What did YOU do today?

[Rick W]

Yes, the originals were some sort of semi-press fit because originally they had a metal clip to help hold them in, as I recall. The clips are long gone. But I’m pretty sure they were there at one point. Dad’s tractor that I borrowed a link didn’t have the same exact bends and the balls were just press fit, no clips. Since it was a newer tractor I had thought perhaps it was an improved design but no, it does not appear to be entirely interchangeable.

I had thought about doing heims on both ends but I wasn’t sure if that would work since these ball ends have more movement so I started with those. Plus the ball ends I got were for an MTD tractor (most small lawn/garden tractors like MTD, Craftsman, etc. were manufactured by AYP which is American Yard Products, so the theory I had was perhaps they should work?). Anyway, a heim is like $20-30 depending on the size and how rust resistant it is. These ball ends were $8 each. I think perhaps a heim at the steering gear end could be easily set up to limit motion in a certain direction but the design of the ball ends makes limiting motion more difficult.

The floppiness is only half of the problem, the other half is that the rod is flexing too much. There’s not as much room to gusset it as I thought originally and the bends don’t seem to be the problem as much as the long section with the one small bend, that actually bows the opposite direction of the bend…

OK, I’m embarrassed, I’m a ChemE and I don’t remember how to harden a piece of steel. The piece of steel you fabricated, is it more flexible than the piece of steel from the original piece? Could that be one of the issues? Several thoughts come to mind, what about heating the whole thing up with the torch and then quenching it in water or in vinegar, I don’t remember which would stiffen it considerably. Another thought is bathing it in caustic, which I believe is supposed to harden it, but I haven’t done things like that in years and years and we need somebody else to jump in. That’s more familiar with what’s going on today to harden it up. If you could harden it up, and use a sleeve or such to limit the flexibility of the end balls, you might have a good fix on your hands.

Edit: I fixed Mr. Ambien’s typos

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

OK, I’m embarrassed, I’m a Kimmy and I don’t remember how to harden a piece of steel. The piece of steel you fabricated, is it more flexible than the piece of steel from the original piece? Could that be one of the issues? Several thoughts come to mind, what is heating the whole thing up with the torch and then quenching it in water or in vinegar, I don’t remember Which would stiffen it considerably. Another thought is bathing get caustic, which I believe is supposed to heart dead, but I haven’t done things like that in years and years and we need somebody else to jump in. It’s more familiar with what’s going on today to harden it up. If you could harden it up, and use a sleeve or such to limit the flexibility of the end balls, you might have a good fix on your hands.

Hmm… I didn’t think of that… I have a few machinist books on my shelves.

I had thought of taking my MIG and lay a few beads on it to build it up a little.

I’m pretty sure the original bar isn’t anything more than mild steel. The rod I bought was mild steel with a zinc coating (much to my disgruntlement). The difference is the diameter. Original was 5/8” and I was unsure if it needed to be that thick for mild steel or if they just used a size that worked for the ball ends. I went with 7/16” rod because that’s what worked for my ends. Apparently I needed a thicker rod or a stiffer steel.

Wish I could afford to just go full hydro steer, I’ve always had a problem with how this thing steered, it’s a big and heavy enough machine that sometimes steering is a wrestling match.

 

[scotts90ranger]

I think that's the same link as mine, I just hammered the ends in some to fold them over to hold the balls then take a center punch to squeeze in the sides... the first time worked long enough I forgot I'd done it then it came back to me... Even on Amazon that link isn't cheap...

The dumb option would just be to cut the ends off by the balls and weld a bolt on the ends, roughly what I was thinking to do what you did...

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

I think that's the same link as mine, I just hammered the ends in some to fold them over to hold the balls then take a center punch to squeeze in the sides... the first time worked long enough I forgot I'd done it then it came back to me... Even on Amazon that link isn't cheap...

The dumb option would just be to cut the ends off by the balls and weld a bolt on the ends, roughly what I was thinking to do what you did...

My parts list for this thing is on my desktop computer which is buried again so I was being lazy by not even looking for the part and just making one. I was also trying not to go through buying bolts and welding them on.

I did have another idea today, thought about replacing the ball stud end on the steering gear end with a clevis and drill the pin so I can put a shoulder bolt into the pin. So the shoulder bolt will allow it to pivot in circular fashion and the clevis will allow up and down travel but no side to side which is what’s causing the floppiness that’s a problem. Maybe I’m just being ridiculous with this whole thing, I probably could have bought a new link and been done with it all by now, lol

 

[Rick W]

My parts list for this thing is on my desktop computer which is buried again so I was being lazy by not even looking for the part and just making one. I was also trying not to go through buying bolts and welding them on.

I did have another idea today, thought about replacing the ball stud end on the steering gear end with a clevis and drill the pin so I can put a shoulder bolt into the pin. So the shoulder bolt will allow it to pivot in circular fashion and the clevis will allow up and down travel but no side to side which is what’s causing the floppiness that’s a problem. Maybe I’m just being ridiculous with this whole thing, I probably could have bought a new link and been done with it all by now, lol

Hey, no worries. If I had a nickel for every time I did something, or did it over and over again, to save 30 bucks, I’d still be out hundreds of dollars, maybe thousands. It’s a fact of life if you like to tinker.

 

[Blmpkn]

not today, rather it was all last week.
my daughter & her husband were vacationing and this 'lil critter is so mean that he can't be boarded so I drove to her place
every day to give him his medicine, food, and other stuff.
still has all his claws and does not like to be petted.
kinda cute ain't he?
View attachment 131077

Man.. I hate to sound like a PETA soyboy BUT.... glad the cat still has its claws. Even if it's an inside cat that doesn't have anything to worry about... Keeping them is best for the cats mental health.. which is generally always best for the owners mental health lol.

Taking its claws leaves it with no way to defend itself.. even if they get declawed as a kitten.. it can really mess with the cats psyche in a bad way.

 

[Blmpkn]

Took this deathtrap for a ride when I got home from work. Traded an RC car for it over the winter and forgot I even had the damn thing lol.

Coleman frame with a front suspension kit, 212cc hemi predator, swapped with a gx160 non hemi head that's been shaved .080, billet rod, billet flywheel, big cam & springs, stainless valves, titanium keepers, 1.3 ratio billet rockers, billet valve cover, and the fanciest centrifugal clutch I've ever seen.. it doesn't have pawls like most of them.. it's an actual disc type clutch.. costs like 400 bucks new new chain, new tires, new wheels, disc brake on the back.. nice bike.

Absolute deathtrap though.. good Lord.

Guy I got it from says it'll do 65 all day and I believe it... Didnt have the testicular fortitude to hold er wide for that long to find out for sure but I dont doubt it one bit.

I'm not sure the sprocket ratios... But even with a centrifugal clutch it gets moving at an alarming rate lol.

I have a "torque converter" (snowmobile/ATV style belted double clutch setup) that's living on another built predator I have laying around... Wondering how quickly Id die if I swap it onto this thing..

The TC further reduces the sprocket ratio by 5:1 when your not moving and then at full chat it's 1:1. Wouldn't be able to keep the front wheel down AT ALL..

Naturally.. one quick ride later and it needs fixing lol. The sparkalator has seemingly stopped making it's little bits of lightning according to my can of ether... And the intake gasket is blown out at the bottom as evidenced by ether seeping out of that location during my 50/50 test..

Classic mini bike behavior.

 

[pjtoledo]

Man.. I hate to sound like a PETA soyboy BUT.... glad the cat still has its claws. Even if it's an inside cat that doesn't have anything to worry about... Keeping them is best for the cats mental health.. which is generally always best for the owners mental health lol.

Taking its claws leaves it with no way to defend itself.. even if they get declawed as a kitten.. it can really mess with the cats psyche in a bad way.

I forgot to mention he bites.

my daughter called yesterday when they arrived home. cat was all weird, was hunching up and growling, running erratically, wouldn't eat.
she thought he hurt his back and was in pain.
today he was fine, happy as all hell. apparently he was super pissed at being left alone and made damn sure they knew it.

I've heard both sides about declawing. wouldn't want any more of my parts cut off either.

 

[superj]

We had a declawed cat once. I dont know who did it, she came with a house my parents bought. The cat would just karate chop dogs on the nose when they came rushing up and then they would leave.

 

[sgtsandman]

The aluminum angle is all done on the bottom portion of the drawer box. So, now it is flipped over to start working on the top. I also ordered a better dual band radio for the 2019 to replace the Baofeng that I have been making do with and some other junk like power port splitters and some patches for a shirt.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

I worked on doing some cleaning, organizing and little stuff in the shop until after the first thunderstorm to roll through let up, then I went up to the house to work on video editing for my YouTube. We had thunderstorms roll through one after the other until late into the evening. Not much point in trying to work in the shop like that. Thinking I’m going to build an overhang on the front so I can have the door(s) open in the rain