Introducing the Stig Special

[Stigian 1,234]

Evening Guy's, the good news is today's update has no lathe work in it...

The bad new's is it's a very short update.

No lathe work but a bit of welding as i decided to get the hood stand looking a bit better, or less "cut'n'shut"

First job was to cut off the bend out bit's and then hammer what was left back in line.

For a dolly I used the first bearing block I machined too big for the bearing shell to stay in.

I knew it would come in handy one day

Lot's of welding (I'm quite enjoying ARC welding this thinner metal) and grinding later..

The other side, yes I missed a bit of grinding

[Anglo Traction 759]

Hi Ian, I reckon with the wide Fender Seat Pan , you can go for a 2 Seater!.

A 'V' twin like a CH25 or KT17 would look 'The Dogs' under the Long Hood.

Do you have a 'Vertical Slide' or Large Angle Plate you can bolt to the Lathe Cross Slide?. You could then clamp an Axle to it on the centre line and machine the Keyways in the Axle shafts using a Slot Drill held in the Chuck....may be quicker than 'Turning Up' new Hubs n Welding

Always good to see/read your progess :hide:

[Stigian 1,234]

Morning all, sorry for lack of photo's on this update, all I'm doing is the same old (getting boring now) bearing block boring on the lathe.

The good new's is out of a total 10 blocks I've just started on number 8..

A day or so and they should be done

Richard, I like your thoughts on a big engine under a long hood..

I'm watching this Kohler 18hp on ebay.. Trouble is it is in bits!

I'd much rather by an up and running engine, but those that do come up are always out of my price range!!

Have a look at the link below Guy's and tell me if you think it's worth the risk.

Are the gaskets etc easy to get hold of?

Ebay engine link thingy

More interesting thinking on the key ways Richard.

I don't have a vertical slide but it's can't be that hard to fab something up that will do the job.. A tad more research is needed me thinks :WRS:

[Stigian 1,234]

Good evening Guy's it's time for another well over due update

Best start with with the new's..

As you may of read in the engine section of this fine forum I won the "Kohler 18hp twin kit" on ebay, at last an engine big enough to fill the space under the hood

It should be here Friday or Monday, the plan is to throw it up on the bench, give it a good clean, then work out what I have bought... and what parts if any are missing.

The engine will need fully stripping down for honing the rusty bores, it's also a good time to check for wear.

I'm also having naughty thoughts about a bit of forced induction, otherwise known as a turbo

I'm not after vast amounts of Hp, more a bit more umph when needs be..

I'm not that "up" on turbos so tell me if this is a bad idea or not Guy's.

My thoughts are to remove the exhaust side of the turbo and drive the induction side by belt..

Is it possible to get enough engine speed with the right pulleys to get the turbo to produce a bit of boost

If I drive it off the pto and get one of those electric pto 's I could have a "Mad Max style" switch on top of the motion lever..

Or maybe I'm getting a bit carried away there

In other new's as recommended by Richard I have ordered a slot drill to try and cut the keys in the front and middle axles..

If it works it will turn weeks of cutting key ways by hand into a pleasant couple of hours at the lathe.. And make me wonder why I didn't buy a slot drill earlier for the first two key ways I cut :disgust:

[Stigian 1,234]

Having explained my plan's I'd better get on and tell you how the build has been going..

Lot's more lathe work in this update I'm afraid, but there is at last "light at the end of the lathe tunnel"

Lathe work can be a strange thing, the pile of metal you have taken out is always larger than the amount of metal you have taken out!!

Case in point here, all of this big pile of swarf has been machined out of this bearing block!!!

For a break from turning bearing blocks I thought I'd make a start on the bearing block mounting plates for the inner wheel bearings.

Stage 1.

Wake the power hacksaw thingy up from it's slumber to cut four strips of plate.

Stage 2.

Clamp all four plate together and put then in a vice for welding together.

Stage 3.

Forget to take a photo of the plates welded together

Stage 4.

Put the plates on the lathe and drill out a pilot hole in the center followed by the biggest drill bit I have.

Stage 5.

Start boring out the hole.

Stage 6.

Coming soon

Jumping back to the bearing blocks, here's seven blocks bored out and all the bolt holes drilled and taped.

Plus one last block having its bolt holes drilled means.... Dum dum duummm....

At long last all the bearing blocks have been bored out..

A job that at times seemed like it was never going to end

Stage 6.

Show a photo of the almost finished bearing mounting plates..

This steel plate was quite hard and quite a nightmare to machine!

Only four holes to drill, grind off the welds to separate the plates, and the jobs done

Jumping back again to the bearing blocks, here's Pete drilling a hole for a grease nipple.

While Pete was drilling I was back at the lathe for a quick bit of chamfering.

The outer chamfer is to tidy the block up a bit and give the bearing dust seals a bit of space.

The inner chamfer is for just in case I need to be able to knock the bearing sheels out the blocks at any point.

So there you go folk's, seven totally finished bearing blocks...

Number 8 is here..

Guess who snapped the the threading tap off

Oh well, at least it's not far in and is slowly unwinding with a bit of "hammer and screwdriver" action.

[Stigian 1,234]

Afternoon/evening Guy's, just a small update this time.

At the end of play yesterday I had one bearing block with with a broken tap stuck in it.

Despite careful attempts it didn't want to play ball and come out.... so...

I cheated a little bit by welding what was left of the tap into the block.

That should stop it dropping out into the bearings at some point in time..

Another hole was drilled and very carefully tapped on the other side of the block.

Thinking slightly ahead and maybe doing things in a strange order, the front and middle axles will need a few spacers made.

I won't know the size of the inside spacers until I measure up for the axles, but I do know the outer spacer measurements, so I started on those.

A quick skim on the outside.

And some boring of the inside... Just another mm or so to come out.

A small package turned up in the post this morning containing a 1/4" diameter slot drill..

Hopefully just the ticket for cutting key ways in the axles..

And to finish this update, four finished bearing block mounting plates.

The block bolted to the plate had had the bearing shells fitted.

Now it's done I can take measurements from it and work out the exact measurements for the axles, and start on them tomorrow..

Not long now until it's rolling on all six wheels :hide:

[Horse'n Around 22]

Ian, you are extremely talented I learn a lot just from looking at and reading your posts, your a great source of inspiration.

John

[wheelhorsejoe 4]

Fantastic job, your fabrication skills are GREAT. I was wondering if instead of lengthening the hood, a winch attached to the front, for possibly pulling out other machine or for that case yourself. Just a thought. Can't wait to see it completed.

[Stigian 1,234]

Ian, you are extremely talented whtractor/not_worthy.gif I learn a lot just from looking at and reading your posts, your a great source of inspiration.

Thank you John, very kind of you to say so.

I hope if anything I have inspired people not to be scared of doing stuff, just pick up some bit's of steel and have a go. You never know, a hidden talent might be lurking within

Fantastic job, your fabrication skills are GREAT. I was wondering if instead of lengthening the hood, a winch attached to the front, for possibly pulling out other machine or for that case yourself. Just a thought. Can't wait to see it completed.

Ta muchly Joe

As it happens I was looking at the photo with the "lengthened hood" this morning and I can't decide if I like the look of it or not

I guess when all the wheels are on (not long now) I should move it outside, plonk some tin work in place and see how it looks from different angles..

The Wh front hitch will be going back on, I could always mount a winch on that.

Another step in getting this machine rolling has been started, the front and middle axles.

But first a lot of careful measuring was needed..

A bit of a scribbled mess..

But it was all I needed to draw up axle plans.

Normally with my plans I have a note saying "not to scale" somewhere near by..

This time it's different.. These plans are a 1 to 1 scale!!!

And it fits somewhere here.

So, onto the lathe some steel bar went.

Turned down to 1 1/8", just right for fitting Wh wheel hubs

And then just as I was near to finishing the last cut I had a nasty thought about measurements and wheel hubs!!!

All my measurements for fitting the wheels have been based on the bearing holders sitting at the same width as the second bend/curved bit on the wheels!!

I had forgotten that inside the wheel there might not be that much space to get the wheel hub in!!!

In short I need the inner side of the wheel hub to fit between the wheel and the bearing block!!!

"bum hats" is the polite phrase me thinks

During a calming cuppa caffine and a smoke the old brain cells started chewing over ways to solve this problem.

One way to solve it would be to move the wheel centers more towards the er.. centers of the rims.. Not keen on this idea as the front and middle wheels would look different to the rears.. I also quite like the "deep dished" look of standard wheels.

Another way would be to make longer axles and move the inner bearings more towards the center of the 'orse..

Two problems with that.. I am almost at the limit length wise that I can fit on the lathe. And longer axles would cut into foot space, foot space is tight enough as it is!

So back to the wheel rim for some more measuring..

The bearing block are clamped to the box section to get them sitting level.

So How much space to I have to fit a wheel hub in???

26mm!!

As luck would have it this green steel (yes this photo is a re-run ) is 24mm thick, a bit tight.. But with an extra 4mm trimmed off for the center raised bit of the hub I would be left with a whooping 6mm space between the hub and bearing holder

Making new hubs will take a little bit of time, but as I won't need to machine the axles down to 1 1/8" to start with, a bit of time will be saved there.

It will also make for stronger axles, a bonus

So... after wasting time turning the first axle down to a size that won't match the others I decided to start again.

Axle number 1 taking shape.... again

[puddlejumper 67]

How ya going to fasten hub to axle. Weld it solid??

I know I am missing something but why not but the carrier bearings on the inside of the box iron where you have the cutouts.

[Stigian 1,234]

How ya going to fasten hub to axle. Weld it solid??

Yep, it should stop the buggers sliding on the axles, also an added bonus of 4 less key ways to cut

I know I am missing something but why not but the carrier bearings on the inside of the box iron where you have the cutouts

That was my original plan... Until I had a measure up and found the axles would be way too long to fit on my lathe

The new shorter axles should be much stronger and a lot less likely to bend under the weight of the machine.

[312Hydro 473]

I've got to tell you that I really enjoy following your project. I've read the entire post and it's interesting to me to see how you solve different problems as they come up. I now see how invaluable a good metal lathe can be to a home craftsman.What your doing with the bearing blocks is amazing . I've got to get myself one of those wonderful machines! Keep up the great work and thanks for sharing It's great to learn something new through your posts and others on the board.When I say others I should really say all posts as there is always some piece of info that can be had . Great project,great post,looks like your having a great time too :WRS:

[Stigian 1,234]

:D for your kind words Rich, glad your enjoying following the build

It must of taken you quite a while to read this post in one go.

Solving problems as they come up is all part of the fun when building a "one of" machine with no real plans.

It's the problem solving that I think I enjoy the most, keep's the 'ol grey matter working and make my hair more grey each day

The bearing blocks came about as a way of saving money, I could of probably bought some sort of bearing to do the job, but they would of cost me quite a few

[Stigian 1,234]

Good afternoon/morning Guy's welcome to another over due but rather big update.

Now I know you must all be getting bored of seeing lot's of lathe work, to be honest I've got very bored of doing it But....

There is light at the end of the very long lathe tunnel...

More of that shortly...

But first... Sorry more lathe photo's..

At the end of my last update I was busy (well the machine was) cutting the corners off the first of the four wheel hubs now needed. Time to make them round.

The first side done.

And the second side. It will need the center boring out a bit alter on.

Recycling steel sometimes has it's problems such as this big hole in W hub number 2.

I could of tried filling it with weld, instead I chose the more fun option

Bung a bit of bar in the lathe.

Turn it down to fractionally over sized for the hole.

Stick it in a plastic bag and let it chill for quite a while in the freezer.

Meanwhile, heat the hub in an oven for an hour and finish off with two blowtorches for photographic effect

A bit of beating the frozen bar into a hot hole later, the hole is filled in a "it will never come out" kinda way

Once trimmed and turned down in the lathe you can only just see where the hole was.

Another job that needed doing before the middle and front axles can go on, was to finish off cutting the bearing holes and access panels on one of the outriggers..

Each outrigger is held on with 16 bolts!

Jig bolted to the outrigger for drilling.

And finishing off with a flap wheel in the drill.

Thinking (only) a little bit ahead, as Garry was over it would be easier to level the chassis with two people..

So off came the other outrigger to get the wheel off..

Contemplating leveling during one of many breaks

[Stigian 1,234]

As is becoming a tradition at The Shack, another strange flavor/named beer had to be tried..

Thank you Rob for spotting this while on holiday and bringing me back a bottle to try.

Can you guess what kind of beer would produce a reaction like this?????

A couple of strong coffee's later to take the taste away, work continued.

With the power hacksaw cutting the corners off the last of the wheel hubs, Pete did a bit of finishing off work on one of the axles.

While I did one of those little jobs that had been bugging me for a while..

Tidying the outrigger mounts..

From this..

To this... That looks better

I normally stand at the lathe, it's that sort of height.. But my feet told me they need a break from all the standing... So I sorted out a seat of the right height

So what was I doing at the lathe you ask?

Finishing the last wheel hub is the answer..

This may look just like any other W hub I have made, but this one represents a big turning point..

It was the last bit of major lathe work needed to get this machine on it's wheels!!

Ok, I still need to cut the key ways in the axles and make a few axle spacers, but....

The light at the end of the very long lathe tunnel is here

Four hubs and axles wrapped up snug in oily rags:thumbs:

The W hubs are not quite finished yet though, some threaded wheel bolt holes would be handy.

Firmly clamp the hub in a wheel, find a drill bit that is the same size as the wheel bolt holes, and set to with the pillar drill.

The aim at this point is not to drill right through, but to mark on the hubs where to drill.

Ta-Daa.

20 holes drilled later, the thread cutting could start..

Only one hub left to cut the threads on, another part of the build almost done.

[Stigian 1,234]

And for the final part of this today's update were returning to more lathe work....

But nothing like I have done before.

Richard (Anglotraction) had an excellent idea for cutting key ways a faster and less painful way than I have been cutting them.

All I need is one of these, a slot drill/milling bit

And to make cross slide thingy for the lathe to bolt the axles on the way I need them.

Best make a start then

One strip of steel cut..

It fits in here a treat..

Cut a second bit of steel to fit above the first, this needs to be a nice snug fit.

Weld them together at the ends..

And slot them back on the lathe.

More steel is needed in the shape of a big bit of angle iron with a couple of carefully drilled pilot holes.

Clamp the angle iron onto the lathe chuck, make sure the sliding bit of the lathe (I'm good at these technical terms) is in the right position, and drill through the pilot holes to mark the two bits of steel underneath.

The "clamp" part of this contraption had the marked holes drill out and threaded.

Bolt it all on the lathe and it looks like this. I just need a way to clamp the axles to the angle.

To get the axle mounted straight I though a grove in the angle would be handy.

Thus que my first attempt at milling on the lathe.

No action shots but it kinda works..

the deep parts of the grove are where the slot drill started moving out of the chuck and I hadn't noticed!

A few tweaks here and there are needed but it looks like this milling on the lathe marlarky might work

That's all for now folks, if all goes to plan this project should finally be on it's wheels by the end of next week

Oh, a slight change of plan on the engine front has happened.. More on this when the new engine gets here.. But you might say I'm rather happy with how things have turned out :D

[Sparky-(Admin) 19,557]

Dang Ian! I was powering down my breakfast with a fresh cup-o-coffee when I read about the Garlic Beer and sure enough my breakfast started taking on a garlic flavor! Blasted mind playing tricks on the taste buds I suppose.

Great update as usual with some awsome play-by-play of the progress. Any guesses as to how much this beast will weigh in at when its done. Of has the possibility of a different motor changed the final weight dramaticaly ?

Mike..........

[shootinok 15]

What a fascinating thread!

Thank you

Awesome work - a true inspiration :woohoo:

[312Hydro 473]

Nothing like a new post from ya,to make my day! Always enjoy reading about your build! :woohoo:

[71_Bronco 1,072]

Man-O-Man is this thing cool.

2 questions though.

What are you going to do with the hood? If you leave it the 9 3/4" too short, you will have to re-design the hinge to make it tilt, I would think. If you just extend it, you might be able to use the factory pivot and let it hinge open on the front. Just food for thought.

Also, I read that the 3 wheels will be connected by pulleys and belts. One flaw I see, is that this will allow any of the non-driving wheels to turn at a slower or faster rate. The belt will be able to slide on the smooth pulley. Is this how it is designed? So that each wheel is not "fixed" to the next?

Oh, and this thing really is cool. Good luck with that 18 horse motor, should be awesome when its done!

Oh, and a little advice on the tapping. I was taught that you should use cutting oil or some kind of machining oil when using a hand tap, and that you shouldn't have to force the tap to cut. If you feel it get difficult, back off a few turns, then go back in. From the pics you posted, it didn't look like you were using any type of oil to cut with, unless you wiped it off for the pics.

[massey 111]

Looking good as always Ian, but garlic beer...oof.

[Stigian 1,234]

Dang Ian! I was powering down my breakfast with a fresh cup-o-coffee when I read about the Garlic Beer and sure enough my breakfast started taking on a garlic flavor! Blasted mind playing tricks on the taste buds I suppose.

Great update as usual with some awsome play-by-play of the progress. Any guesses as to how much this beast will weigh in at when its done. Of has the possibility of a different motor changed the final weight dramaticaly biggrin.gif ?

Sorry about the breakfast Mike, I guess cornflakes with garlic doesn't go down well

No idea on how much this beast will weigh, but I'd guess quite heavy!

Good question on the new engine weight, I had to look it up, only to find it's the same weight!!

A big clue to the new engine coming shortly

What a fascinating thread!

Thank you

Awesome work - a true inspiration whtractor/not_worthy.gif

Thank you John, glad your enjoying my build

Nothing like a new post from ya,to make my day! whtractor/thumbsup.gif Always enjoy reading about your build! whtractor/thumbsup2.gif

Happy I've made your day Rich

Man-O-Man is this thing cool.

Ta-muchly

What are you going to do with the hood? If you leave it the 9 3/4" too short, you will have to re-design the hinge to make it tilt, I would think. If you just extend it, you might be able to use the factory pivot and let it hinge open on the front. Just food for thought.

I'm still undecided about the hood, I'm starting to think that it would look a bit strange with a standard size hood and that extra 9 3/4@ sticking out the front.

I think I will get a better idea when the machine is on it's wheels and I can mock the body up with an engine in place.

Good luck with that 18 horse motor, should be awesome when its done!

I'm not using the 18hp engine now, something a little better with a lot less wear and hours on it has come up

Also, I read that the 3 wheels will be connected by pulleys and belts. One flaw I see, is that this will allow any of the non-driving wheels to turn at a slower or faster rate. The belt will be able to slide on the smooth pulley. Is this how it is designed? So that each wheel is not "fixed" to the next?

I get where your coming from here..

I'm hoping that the belts and pulleys will be up to the job of turning all three wheels on each side ok.

V-belts offer amazing levels of grip.

My 312-8 is a heavy beast with the roll bar, front weight and filled rear tires.

Even towing a very overloaded trailer the drive belt has never slipped!

If the belts are not up to the job it will be easy enough to convert to chain and sprocket, but I though I'd give the belts a go first, they are more in keeping with Wheels Horses.

Oh, and a little advice on the tapping. I was taught that you should use cutting oil or some kind of machining oil when using a hand tap, and that you shouldn't have to force the tap to cut. If you feel it get difficult, back off a few turns, then go back in. From the pics you posted, it didn't look like you were using any type of oil to cut with, unless you wiped it off for the pics.

I always use cutting fluid when tapping holes, most of it tends to pour through the hole I'm tapping and ending up on the floor

Three taps have been broken so far during this build, so I'm being careful not to break any more.

Looking good as always Ian, but garlic beer...oof.

Thanks Massey.

Yeah the garlic beer was not the most pleasant stuff to drink, it was very similar to drinking used pickling vinegar, just no where near as nice!!

[Stigian 1,234]

I left my last update with me playing at the lathe cutting a bit of a grove out of some angle iron, well the grove got a bit longer and neater, the angle also got a bit of a trim down each end.

The question now was how to mount the axle on the angle for key way cutting

Lot's of drilling holes, tapping threads and hunting through loads of tins of bits for exhaust clamps later!!

It may look like the axle is not held on very firmly, but trust me, there was no way it was going to move without being unbolted.

The slot cutter drill in action..

Shame the camera flash takes away most of the action

One finished keyway.. This would of taken 30-40 hours to cut using my old method, the slot drill thingy reduced that time (including coffee breaks) to about and hour

And now onto that big hint about the new engine for this project

Some of you UK guy's might of spotted it on ebay..

The story goes this engine was bought new by an engineering company as a spare for a generator, but it never got used and eventually found its way onto Fleabay.

It was bought by a chap as a spare engine for his stump remover, but once again it was never used and ended up being stored for a couple of years.

Instead of leaving the engine to fester, it was oiled and turned over every few weeks

So Gentlemen, what I have bought is a slightly shop soiled new 20hp Kohler magnum engine with 0 hours under it's belt

Have a view from the back..

The sharp eyed amongst will have noticed the end of the crankshaft has a bit of a taper going on, not ideal for fitting to a Wheel Horse..

I look at it and think (while trying to sound confident) that's it's nothing a bit of careful measuring, a bit of maths, a bit of steel and a few hours in front of the lathe won't solve..

That's all for now folks, I'm off to look at the photos of the new engine with a Cheshire cat grin on my face :D

[Stigian 1,234]

Evening Chap's, just a small update for now as all I have been doing is odds 'n' sods on the lathe.

While digging under the bench looking for PTO part's, I noticed half a hood in easy reach which I thought was tucked away somewhere else..

So.... Yet another quick mock-up happened to see if I like the look of a longer hood..

I quite like it, it adds a mean, solid sort of look to this beast..

What do you Guy's think? I quite like it

In other new's all the parts needed to mount the front and middle wheels have been finished..

Which means...

I can start fitting this lot tomorrow and hopefully have the machine on it's wheels Friday

[312Hydro 473]

Looks like a great score on that motor. Hood looks good too. Would you say you're 50% finished ? It's going to be a Mean,Lean,Big Red Machine!