Nate Dort Posted December 30, 2023 Author Share Posted December 30, 2023 7 hours ago, Mr. Don said: Laser-cut, Waterjet or sintered? None of the above, actually. They were made with a SLM (Selective Laser Melting) process, then glass bead blasted and heat treated. There's a good overview here: 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Don Posted December 30, 2023 Share Posted December 30, 2023 Wow! What an excellent video showcasing exactly why this technology is so useful! I guess my use of the term "sintered" may be betraying my age, as that is what this sort of process was originally considered. On the other end of the spectrum, soft and flexible parts can also be made to precision, and "almost" water-clear, (depending on thickness) parts as well! Old fashioned Pattern Makers, and Modelers, we, are becoming extinct. -or so I have been told. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate Dort Posted January 8 Author Share Posted January 8 This weekend's project was dabbling in nickel plating. The kids and I watched a few videos, then we made about half a gallon of nickel acetate solution. Plated some of the parts for the e-brake lever that showed evidence of having been previously plated. Stripped them all down with evapo-rust and a brass wheel. Most of the parts are pretty pitted, but I'm not sure they were ever perfectly smooth anyway due to the casting process. The same parts on my '22, which has lived an (arguably) easier life, don't look much better. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stude Light Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 12 hours ago, Nate Dort said: This weekend's project was dabbling in nickel plating. The kids and I watched a few videos, then we made about half a gallon of nickel acetate solution. Plated some of the parts for the e-brake lever that showed evidence of having been previously plated. Stripped them all down with evapo-rust and a brass wheel. Most of the parts are pretty pitted, but I'm not sure they were ever perfectly smooth anyway due to the casting process. The same parts on my '22, which has lived an (arguably) easier life, don't look much better. Nate, the key to any plating is starting with a highly polished surface before the final nickel and to agitate during plating. I used the Caswell kit but your homemade system should work just as well. To fill pits start with copper plating. Certain metals require copper first. Sand the copper afterwards, plate again and buff. Then use nickel - you'll like the end product. Here is a post I made. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate Dort Posted February 11 Author Share Posted February 11 Not much progress to report over the past month. Still waiting on the backordered Lock-n-Stitch kit to come from the manufacturer so I can repair the crankcase. I've been spending what little free time I have on some of my other hobbies, namely repairing audio equipment (guitar amps and the like, I've got a Leslie speaker I'm tackling right now) and songwriting with my band. However, I did get the transmission assembled and painted, so that feels like something. I did 3 coats of gloss black appliance epoxy with a rattle can. Goes on easily, dries rock-hard. I'm going to make a new shifter knob out of a 2" sphere of maple I found online. I don't want to mate the transmission to the engine until I get the stitching done, and even then, I'd rather wait until I'm closer to maiden voyage time so I don't have to worry about the clutch getting stuck to the flywheel while it sits, so I need to check off a lot of other boxes first before I bolt this thing on. It has been too busy and/or cold to do much of anything to the car sitting in the garage. I really should be using this time to work on the rear end. The brakes need to be relined, and I should probably inspect the inside of the differential. Maybe not completely dismantle it, but at least flush it and stick my borescope in there. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gainey Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 Many years ago, I stopped at an antique store in rural Michigan and found a box full of old Dort family photos. It also included some photos of the Durant family. I donated all of them to Kettering University and they have them in their archives at Factory One in Flint. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate Dort Posted April 9 Author Share Posted April 9 I thought I would be working on stitching the broken section of crankcase back together these past few weeks, but Lock-n-Stitch is still backordered on the threaded pins that I need, even after telling me otherwise and shipping the rest of my order. It has been 7 months. They're saying May 1, but I'm not holding my breath. Getting any answers out of them has been like pulling teeth. Lots of miscommunication and ignored emails and phone calls. I'm pretty unhappy with the whole experience, but I don't really have an alternative. In the meantime, I started looking at the rear end this weekend. Pulled the wheels and the right side looked OK, at least mechanically. Left side was caked with grease inside. The brake liners are obviously shot and need to be replaced, but I already knew that. I then tried to drain the fluid from the differential, but there wasn't really any fluid to speak of. There were, however, a couple of larger chunks of metal that came out with the drain plug, so I decided to pull the whole rear end. The torque tube came off easily enough, and the pinion gear looked good. Inside the differential was a different matter... Nearly every tooth is broken on the spider gears. Side gears look OK, as does the large ring gear, but I'll inspect them closer once I get the whole thing disassembled. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate Dort Posted April 15 Author Share Posted April 15 Spent most of the weekend degreasing and disassembling the rear axle. I made a DIY hot tank with a trash can and my natural gas burner that I typically use for homebrewing. The small parts went into the ultrasonic cleaner: I need to figure out what to do about these spider gears. There's gotta be something off-the-shelf out there that will fit, but it's going to be hard to figure that out. I'll likely end up having new ones machined. Somebody had also gone a little crazy on the pinion end of the torque tube at one point. This tapered bearing sits in adjustable "sleeve," for lack of a better term, which is used to adjust the pinion-to-ring gear engagement. Everything still rolls pretty smoothly, but I'd still feel better about replacing that Timken 348 bearing. I also need to replace the "propeller shaft steady bearing" inside the third member yoke. It's a Babbitt bearing, but it's currently in pieces. I guess the model T guys replace these with brass/bronze. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
human-potato_hybrid Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 For the steady bearing, how is it oiled? Is there a seal in front of it to keep the oil in? I would imagine so if the original is babbitt. If so, I don't see much of a problem replacing it with Oilite. Oilite was not a thing until the 30's. Just keep in mind that babbitt is a better bearing material. Depending on the load, you may need a longer Oilite bushing than the original babbitt was. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate Dort Posted April 15 Author Share Posted April 15 There's a felt seal in front of it. I'll likely replace that with a modern neoprene seal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
human-potato_hybrid Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 8 minutes ago, Nate Dort said: There's a felt seal in front of it. I'll likely replace that with a modern neoprene seal. Yeah felt seals are garbage. Even say in the 50's they had these felt seal + single lip seals; single lip for grease retention and felt to keep out the dirt. These can be replaced with a single modern seal. Example modern seal. Called an auxiliary lip seal or something https://www.skf.com/my/products/industrial-seals/power-transmission-seals/radial-shaft-seals/productid-20059 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
human-potato_hybrid Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 If you give me ID, OD, and thickness I can find a replacement seal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nsbrassnut Posted April 18 Share Posted April 18 Hi Nate Always watching for updates on your Dort project. I ran across this Dort wiring diagram and electrical description in a Dykes manual from c1920 recently and thought you might find it of interest. It may not cover yours, but perhaps it may still have some useful information. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate Dort Posted April 18 Author Share Posted April 18 2 hours ago, nsbrassnut said: Hi Nate Always watching for updates on your Dort project. I ran across this Dort wiring diagram and electrical description in a Dykes manual from c1920 recently and thought you might find it of interest. It may not cover yours, but perhaps it may still have some useful information. Thanks Jeff. My 1927 Dyke's manual removed that section, likely because it was out-of-date and the company had folded by that point. I have a similar diagram of the Dort Connecticut system from the Standard Auto-Electrician's Manual, but it doesn't have nearly as much written description, so that is helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now