kpinnc 17,804 #26 Posted April 4 Not much- But finally got time to get the second front wheel done today. Gonna be a meaty front end on this tractor! 1 5 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kpinnc 17,804 #27 Posted April 4 Just for giggles I set the axle assembly in front of the 523H. Surprised to see this is about two inches wider than the swept axle with 8 inch front wheels and trailer hubs on it. Definitely gonna have a wide track. I was going for that, but didn't realize it was this wide... 4 4 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kpinnc 17,804 #28 Posted yesterday at 01:40 AM Got my donor wheels together for the rear. I don't have any more wide rears so I'm gonna have to make a set from two different pairs. The pair with the surface rust has a way wrong offset. They came from a Ford LGT. The tires on Ford pair would not break loose at the bead, even though they were clean. I had to use a 3 foot 2x6 and the weight of the Tundra to break them. Hopefully I can gain another skinny pair of wheels using these as well. We will see... 4 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AlexR 2,829 #29 Posted yesterday at 09:51 AM 8 hours ago, kpinnc said: Got my donor wheels together for the rear. I don't have any more wide rears so I'm gonna have to make a set from two different pairs. How hard is it to do this? It doesn't seem like it would be easy to cut right, and that is a lot of welding too. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kpinnc 17,804 #30 Posted 17 hours ago 9 hours ago, AlexR said: How hard is it to do this? It doesn't seem like it would be easy to cut right, and that is a lot of welding too. I'm about to find out. Never done it before, but I have a plan... 3 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AlexR 2,829 #31 Posted 14 hours ago 3 hours ago, kpinnc said: I'm about to find out. Never done it before, but I have a plan... Sounds like we are going to get a How-to haha 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kpinnc 17,804 #32 Posted 10 hours ago (edited) 4 hours ago, AlexR said: Sounds like we are going to get a How-to haha Well... maybe. Your mileage may vary. I tried for several days to figure out how to hold the wheels and rotate them so I could cut them straight. I started to build a jig to hold them, but then realized that was against hillbilly rule #7: Use what you have on hand. So I put a tractor on jack stands and removed a Wheel. Then mounted the bare rim and used a sharpie to mark the cut line all the way around. Sat on a 5 gallon bucket and lightly cut into the wheel on the lines until it cut all the way. It gets a little sketchy when the cutting wheel first breaks through. You have to turn the grinder to rotate the same direction as the wheel is turning so it doesn't grab. Ask me how I know... Holding the two halves together to get the welding started was interesting. Grinding deep "V" shapes in the backside to fill didn't help. Angle iron around inside or out didn't work. I used a couple big magnets to tack the first joint, and welding clamps two inches at a time until all the way around. But it turned out great. Rim is 9 inches wide bead to bead and the bonus is that the extra parts make up a nice set of 6 inch wheels, so nothing is wasted. Wheel has no wobble after everything was finished. Plenty good enough for a slow garden tractor. Took all evening to do one wheel. Learned a few tricks so the second one should go much faster. Edited 9 hours ago by kpinnc 4 7 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pullstart 69,625 #33 Posted 4 hours ago @Achto did similar. Anything to add Dan? Awesome work, Kevin! 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 78,202 #34 Posted 4 hours ago 6 hours ago, kpinnc said: Use what you have One of our favorite sayings around here! 5 minutes ago, Pullstart said: Awesome work, Kevin! I agree with Kevin Kevin! Niiiiice! 3 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sqrlgtr 2,541 #35 Posted 3 hours ago @kpinnc what type of grinder did you use? Been wanting to try this myself. I have a couple extra sets of wheels and like you mentioned it's hard to find the wide rears with the right Wheel horse off set. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pullstart 69,625 #36 Posted 3 hours ago I’d assume a death wheel (thin style) would be much better than a heavy grinding wheel. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Achto 31,520 #37 Posted 2 hours ago Great job Kevin !! I had some waste when I built mine. Spun the rims on my C-145 lathe. My finished width was 11.5" 1 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
