I made some new spindles for my 702

[Horse'n Around 22]

A couple of months ago I bought a pair of spindles off Ebay,they were described to be in great condition and the pictures looked good so I bought them. When I got them they were a complete disaster,actually they were in much wrse shape than the ones I was replacing or wanting to replace. in all honesty, I blame myself, I should have asked specific questions and asked for detailed pictures. I should have known better I have been buying off Ebay for over 10 years.I have been lucky,this is the first time I bought something that was not as good as it was described but again I blame myself.

Well that leads me to my decision to make my own spindles.I figured that any used parts I was likely to buy that are prone to wear such as spindles etc were going going to be pretty worn too so why bother buying worn out parts if I could make my own. I am sure that Im not the first person to do this or even to make a jig like I did but I wanted to pass it along just the same. I could have just heated the 3/4 rod in a vise and bent it to the needed angle and left it at that, but I wanted to make sure that each spindle had exactly the same radius bend and all so I set my mind on how to make a simple jig that would be easy to use with basic tools and this is what I came up with.Its easy to use and since not all WH's use the same spindle diameter and bend etc. its easy to adapt to your needs.Also I was worried that heating the spindle blank the way I wanted to and where I wanted would be a problem with it being in such close proximity to the pivot pin used for the bend . Well it wasnt hard to controll the heat and it worked just as I had hoped it would. After I made the bend I cut the portion that passes thru the axle to the needed length and then I used a drill press and a V Block to make sure that the hole was going to align properly with the holes in the steering arms that fit on top of the spindles. Im sorry I didnt take any pictures of the spindles before I installed them but I got too excited and spaced it out. I do want to add that when I marked the spindles for drilling the roll pin holes on the top, I gave each wheel 1/8 toe in .This is probably not nescessary but its how I was taught.

I was bummed with the welds though, I was using a mig welder with argon gas and as luck would have it we had a straight week of 25 to 50 MPH winds and since I have no shop to work in I work outside and the wind kept blowing the shielding gas(argon) away and left the welds a bit unsightly.After we move to PA, my first priority is to have a Man Cave to work in .... unless my wife has other plans Just kidding she is very cool with me getting my shop as soon as we can, My wife Margo is the greatest.

Anyway heres the pictures.....The bottom 2 are pics of the spindle that I bought that was in"Great condition". BTW I wasnt the one that took a grinder to them or used a center punch on 'em Oh well you live and learn .

John

[sorekiwi 761]

Very nice work!

Its very hard to find a roundhood spindle without significant wear these days. You gonna start making them on order?

[Horse'n Around 22]

Thanks for the compliment.I would be happy to make them for folks, however I want to wait to do it untill I see if theres any bugs to work out and to get everything down so Im sure there will be no issues. I would rather be the guinae pig, I have no reason to expect any problems but I want to be sure first.I do want to figure out a good way to get the groove cut for the circlips.I dont have a lathe so I had 2 locals that are supposed to be machinists give them a try at cutting the grooves, each one messed up . One made them too deep, the next made them too wide , they tried more than once and just couldnt get them right. In each case the circlips were loose on the spindle So I drilled and tapped the end to use a 5/16 18 bolt to retain the front wheel. I would so much rather make it like them 100% origional but I need to find someone that can cut the right circlip grooves.Thats the one operation I dont have the means to do myself. I would think that a decent machinist could make them easy enough, I just need to do more checking. Once I find someone that can make the circlip grooves right, I will be home free . I personally prefer the bolt retaining system over the circlip but I like to make things as they were made origionally.I'll find someone, either that or I will buy a small lathe and learn to do it myself

John

[Gene_S 93]

Nice detailed work John...

They look right at home... Now the ones off ebay... That sucks... :USA:

[DMK855 15]

Looks great AZ!!! :D

[rickv1957 77]

Very nice fab work there!! Rick

[Horse Fanatic 51]

Great job, looks like genuine WH!

[chris11 184]

Great job on the spindles. you should be able to sell those. :D

[Duff 206]

Excellent, quality work!

Duff :wh:

[tarcoleo 120]

Good work! Did you fabricate the steering arms too?

Tom in RI

[dclarke 4,113]

nice job John. i need a pair of those myself. :D

[sorekiwi 761]

I would so much rather make it like them 100% origional but I need to find someone that can cut the right circlip grooves.

The problem with machining circlip grooves is that no-one ever has a tool to do it, and they end up trying to grind an HSS toolbit to do it. When you come to the really thin circlips, its really hard to grind a tool just right.

I've never worked anywhere that has had a decent tool for small grooves. (A "real" commercial toolbit will cost you $60 or $70). A couple of years ago I made a tool that worked really well from a ground up Sawzall blade. Guess I need to make another one of those sometime.

[gattonde 2]

Nice work John, when you are ready to sell a few let us know. I would like to get the wobble our of my wheel's on my 702 Axels are pretty worn

Dan

[Horse'n Around 22]

Thank you for the kind comments guys.I am open to suggestions as to the best way to make the grooves. I live in a really small town and I am thinking about either checking in Tucson to find a machinist that can cut the grooves, or possibly buy the bit myself and have a local machinist use it for the spindle blanks. I need to get that taken care of then I'd be happy to make some for anyone that needs them. I will do some more checking into it this week and see what I can find out. This is my wifes first Mothers Day since her Mom passed away in August so I wont be online much this weekend, Im going to stay close by her side this weekend.

Well Im going to go see how Margo is doing, Shes watching the Golden Girls ugh!! She has all the seasons on DVD but if that makes her feel better I guess I can cringe for a while watching them with her Well here it goes.. I will talk to yall soon,

John

[chris11 184]

You can send them to me i can machine the grooves in them for you. No charge just pay for mailing them.