My 1910 Mitchell "parts car" project

[JV Puleo]

It would be nice to say things went perfectly today. They didn't...but we have to expect days like that with this type of work. I started by trimming down two pieces of 4-1/2" aluminum tube to be used as fixtures.

 

 

Then one of my old fixtures...I've forgotten what it was for...turned to 3".

 

 

So that it slipped inside the tube.

 

 

This is intended to hold the ring and the cap in alignment while I soldered it.

 

 

This came out really good...

 

 

But its clear I made the ends of the ring too long. I'm not sure how but I suspect it has to do with the difficulty of getting really good measurements on some of these parts. Not having any of the drawings or original specs, this reverse engineering can be a real challenge.

 

 

To fix that, I set it up in the mill using this machinist's level, mimicking the level of the table. It is't perfect and I probably should re-level that machine when I get the time.

 

 

I milled off most of the extra stock and finished it with a file.

 

 

And...it didn't fit. Apparently the relationship between the ID of the cap and the end of the axle tube is not perfect. I can't say I;m surprised by that and perhaps I should have anticipated a problem. In any case, I have an idea on how to correct it so before I quite for the day I unsoldered the ring so it could cool...

 

 

More tomorrow...Actually, I don't think is a serious setback.

 

 

 

Edited December 29, 2022 by JV Puleo (see edit history)

[JV Puleo]

As I expected this wasn't difficult to do again.

I put the pieces back in the housing and tightened them down on a piece of 4-1/2" OD tubing.

 

 

Because they were well tinned from the first attempt I was able to just heat them locally and get a tiny bit of solder in to hold them together, them moved them over to the soldering stand to finish the job.

 

 

When I tried the cap, it still didn't fit perfectly. It was then that I figured out what I was doing wrong. That saddle that holds the bearings isn't really round. The cap is slightly shorter than 1/2 the circumference to provide a "crush" to hold the original Hyatt bearings in place.

 

 

As a result, the axle tube isn't really in the exact center of the saddle. With that, I took it apart a second time, clamped everything in place and repeated the steps. This time I used one of the sleeves that will actually hold the bearings since they have a slit in the top to accommodate the crush. I should have thought of this before.

 

 

Here's the ring soldered to the cap. It hardly shows but the amount of ring that projects into the opening is greater on the sides than on the top. You can also see that I trimmed too much off the ends of the ring trying to fit it yesterday. I haven't the energy to do this over and this is a relatively easy fix. When I mix up the Devcon to fill the original attachment holes I'll put a little on these surfaces to fill the space. I may add a thin gasket between the surfaces as well depending on how much room I have.

 

 

This time it fit as well as I could hope for.

 

 

I then returned the ring gear to the housing and pushed everything up against the bearing on the left. This left me with a space that I calculated as .360 although this is a difficult measurement to take. The second ring should be this thickness so I set it up in the lathe...

 

 

And turned the face off to .370. I'm not precisely certain of the measurements so I will fit this, if needed, by surface grinding. A preliminary test suggests it is at least .005 too thick but I want to be absolutely certain before I try to finish it.

 

 

Edited December 30, 2022 by JV Puleo (see edit history)

[JV Puleo]

I started off today by removing the torque tube & pinion. This is so I could push the entire ring gear & bearings assembly against the stop I made for the bearings on the first side, thus eliminating the possibility that the pinion was obstructing it. I knew it was very close, certainly within the range of the pinion adjustment and, as it turned out, it moved very little if at all.

 

 

Then I put the second ring in the mill and sawed it.

 

 

And tried it in the housing.

 

 

If it proved too thick I was going to grind it but it looks as if the .010 I added to the thickness was just about perfect. In any case, with this in place there is no identifiable play and the ring gear turned effortlessly. Next I'll trim the cap to match the available space and solder them together but it was 4PM by the time I finished this and I'd rather leave that fussy work for the morning.

Edited January 1, 2023 by JV Puleo (see edit history)

[JV Puleo]

New Year's Day and I'm back in the shop...(where else would I be?)

I measured the width for the second cap with this old Brown & Sharpe depth vernier.

 

 

Then put the cap in the mill to cut it down to size.

 

 

All this went smoothly, if slowly. You can see that this time I did not remove all of the rearmost reinforcement ring on the cap...which won't make any difference and just might, after it's painted, disguise my modification.

 

 

Tomorrow I'll tin the two pieces and solder them together.

[JV Puleo]

To attach the ring to the cap, having done it 3 times on the previous cap, I had a plan this time. I started by tinning the ring with the solder I'll use.

 

 

I cleaned it up and then put the cap & ring in the housing pulled up tight against each other with one of the bearing sleeves in the saddle to make sure it was centered. Then I heated one spot with a propane torch and put just a few drops of solder on the seam. This was to hole the two pieces together while I moved them over to the soldering stand.

 

 

Where I did a much more through job. This came out right, if anything better than the first one. I cleaned it up again and tried it on the housing and it fit just right. Next I have to plug the original holes in the housing, re-drill & thread them. I'm having second thoughts about how to go about this. My original plan was to just thread in plugs but, if I can, I'd rather the new threads were not half in the plug and half in the housing with the Devcon filling the gap between them. It would be better if the threads were entirely in the plug. To do that, I'll have to drill & thread for a plug larger than I'd intended as at least one of the original threaded holes is way off lining up with the cap. I think I will use a 9/16-18 plug. That calls for a 33/64 drill (which I don't have) but a 1/2" drill is just 1/64 smaller (about .015). With a fine thread in cast iron this should work. I made a drill guide...

 

 

But decided to sleep on this. After I'd finished with the cap just about everything went sideways today and I'm reluctant to press things when that happens. Better I wait and act when I'm more relaxed.

 

 

 

Edited January 2, 2023 by JV Puleo (see edit history)

[JV Puleo]

I accomplished quite a bit yesterday but had to leave early so I wasn't able to post anything. Starting on the bolt holes for the caps...this is a "before"/ Notice how far out the threaded hole is from the boss on the casting...

 

 

I'd ordered a special short drill to re-drill the hole when it occurred to me that there was a better way. Enlarging a hole when you are only partially able to pick up the original hole is a real challenge. I decided to try using an end mill, much as I did when I repaired the power hack saw. First though I had to make a guide for the 9/16-18 tap...there was no point of making the hole if I couldn't tap it. This is apiece of 5/8 rod drilled through at 7/16" - the diameter of the tap shank - then counterbored with a 9/16 end mill.

 

 

You can see how thin the wall is...but it did work.

 

 

From the top...

 

 

Then I put a 1/2" guide in the 5/8" holes in the cap and took the hole out with a 1/2" end mill.

 

 

Followed by tapping it using the guide I'd just made. This hole is so far out that only about 2/3" of the tap circumference is cutting. Without the guide it would be impossible to do this, much less keep it straight.

 

 

You can see how far out it is here. The extra space will be filled with Devcon plastic steel when I put in the threaded inserts I'm making next.

 

 

The other hole was much closer...in fact, it looks as if My holes are closer to the original design than the "factory" examples.

 

 

The inserts will go in from the bottom. I'm starting with 3/4" rod so that there is a flange on the bottom. That way, the attachment bolts will be pulling against an immovable object rather than the threads in the housing.

 

 

One end turned down to 9/16"

 

 

Then threaded 9/16-18.

 

 

 

Then drilled and tapped to 7/16-20.

 

 

I had wanted to use the original 1/2-12 bolts but the measurements don't work out. As it is, the wall thickness of the inserts is, at most, 1/16". In any case, given what they do, 7/16-20 bolts with castellated lock nuts should do just as well. I'll have to make the bolts but that gives me a little more flexibility regarding the inserts.

 

Edited January 4, 2023 by JV Puleo (see edit history)

[JV Puleo]

I began today by boring and threading the two remaining holes in the differential housing. Only 1 of the 4 holes is actually round which gives you an idea how far off the bolts were for the caps I have. Then I trimmed one end of one insert and faced the other end off so that it was 1/8" thick. (The extra metal was there to hold the piece while threading.)

 

 

It was screwed into the housing from the bottom with Locktite on the threads. Getting these in is quite difficult because the thread does not go all the way around. I actually spent hours getting the pieces just right so that they went in straight.

 

 

The gap, where the original hole was, was filled with 2-part epoxy. It's questionable whether this was really necessary since in all cases the threads were tight but, if nothing else, it makes for a more finished looking job.

 

Then the rest of the day was spent doing the other three. I wanted to finish this part of the job today so the epoxy could set over night. I have one insert that will have to be filed on the other side since the thickness of the casting isn't uniform.

 

 

My holes seem to be a lot closer to the original design that the "factory" holes!

Edited January 5, 2023 by JV Puleo (see edit history)

[JV Puleo]

The housing from the top after I'd filed off the protruding insert.

 

 

I also pressed bushings into the caps. These will have to be enlarged slightly to give the bolts clearance but they lined up as well as you could hope.

 

 

Then, because I'm not using the original bolts, I have to make four 7/16-20 bolts to fit. Actually, since the inserts have a flange on the bottom I'd have to do this regardless as they have to be a bit longer than the originals and I want the old fashioned type with a thick, domed head. I'm making these in two pieces because it's easier than turning down a long piece of hex stock.

 

 

The heads drilled & threaded...

 

[JV Puleo]

I trimmed the pieces of 7/16" rod to length and put in the reliefs. I also tried using my die holder to thread one short end. It worked...sort of but the thread is really too deep for that. The amount of pressure you need to exert makes the rod want to turn in the collet.

 

 

That was last night. When I got home I went back through this thread to see how I'd done this before since these are the same size as the studs I made for the main bearing caps. That time I cut the threads most of the way and followed that up by chasing the thread with a die so I set the lathe up for threading 20 tpi.

 

 

l also bought a new die. The one I'd been using is older than the car and I guessed it might be a little dull.

 

 

All this went smoothly, if slowly.

 

 

And I finished in time to screw the heads on with Locktite. I'll be able to trim them to size and put the dome shape on them tomorrow.

 

 

If you wonder why I'm doing it this way, it's probably faster and easier than turning down lengths of 3/4" hex stock and it is more accurate. The only drawback is that, if you look very closely at the head of the bolt, you can see where the shank of the bolt is threaded in....something I'm not the slightest bit worried about.

Edited January 8, 2023 by JV Puleo (see edit history)

[JV Puleo]

The heads of the bolts turned down to 1/2". I've always been perplexed by the practice of grinding off the grade markings on modern bolts, at least with really early cars, since you can tell at a glance the bolts are modern whether the markings are there or not. The heads of old bolts were much thicker than modern practice.

 

 

The one middle is an old bolt. It has a thick hex head with a screwdriver slot. This is the other type of "old bolt" you see. I'm making the domed version because it's less work and I want all the bolts that show to be consistent.

 

 

Then I set up the radius turning tool...

 

 

 

Next, I wanted to fit them. They do not line up perfectly which is something I did anticipate. There are simply too many parts to this for everything to be in perfect alignment no matter how much I tried. Also, you do not want these bolts to actually touch the cap except on the top. They are there to pull it down against the bearing...any binding on the sides would tend to move the cap slightly. I started with an adjustable reamer.

 

 

But it soon became apparent that this would take a long time...and, as I said, a tight fit is not something I want. So, I reamed them out to 1/2" which is still smaller than the original holes. Now the new bolts screwed in with my fingers...

 

 

And from the underside.

This will get a thick washer on the top and a lock nut and washer on the bottom so the bolt is not as much too long as it looks.

 

 

 

[JV Puleo]

This was one of those "moment of truth" days making sure the ring gear fit.

I started by making some 1/8" thick brass washers to go under the heads of the bolts I finished yesterday. I have a pile of 1/8" x 1" brass strip so I cut 6 pieces 1" x 1'". (I really only need 4...the extras are just for good measure.)

 

 

Drilled and reamed to 7/16"

 

 

Then I drilled out a piece of 3/4" bar and threaded it 7/16-20.

 

 

...attached the little squares with a bolt.

 

 

And turned them down to slightly over the dimension of the 3/4" bolt head across the points.

 

 

 

Then...it was time to put the ring gear back in and see if it locked up in place...

 

 

 

Which it did. There is probably going to be a little fussy fitting needed here at the time of final assembly but there is no question it worked. The ring gear is tight from left to right and turns freely on its bearings. I tend to be very critical of my own work but I don't see how this could have come out any better.

 

The last step today was to put the drain plug back in, just to make certain that it does not rub against the ring gear. In this case, I put it in without a gasket...if it fits like that there is no question it will fit when the gasket is there. I think this housing has a little more room than the first one. In any case, with the drain in place the gear still turned easily and there is no sign of drag or scraping. Whew!

 

 

Oh...and I fitted one of the lock nuts to check the bolt length...

 

Edited January 9, 2023 by JV Puleo (see edit history)

[edinmass]

Very nice…….👍

[JV Puleo]

This is another one of those jobs that has "evolved" as I did it. The finished product is similar to, but not exactly what I originally planned. I find that as I'm working on something new ideas and new solutions pop up so it isn't unusual for the finished job to be much better than the original plan. I suspect this is how many things were developed in the first place. I probably spent $50 on parts I didn't use. I will use them eventually and that is just how these things go.

[mikewest]

Great Job Joe, I hope I can drive this rig  soon! 

[edinmass]

Leftovers and extras are part of today’s reality. Shipping is do dam expensive we just order extras and possibles for the project. Add in time wasted waiting for stuff………it’s cheaper to get it all at once. Returning smalls is a waste of time……….with shop rates so high, retiring fifty bucks worth of stuff takes 240 dollars of time and effort.

[JV Puleo]

I don't think I've ever returned anything. And, 90% of the time I find a use for it. In fact, A LOT of what I accomplish is attributable to the fact that I keep materials and fasteners on hand all the time!

[JV Puleo]

I haven't much to report today...I started by taking it apart again. The ring & spider gears will have to be hot tanked so I took them apart to take home since the tank is in my cellar.

 

 

 

Then I epoxyed the set screws I'd trimmed down into the holes in the housing that I won't be using. This probably wasn't really necessary but it will look a lot more finished if the holes aren't apparent.

 

[JV Puleo]

I've been busy finishing up some other odds and ends this week so I only got back to the car this morning. I took the ring & spider gears home and hot tanked them. This morning I reassembled them.

 

 

This is a simple differential, with straight cut gears as was common in the brass era. These would have been too noisy for a closed car but you hardly notice the noise in an open car. Notice that the bolts that hold it together are drilled for safety wire. That is very important here because if one of these came out the result would be catastrophic. I'll install that when I'm sure I won't have to take it apart again.

 

 

I then put the ring back in the rear end housing.

 

 

I only have one of the axles. Fortunately, it's the long one so I pushed that into the axle tube and measured how much it protruded.

 

 

Then I pushed it into the other side...

 

 

The new axle will be the length of the long one, less the difference between the amount that sticks out of the tube (that is confusing me!) Essentially, the short axle is 1-3/8" shorter than the the long one. The diameter of the bar is 1-3/8 and I'm using 4041 heat treated. There is a good chance that it will not have to be heat treated again but I'll have to compare the surface hardness between the new and old axles to be certain. This bar cost about $90 so I do not want to make a mistake.

Edited January 14, 2023 by JV Puleo (see edit history)

[cudaman]

Wow, that ring gear looks really good! 

 

[JV Puleo]

Yes. I'm lucky in that all the gears are in good shape. It makes me wonder how many miles this car actually had on it. The ring has 57 teeth and the pinion 17 so the rear end ratio is 3.35:1.

Edited January 14, 2023 by JV Puleo (see edit history)

[mikewest]

3 hours ago, JV Puleo said:

Yes. I'm lucky in that all the gears are in good shape. It makes me wonder how many miles this car actually had on it. The ring has 57 teeth and the pinion 17 so the rear end ratio is 3.35:1.

Joe this is the drive shaft you are missing. Our friend Stuart has surveyed it for you. Ill look tomorrow and see If I have it.  The entire unit with the coupler is 25 1/8 inches long.

[JV Puleo]

It's all coming together. I got Stuart's email and I found a supplier for the square hole sleeves if you don't have them. There should be one on each end.

[mikewest]

13 hours ago, JV Puleo said:

It's all coming together. I got Stuart's email and I found a supplier for the square hole sleeves if you don't have them. There should be one on each end.

Im going out to measure the shaft now. If you can buy the sleeves , this problem will go away fast!

[JV Puleo]

Today I cut the piece of 4140 for the axle...

 

 

Which leaves me with this short piece extra.

 

 

I have never worked with this material so before I mill the real axle I want to experiment with this.  faced one end off...

 

 

And had no problem machining it. This is 4140HT (heat treated)...it's harder and tougher than the annealed material but there is a very good chance it can be used just as it is without further heat treating. I want to find out what the best speeds for the cutter and feed are before I tackle the finished piece. To do that I need a holding fixture. It's made from 2-1/2" square aluminum bar. Since there is no way to indicate a square (or at least I don't know any) I started with a piece of 2-1/2" tubing which I indicated.

 

 

Then loosened two of the jaws and put the square bar in. I always use the same two jaws for this. It isn't perfect but comes much closer to putting the hole in the middle than I could do by eye.

 

 

The square bar was drilled to about 1-1/8". I don't have the correct drill for a 1-3/8" hole so I had to bore it to the "reamer size" about .010-.105 under the finished size.

 

 

Then reamed to 1-3/8"

 

 

I have to add some set screws but this will allow me to put the axle in the vise and rotate it exactly 90-degrees. I could also do it with a dividing head but the axle is quite long and to minimize vibration when it's cutting it's a good idea to hold it very close to surface being milled.

 

Edited January 15, 2023 by JV Puleo (see edit history)

[Walt G]

this is just so interesting, thank you Joe for such a great education and incredible photographs.

Walt

[JV Puleo]

To hold the bar tight in the fixture I drilled and tapped it on all four sides.

 

 

Then put in these flat-tipped set screws. They have to seat below the surface so the fixture will lock up in the vise.

 

 

Then I went back and measured the square on the axle and realized it was 1.125, not the 1" I thought it was. That got me thinking about the driveshaft which also has to fit squared ends on the pinion shaft and transmission. I haven't ordered the parts for that yet but I'd like to not get the wrong thing. I measured the square on the transmission and it was 1". To measure the square on the pinion shaft I had to take it apart.

 

 

I like keeping things together but this had to come apart eventually to boil it out so while I didn't feel like doing it today, it was worth knowing the correct size. It was 1".

 

With that done, I put the test piece in the mill and started on the square. I have to remove 1/8" from each side but I cannot be certain that the hole in the center of the fixture is perfect. In fact, it almost certainly isn't. This means that each cut has to be measured separately which isn't a problem but is something that I may not have thought of a year or two ago.

 

 

The first two cuts finished. The bar now measures 1.250 from each flat to the opposite side. The milling of the remaining two sides is done identically but the measurement should be 1.125. These do not have to be accurate to the thousandth. The square hole in the differential and the "cross" that goes on the outer end is a bit larger and with a square on both ends perfect alignment probably isn't even possible...but I'll try!

 

Edited January 16, 2023 by JV Puleo (see edit history)

[JV Puleo]

I finished milling the remaining two sides and put it in the lathe to take about .010 of the OD where the axle fits into the spider gear and the "cross" piece for the hub. Then tried the cross on it.

 

 

And it didn't go on all the way easily. I am pretty sure why...but in this case I had the piece upside down.

 

 

When I tried it the other way, it fit perfectly.

 

 

What's happening here is that the square is slightly tapered. It's very hard to get it perfect as any variation in the fixture will show up on the piece. This was one of the reasons for doing this experiment. The square hole in the cross is larger than 1.125 so I wanted to see just how accurate the piece had to be. I then took the differential apart again to try it in the gears. In one, it fit perfectly. In the other, is bound slightly.

 

 

This is really close enough to be fixed with a file or even a stone but I'd like to get it better. I then faced off the piece that will be the axle.

 

 

And set it up in the mill. This time I used a machinist's level and a little jack to support the back end and make the level adjustable. The mill itself is slightly out of level...it's one of those jobs that should be done every year or so and it's probably been 10 years since I last did it. In this case, I put the level on the mill table and noted where the bubble was, then adjusted the level of the bar to match that.

 

 

And started milling. If perfect, the two sides of the flat should be exactly parallel. Even with this effort they aren't but they are closer and probably well withing the range of working.

 

 

I finished the first flat before the end of the day. I'll get back to this tomorrow.

 

 

 

Edited January 20, 2023 by JV Puleo (see edit history)

[JV Puleo]

I milled the other three flats today. This went well although something moved and I had to re-level the bar at one point. Needless to say, all the time I was worried that it wouldn't fit...especially as there is no way to test it until it's done. I worried in vain...it fit fine everywhere it was supposed to.

 

 

I put it back in the lathe to take about .050 off the end and put a chamfer on it.

 

 

Then reassembled the differential and put it back into the rear end housing.

 

 

I put the original, long axle back to get a final measurement on how much is supposed to protrude.

 

 

And put the new axle in...

 

 

I think it's intended to stick out 1" so it's about 1/4" long. I also noticed a few other things...like the original axle is probably a tiny bit short or these axles are intended to have more "float" than I'd expected. I also have a big problem with the "cross" that connects to the hub. I have yet to think of a good way to fix the one that was welded...and I realized that the big clamping nut I made to hold the bearings on is in the way of the cross seating properly. I will have to redesign these part yet again...I'm resigned to having to make the two crosses again so I'll start on some preliminary drawings. I can't really be certain how things will fit until I have the hubs back on but 'll finish this axle first. I also finally found the square hole sleeves I need to make the drive shaft although they won't be in for a week or two. I'll have to order another piece of bar for that and have a special cutter ground so I'm making progress but it isn't going fast.

Edited January 18, 2023 by JV Puleo (see edit history)

[mikewest]

Joe , The axle shaft project is going well. Wish I lived closer so I could stop in and learn from the "Old Master" ! Mike 

[JV Puleo]

Not much today. I had another job that had to get done so I only spent a little time on the Mitchell. I measured the new axle and trimmed the end so that it protrudes just slightly more than 1". This is slightly more than the original axle but it's easy to shorten it a few thousandths if needed...making it longer it is not.

 

 

Then I set it up in the mill to cut the square. This time I think I've done a better job of leveling it...we'll know tomorrow when I mill it.

 

[JV Puleo]

Here's a question for the guys following this thread...

I've discovered that I have outsmarted myself on the rear hubs. Here's a picture of mine.

 

 

Notice that the four slots are slightly tapered. Those accept a fitting with a square hole in the center that transfers movement from the axle to the hub. I only have one usable one and I just realized that the big clamping nuts I made to secure the bearings obstruct it. My solution is to make them over to a slightly different design but you'll notice that slots are slightly tapered. This was a pretty good idea since as you tighten the hubcap the fitting gets tighter in the axle. The problem is that making four tapered pieces to fit those slots and align perfectly with the hub is a real challenge. I have an idea that might work but if it doesn't I'm wondering if it I can mill the slots square. Member Mike West tells me that a Stoddard Dayton he once owned had parallel side slots and Alsfarms just sent me this photo of his Locomobile rear hub...

 

 

This also appears to have parallel side slots...so I'm wondering what other cars used. If you've worked on a rear hub like this I'd love to know what some other makers used. If my  plan to make the tapered pieces doesn't work it would be good to have a "Plan B."

 

One encouraging thing here is both Stoddard Dayton and Locomobile were much better cars than the Mitchell.

Edited January 20, 2023 by JV Puleo (see edit history)

[alsfarms]

Just to add to this conversation....Cadillac also used a design similar to Locomobile on the full floating rear axle.

Al

Edited January 20, 2023 by alsfarms
Clarity (see edit history)

[JV Puleo]

Back to the axle today. I started by milling the square. It's rather a tedious job because I'm running both the cutter and the feed pretty slow. This is giving me a finish that doesn't need to be improved.

 

 

Then into the lathe to turn the chamfer on the end.

 

 

And try it out in the housing...These aren't as perfect as I'd like but they fit and, in as much as I can tell, are probably a little better than the original. Since that is in very good shape I have to guess that this part doesn't wear terribly. I also checked PM Heldt to see what he said about rear axles. He states that they must be heat treated and that, Ideally, have a tensile strength of about 95,000 psi. This 4140PH has a tensile strength of 158,000 psi so I don't expect a problem.

 

 

 

[alsfarms]

I can see you going slow while machining 4140.  That stuff can work harden if it is run to hot during the machining process.  You should have a very strong axle using that material. Do you plan to do some heat treatment of your finished axles?

Al

[JV Puleo]

I had intended to do that but this new one is so much stronger than the original I doubt it's needed. This was the heat treated 4140, not the annealed version. I'm told by guys who know a lot more about machining than I do that the heat treated 4140  machines very well as long as you go slow. I can testify that I did this with a high speed steel end mill and didn't even get hot chips.

[JV Puleo]

And...I made a mistake!

The original axle I have is the short one. When I slipped it into the axle tube I thought it was fully engaging the spider gears (you can's see them when the ring gear is installed). It wasn't...I was fiddling with it this morning because I realized something must be wrong and finally realized what I'd done. This it the axle in the right spot with the "cross" slipped on.

 

 

This isn't a disaster. It just so happens that the axle I made can be turned into the drive shaft...which I also don't have so I'm not wasting the material. I had to order a piece for the drive shaft so now I'll just use the axle and make another new one. Also, I've gotten quite a bit better at milling the square ends (having done it three times now) so the end result will be better and I don't begrudge the wasted time because I learned how to do a better job.

Edited January 21, 2023 by JV Puleo (see edit history)

[alsfarms]

We have all stood in problems just like you. I have even used a foul word or two when the part I just built is just pretty junk. You are lucky that you can repurpose this shaft.

Al

[JV Puleo]

I spent 30 years or more in the printing business and almost every day featured a do-or-die deadline. At one point I had 17 employees...any four or five of which were complaining about something. I'm way past letting things like this annoy me or set be back.

Edited January 21, 2023 by JV Puleo (see edit history)

[alsfarms]

Yes......with age comes wisdom. Those that were whining had neither age nor wisdom!

Al

Edited January 21, 2023 by alsfarms
Spelling (see edit history)

[JV Puleo]

The next step...

Each hub has one of these "cross" fittings that slip over the end of the axle and engage notches in the hub.

 

 

The problem is that the tabs on the cross are tapered to match tapered slots in the hub. Measuring a taper like this is not easy, especially when both pieces are worn. In order to work properly they have to be very tight in the hub, held in place by the hub cap. Most cars used slots with parallel sides and much thicker hubs. This car has tapered slots and the walls of the hub are only about 1/4". You can see here that one of the cross pieces was badly worn and someone (before I got the car) welded it. This is one reason I'm very reluctant to weld things...because re-cutting the tapered edge is now virtually impossible. Tapers are VERY unforgiving...just a few thousandths too much and they are worthless and, in this case, we have to make four of them identical.

 

 

I've been thinking about this problem for a long time and haven't yet come up with a solution I am sure will work. Given that, I've decided to try and make some with the tapered sections as inserts that bolt to the cross. I do not know if this will work well. There is a lot of stress here but I have to try something and it has to be something that conforms to the machines & capacities I have. I've worked out a design...and reworked it several times. One of the gentlemen who follows this thread made some very worthwhile suggestions that cause me to beef it up quite a bit. I'm not even trying to make them look exactly like the originals...working is the goal here. Also, I am very reluctant to do anything to the hub itself since there is the odd chance that I may find eventually an original and if I modify the hub I won't be able to use it.

 

I'm starting with two of these pieces of 4" 4140 bar.

 

 

Those didn't come in until about 3PM so before that I made a fixture to hole the pieces while I mill them. This is a further challenge because they about four different operations in  2 planes, flat and on end, and all the holes and slots have to align. I'm going to try to do this in a dividing head changing the tooling for each operation and never removing the piece until it's done. I started with a piece of 1" ground bar and turned one end down to about .850 to slip into the center of a small 4-jaw chuck.

 

 

Then it was flipped around, drilled and tapped 1/2-20.

 

 

And I made a thick, 2" washer as well. This is the finished tool.

 

 

Last up, I put one of the 4" discs in the lathe and indicated it. The thickness has to be reduced to 1.1" and a 1" hole reamed in the center. That will probably take all of tomorrow because I have almost 1/2" to remove but I was able to buy these four pieces for about the cost of two from one of the commercial metal suppliers.

 

 

Edited January 23, 2023 by JV Puleo (see edit history)