making a drive shaft, need info

im thinking of making my own drive shaft and not sure what wall thickness of pipe i need. im a certified welder so the welding isnt an issue but any other advice is welcome

 

Unless you have the ability to balance it correctly, I would suggest just purchasing one. They are relatively inexpensive to buy.

 

If you don't have a way to make sure it's absolutely dead nuts straight AND a way to ballance it you'd be way ahead to just have a driveshaft shop make you one. If you supply your own ends it's usually not too bad. Even cheaper if you have one already that's too long and you just have them shorten it.

 

most drive shaft shops will balance a home built shaft for a minimal cost ....they did for me

 

Made my own,16 in long ,not to heavy wall so if it comes out it folds. Look at one when you cut your ends.Need a good level table.I would probaly have it made if its long.I have had all my other ones made.

 

Don't you need to weld them i a lathe or special jig? my buddy has a drive shop and its a little more complicated than just welding the ends on as i understand it.


skull

 

this drive shaft needs to be 60 INCHES

 

I dont understand why you wouldent just shorten one from the junk yard? It isnt that hard to shorten just carefully grind off the weld on one end and you should be able to get the forged part off. It will have a lip on it ,if you didnt grind too much, that the factory used to line it up. Then cut the tube to the right size with a lath or a big pipe cutter so it is straight and weld the end back on. When I made mine I was going to pay to get it ballanced but a couple friends talked me out of it and said to just run it and if it vibrates get it ballanced and if it dosent dont worry about it. That was six mounths ago and about 500 miles and no problems at all. But mine was really short so that could of helped.

 

Make sure your yokes are aligned. I use a precision level.
If you can indicate the tubing true before you tack it you probably won't need to balance the shaft. Put the shaft in the car before you tack it, use a dial indicator and get it running true, then tack it.

 

I was going to make my own for my A (30")

but after talking to a shop up here in Michigan, I couldnt beat their price, or time frame.

I took em my yoke at 8 am..and had my DS at noon. with everything i needed to install it 100%

 

You can do it no problem. If you are using an 8" or 9" Ford look for an origina in a wrecking yard from a long bed truck. this will have both ends you need and plenty of tube for shortening. Save the pinion end and leave it welded from the factory. Take the trans end and score the weld,very important to just remove the weld and not the whole end. The ends are plugs and easily re-set into the freshly cut pipe. Once you have the end cleanly out set it aside. Measure from the yokes center to center. Be sure and eave the slip yoke with 1" of play in it. Best way is to push it in all the way and back it out 1". Once you have the measurement factor in the ends and cut the tube. If you have a big pipe cutter use it and the ends will be square as cut. If not use whatever and grind to square.

Here is where alot of folks get vibration- you have to phase the joints exactly, this is to say they are in the same plane and square to EACH OTHER ON BOTH ENDS. Measure this carefully and make sure. When you are done tack and check again, tack and check again in about four places. Then weld the two together.

You'd be suprised at how simple it is,but it takes patience. Install it in the car and see if it vibrates. Many don't, so don't immediately take it to be balanced unless you just want to. Also if the tube has a weight on it don't cut it off before you try it. Sometimes it's all you need.


If you are doing a Chevy it's the same process just find a long bed chevy truck that's a 1/2 ton. The joints are all pretty similar and you can get conversion joints for almost everything.


Good luck,
Tim

 

To answer the original question ---- .065 to .083 is normal driveshaft tube thickness.

My driveshaft is ready at the shop for me to pick up. Doesn`t cost as much as you`d think.

 

I don't know much about this.









It doesn't matter if it's a 15 pound hotrod or dirt car driveshaft, or just a little 150 pounder like this.
Pipe and driveshafts are not of the same families. Accuracy within thousandths will give good abilities to be able to balance. Components made within factory production tolerances will make the accuratily built driveshaft to be hard or easy to balance.
Show what you know.
Technical food for thought about how balancing affects surroundings---
A well-balanced driveshaft will have the ability to accept driven RPM faster and transfer, than a non-balanced driveshaft. Observed whith having built hundreds of Larry Shaw, GRT, Bruce Oakley Trucking--dirt car, drag car, tanker blower driveshafts. WHY?

 

You can shorten a driveshaft pretty easily by finding one that is correct but too long and cutting "just" through the tube butt up against the weld on the end that is best to shorten it on so that you have some of the end of the piece sticking out so that you can stick it back in the end of the tube after you shorten the tube.
Then put something like a ring compressor around the shaft to use as a guide where you want to cut it with your hacksaw. I usually work my way around the tube a bit at a time with the saw so that I cut a groove in the tube all the way around and keep going like that until I have the tube cut instead of trying to saw straight through it.

When you put it back together make sure that the ends are exactly in phase with each other before you weld it back together. Usually you can get a pretty satisfactory job done on it but once in a while one will be out of balance and have to be balanced.

It will turn out best if you have it done as Patrick has shown above an have it cut in a lathe and properly lined up before welding.

 

In my experience you cannot beat the quality or the price by going to a driveshaft shop. They have everything needed, they will know what size tube to use, and they will weld it up dead nuts straight. You are a welder, but that is only part of the story. ANything more complex than a doodlebug deserves a good shaft. LOL you know what I mean.

 

I had a '68 Malibu Wagon that had a real bad vibration above 55mph.
Thought it was the U-Joints....Wrong
I took it to a shop and found it had 2 small dents in it causing it to be out of balance.

Go to a shop that knows what they're doing and get it done right the first time.

The $80 to have it done was money well spent.

 

Something I forgot to say about this, and to have someone taking pictures---It's recess time to work in the driveline shop. Hard work to be out for seven years, physical labor. Only 20 years of knowing how to make this look like "easy" hard work.
Knock out and replace on u-joint in a car/truck driveshaft in less than two minutes, without damage to all the components and fingers involved.
This week, the workbench moved three more inches with my hammer swings. 5'7", 165.

 

Way to go. I am for doin' it myself when I can. I built my last one. Not complicated, measure twice, cut once, etc.....

 

I've done a lot at home the last 50 years, I take the tape and dial calipers to the parts pile or try the local yard and find one with the right joints for what I need. Some of the 50's fords had a shaft that's megaphone shaped. I always look for a shaft that did not have any balance weights from the factory. they are easy to balance and a lot don't need weights after you cut and weld. I put the shaft on the work table. block it so it is parallel to the table top. get a length of 3 X 3 angle iron spray paint one side of the shaft then use the angle to scribe a line on the shaft and end yoke I have a small lathe so I use a wood V block and a leather belt to hold it down. a little grease so it doesn't squeek. I cut the weld not quite all the way thru then measure and cut out what is needed. move the V block and then cut all the way thru the yoke weld. line up the marks . tack around then finish weld.

 

Thanks for all the info I have called local shops they all want $250 -$350 to make one, I have ahard time beleiving I coulnt make one as I'm a pipefitter and weld pipe and cut it sqare all day.and I can get the materials for about $25 thanks again guys.

 

I know where you're coming from, but diveshafts are made from tubing, not pipe.

Easy to make a driveshaft witha lathe top hold it and rotate it while welding (I've done several), but I do not think I would rely n a "good cut and eald" on top of a table.

 

I needed a driveshaft 60 inches long a few years ago and I went to my local junk yard. I can usually find one the length I need. I found one ( 60 inches long ) from a 61 Ford pickup with a floor shifted 4 speed. This was great because the rear U joint was for a 9 inch Ford ... same as my project. I got a mechanics U joint for the front and I was set ... all factory build, balanced and ready to roll.

I rarely have to make a new driveshaft.
Hollanders Interchange manual gives the lenght on a LOT of the driveshafts.
The junk yard I worked at ... has a room with all the driveshafts hung up.

Most any decent salvage yard will have them and some public libraries

 

Deuce Roadster has the right idea.....if it's a mellow motor, and you drive mellow, it's your cheapest way to go. Most of the rod's and sled's we build at my shop have in excess of 400 hp and get spun at high rpms frequently. Drive Line Specalties builds them for us. Cost around $425. Worth every penny and to be safer all of our rides have two 1x2x1/8 safety hoops. I've seen a lot of driveshafts and clutches blow in my time.

 

around here a local welding shop can do em for 60 bucks or less. Thats what they charge an hour and it dont take an hour. Takes longer to let it cool after forcing the tube in the yoke-they heat the tube while turning in a lathe and true it --let it cool then tack it -spin it fast and true it up--then tack it-- then weld it up. Now if ya need new tube or yokes - it of course would be more.

 

I shortened a few myself and I didn't have any high tech stuff in the garage. Just common sense and squared cuts. Worked with no Vibration. Your biggest problem is if you overthink the task. Shops aren't like they used to be. "cheap" I get robbed enough at the gas pump. Sounds like you should have no probs. my 2c

 

Yep.
True and balanced, worth the money to me. And we're talking thousandths...

 

A good word picture, timothale;
Measure it twice, cut it once, and keep it lined up. Can't get any more 'precise' than that..... Drive shaft tube is made to fairly close tolerances, as tolerances go. If a factory one has a big balance weight on it, as many do, the guy that cut it and hung it together needs to develop his skills.

AS rustyhood says in preceding post. One can overkill with the 'over thinking the task'........ Just do it.

I 'balance' mine with the old tried and true worm-clamp method.

 

best just go to the junk yard find one that fit right and have it cut to length i did this and it cost me 60$ for the the local shope to legthen it and balance it. For a new one i got the same quote u did about 300 to 400 but the junk yard one works great

 

I've always found one within an inch at the salvage yard. It's safer that way.

 

I do the same thing. Locating a longer shaft is always a good plan of action. Make sure the yokes work out on either end first.

I use a big Rigid pipe cutter, clean up the shaft first to bare steel. I make a scratch pass all around, them go deeper in small bites until it cuts off. I laboriously cut the rear yoke plug out of the scrap of tube and clean it up on a grinder. A lathe would be best.

Then I bevel the ID of the tube (once I cut it to the final length & double check the measurement first) to accept the yoke. I like the yoke to be a slight interference fit and jockey it around from there. I square it up with a machinist square in at least 3 places. Mark it in 2 spots with soapstone or a Sharpie marker. Keep the yoke orientation the same as it was originally.

Then I tack weld it with very small tacks 3 places. Check the alignment and them weld the entire thing up in small segments, moving it around so the heat isn't concentrated in any one area.

I'll knock off a few weights off an old shaft or two with an air chisel first. Take the car for a quick ride. By around 2500 RPM you should know if you have a vibration. If you do, clamp a 1 oz weight to the rear of the shaft (close to where a "factory" weight would be) and go for another ride. If it gets worse or there is no change, rotate the weight 90 degrees until it gets better, tack the weight in place.

This is what I've done in the old days when I was broke. Today I would mock up the works and take it to a drive shaft shop to get the plug welded in and have them balance it.

Bob