinning end mill. I did take rather small cuts - the real machinists out there would say I did the entire thing with finishing cuts but. as I've said before, time is the one thing I have an abundance of...and I would rather not do it over because I rushed the job.

 

 

Then I used a barrel lap to fit the bolt to the bushings.

 

 

It came out as good as I could have hoped for so tomorrow I'll do the other one. I'm also going to mill the spring shackles I managed to wreck a few months ago. I've already prepared the pieces and had a special cutter ground for them but was waiting until I had the mill in horizontal mode.

 

[JV Puleo]

This has been one of those days where I got a fair amount done but it doesn't show...

I milled the slot and fit the bolt in the other tie rod end. This photo does a reasonable job of showing what a nice finish the horizontal mill and a sharp cutter gives. I've done nothing to those inside surfaces except blow the chips off.

 

 

Because the mill is set up for it, I went back to the spring shackles I started earlier. I had a stagger-tooth cutter ground with a 3/16 chamfer on the edge for this job. It's slow going, partly because the mill itself is worn. If I take too aggressive a cut the table vibrates. It isn't often a problem and re-scraping the ways would be a massive job - which I can't say I even know how to do - so it's prudent to take my time. It is giving me the same quality of finish I got with the tie rod ends.

 

 

I'm off tomorrow to install the Cadillac water pumps and keeping my fingers crossed that they work correctly!

[JV Puleo]

Today's Cadillac adventure got postponed so I came in to work on the spring shackles. First, milling down to the finished depth.

 

 

Then across using the side of the cutter to the finished width of 2"

 

 

I was aiming at 2" but a few thousandths over would have made no difference. The SAE standards for this are + or - .005. In any case, that piece you see in the slot is a 2" gauge block...I really don't think it could be more accurate and I doubt I can repeat this performance on the other end.

 

 

I had several visitors today...all welcome but I only just finished that cut and got moving on the other side by 5:00 and, as I've said before, I hesitate to push myself when I'm tired. That when the mistakes start to happen.

 

 

So, depending on the weather, I'll finish this on Sunday or Monday.

[Luv2Wrench]

What is the diameter on that cutter and what rpm are your running it?   The Hendey came with some cutters like that and while it will be probably a year before I do try them out... I'm really looking forward to it.

[JV Puleo]

It's a 6-inch cutter - I forget how many teeth but I'm running it at 80 RPM. It took me quite a while to figure out that horizontal cutters run much slower than vertical. It probably could run faster and I could take deeper cuts and if I had an industrial tool room and lots of extra pieces I might do some experiments but I'm always trying to err on the side of caution since I don't want to do this a third time.

 

Now that I think of it, when I set this second side up I made an error on the depth setting and the first cut was at least twice - and maybe 3 times as deep as I've been running it. It worked but the noises it made gave me the feeling it was laboring. I worry about dulling the cutter before I'm done because I don't have another.

Edited April 25, 2021 by JV Puleo (see edit history)

[JV Puleo]

I had intended to mow today but it's raining so I came in to work on the spring shackles. I finished the milling...

 

 

The ends need to be radiused and they need their bushings fitted so they aren't done but the hard part is over...

 

I've been spending at least 1 day each weekend helping my cousins clean up their parents property - a place that has been in the family since about 1944...they are or were worse pack rats than me (which is saying something) so there is a lot of stuff to sort out and dispose of. While working on the collapsed boat house (which is where I found the 3 motorcycles they gave me) I found this. It's the prop shaft from my late uncle's Chriscraft - which rotted away and fell apart years ago. I don't know what I'll do with it but it's a 6' piece of 1" naval bronze which I am certain will be reborn as auto parts at some time in the future.

 

Edited April 25, 2021 by JV Puleo (see edit history)

[Luv2Wrench]

That prop shaft is a good starting point for rebuilding your uncle's Chriscraft.   It isn't like you had that much more with the Mitchell.

 

[JV Puleo]

That gave me a laugh...

Like your Metz?...

The engine is long gone and we gave the fuel tank away a few months ago. I did find the steering wheel though...

 

I wonder what I can make from that prop?

 

 

Edited April 26, 2021 by JV Puleo (see edit history)

[chistech]

9 hours ago, Luv2Wrench said:

That prop shaft is a good starting point for rebuilding your uncle's Chriscraft.   It isn't like you had that much more with the Mitchell.

 

No! If he did that I’d find myself on the (Antique ChrisCraft Restoration Forums) and I don’t need another forum to be following! I can see the title now, “ rebuilding a Family heirloom from just the prop shaft up!” 😁 of course, I’d be enjoying every post.

[JV Puleo]

Don't worry...I've still got the Mitchell to finish - as well as 3 motorcycles and I need to build a garage and do some extensive work on the structure of my house - not to mention finish the inside which has been stalled for about 25 years. Then there are the two books I've started on (one is about 1/2 done - its progress was halted by covid and the closure of the National Archives) not to mention the adventure series of fiction books I mapped out - I'm saving those for when I'm too old to go out to the shop. In all, I've enough lined up to keep me occupied full time until I drop. Oh yes, and there are at least 3 authors waiting for me to finish my own book so I can start on another of theirs.

Edited April 26, 2021 by JV Puleo (see edit history)

[Walt G]

This is really a great thread to read, thanks so much for taking the time to share it with us and give most of us who "haven't a clue" and don't have a lathe etc the opportunity to see how and what to do. I had a great 'teacher' who was also a skilled machinist that I worked with decades ago and learned much from him - he taught me how to machine new pins to let the shutters ride on for my 1931 Franklin that had worn severely since the car was made. We used free machining stainless steel, and there were 32 pins the both ends had to be turned down to be correct. Piece was about 2/3 of an inch long, if that. Joe Star was his name and he loved pre war RR cars , had an AJS town car. He has been gone many years and I still miss those times I spent with him and his patience to explain and demonstrate what to do.

Walt

[JV Puleo]

Thank you Walt...oddly enough, I began by working on pre-War RR cars - Ghosts, PI's 20-25 etc...I'm rarely able to match the quality of their workmanship but I keep trying. I've worked on only 2 PII's and strangely enough one was an AJS Town Car.

 

Today was a bit of a washout. It took me two hours to clean the mill up and change it back to vertical mode although I have to say it went easier than it has in the past. I'm guessing that if I did it more I'd get a lot better at it. I put the roatary table on an milled the first radius on the end of the shackle. and, I'm doing something wrong but I'll be damned if I can figure out what so I spent a lot of time fiddling with this. I'm not happy with the first one - though not unhappy enough to do it over since it was a good two days work. I'll press on and if the remainder are ok I'll just arrange it so the lopsided radius is in a place where no one can see it. Realistically, I doubt anyone but me would notice but I'm the customer here and I tend to be ruthless in my criticism of the mechanic.

 

 

 

 

Also, these little oilers came in... they are actually made for model engine builders but they are small, very well made and inexpensive at $6.00 each. I certainly couldn't make them for that. There is a place or two on the engine where I wanted a tiny oiler so putting two more on the tie rod bolts makes sense - they will all match.

 

[alsfarms]

I built my shackles as a duplication of the originals.  As you said it, sometimes not the easiest thing to make a duplicate that, in fact, is a duplicate.