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Mini Truckin General \ Michigan Metal Works ---- Updates : Please Read.Michigan Metal Works ---- Updates : Please Read.
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tre5
+1y
Arms look awesome Taylor. I think I missed the package today, but they should be back tomorrow. Starting the truck in 3 weeks or so!
jeebus @ mmw
+1y
I had a customer come to me a few weeks ago in need of some custom spindles for his 2010 dodge ram truck. Heres a quick buildup of the ones i made for him.
Started with a 6" diamiater solid chunk of 1018 mild steel. I put it in a manual lathe, and faced it to exactly 2.95" tall. I obviously did this twice, one for each spindle. this piece will serve as the "HUB" for the spindle. Its the main part that gets all the others welded from it.
I had taken a bunch of detailed measurments from the stock spindle i was supplied, from a jig fixture i have in the shop that allows me to get accurate dimensions of the spindle mounting locations. It helps to keep everything true to itself. When i design something like this, i like it to "jig" itself in place, so that when i have the places located on the hub, i know im in the right place with the other pieces.
Next, i loaded up my cut program, and cut the HUB out of the solid pieces of 2.95" mild steel that i had done origionally. These took about 8 hours to cut, so this part is a lengthy process.
Then, with all the other pieces drawn in AutoCAD and cut out from .750 and .250 plate I started to assemble the spindle. The the upper and lower ball joint mounts, are tapepred to stock specs, on the lowers i decided to set the spindle up to mount a ball joint from the bottom, like a FSC pickup truck, this is just something i prefer for reliability. If you did everything right, every part should line up, and square it self into place and look correct. Here the spindle is assembled, and tacked in place.
Onces I was happy with the fitment of all the pieces, i welded the spindle up. I chose to have most of the welds in the fillet form. I like this because it shows a visually appealing weld on the outside of the spindle, and is very strong when the right radius is applied. It took me just over 2 hours to weld this whole spindle up, taking time to let the metals cool, and changing my voltages and wire speed depending on what weld i was applying. This picture shows the nearly complete welded spindle, still lacking the back plates, but nearly complete.
Started with a 6" diamiater solid chunk of 1018 mild steel. I put it in a manual lathe, and faced it to exactly 2.95" tall. I obviously did this twice, one for each spindle. this piece will serve as the "HUB" for the spindle. Its the main part that gets all the others welded from it.
I had taken a bunch of detailed measurments from the stock spindle i was supplied, from a jig fixture i have in the shop that allows me to get accurate dimensions of the spindle mounting locations. It helps to keep everything true to itself. When i design something like this, i like it to "jig" itself in place, so that when i have the places located on the hub, i know im in the right place with the other pieces.
Next, i loaded up my cut program, and cut the HUB out of the solid pieces of 2.95" mild steel that i had done origionally. These took about 8 hours to cut, so this part is a lengthy process.
Then, with all the other pieces drawn in AutoCAD and cut out from .750 and .250 plate I started to assemble the spindle. The the upper and lower ball joint mounts, are tapepred to stock specs, on the lowers i decided to set the spindle up to mount a ball joint from the bottom, like a FSC pickup truck, this is just something i prefer for reliability. If you did everything right, every part should line up, and square it self into place and look correct. Here the spindle is assembled, and tacked in place.
Onces I was happy with the fitment of all the pieces, i welded the spindle up. I chose to have most of the welds in the fillet form. I like this because it shows a visually appealing weld on the outside of the spindle, and is very strong when the right radius is applied. It took me just over 2 hours to weld this whole spindle up, taking time to let the metals cool, and changing my voltages and wire speed depending on what weld i was applying. This picture shows the nearly complete welded spindle, still lacking the back plates, but nearly complete.
Marcos_65
+1y
Shoot I can do that with my eyes closed, of course I would be asleep dreaming lol. Awesome work!