1940 Ford steering shaft

Do any of you fellas have dimensions for the Ford tapered steering shaft? I'd like to machine an adapter for my 1950 truck shaft so I can run an older style wheel. I can't find an early tapered shaft in my area to measure. Thanks for the input.

 

when I found the tapering attachment for my lathe I was all stoked to make something.. so I did just what your trying to do.. i made up a shaft for a tapered volgorath boat wheel and even had the shaft mounted in a nice old steering column..

Then changed directions with my steering column and went with a stainless mr roadster column.. whats worse is that I think I machined flats on some parts of the shaft I used and made my own steering linkage..


I would highly suggest you find the wheel you want to use.. first..that is set up for the taper.

measure the two diameters of the taper and the length and calculate the rate of taper..

 

Guessing here, but it could be that the taper on the Ford shaft is the same as a Morse Taper (MT) or the Jarno Taper or Brown Taper - think the last two are right.
The JT or BT are are for drill presses and probably closer to the Ford taper than is the MT.

Keep the R8 in mind as well.

You can tell if a taper fits by running a chalk line down the male taper, inserting it into the Ford wheel hub lightly and spinning the taper.
If all the chalk is wiped off evenly, the tapers match.

Use common blackboard chalk.


Along those same lines you could cut a short sample taper and do the chalk test.
Once you get one that matches, leave the lathe set up and cut your shaft to the same taper.

Fwiw - I have a taper attachment, but have never used it.
Works just as well to set the tailstock over.
I've cut several MT2s this way.

 

For short tapers just use the compound. Seems to me I saw/read some where that is a 7 degree taper.