Need HELP getting SPLINES CUT

I'm having trouble finding a shop to cut splines in a 3/4" steering (column) shaft. I need one end with 40 splines to fit a Lincoln steering wheel , the other, 36 splines. I'd like to have the work done locally in the San Francisco Bay Area (preferably the East Bay). I really don't want to weld up two pieces with different splines on each end. Any referrals or assistance would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

i know it's not what you're looking for....but a common way to get around this problem is to find an original 40 spline steering shaft and grind a "double D" on the other end, and connect that to the steering system, using the street rod type parts.

To do what you want probably just requires a milling machine, an indexing table, and someone willing to take the time to set it up.

 

For what that would cost in machine time you could buy all the proper shaft and a new steering box.

 

This is not rocket science - any machinist worth spit can help you do this. You'll need a dividing head (indexing head) and a mill. The hardest part will be to know how deep you need to cut your splines. Find your self a SAE HANDBOOK all the AUTOMOTIVE spline inspection info will be in there - let me know if you can't find one - I know I have one somewhere cause that's where I got the info when I cut mine. Since I am a amateur machinist I first got a chunk o scrap and milled in two splines opposite one another and mic'd across those - you mic "over wires" to determine the proper depth. Once the depth was determined you just index away - the splines are so small that you don't need multiple passes - at least I didn't.

This is a job that is kinda slow in setting up - so you probably won't get people lining up to do it - but you might entice someone by trading work. Just an idea.

 

Thanks! Hadn't really thought doing it this way, but not a bad idea. Finding someone willing to cut splines is proving to be a major chore.

 

Thanks for all the information. This is proving tougher than I thought.