My take on the Titus axle dropping jig.

After reading titus's tech article on his version of an axle dropping jig, I have decided to make one of my own. I took great care to make sure the spindle was parallel to the plate, and to make sure the plate was perpendicular to the pieces of angle. I haven't finished the other end yet, but probably will later in the week. I'm going to build a sandbox as well, to quench the axles in post bending. We've got a magnetic particle testing setup at work that I'll use to make sure there ain't any cracks in them. You can find Titus's original article on these things here:

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6066&&showall=1

Here are some pics:

 

Cool post. Keep us updated!

Ed

 

Looks like that'll work.

 

I know its heavy...but I CAN'T shake the fact it's basicly flat plate.
Personally I would box it in like Titus and the boys did with theirs.
IF it moves at all your gonna have a problem.
1 degree of flex will change your camber.
I'd want the strength as close to the backing plate mounting area as possible to take some of the leverage off the plate.

 

do they always leave the spindle on the axle for dropping? wont the heat kill the kingpin?

 

I THINK thats a sacrificial spindle welded in place on the jig. Titus's was.

 

If you need a practice axle I have one for $35 shipped Ithink its a 35-36
has a little kink in it

 

I agree. I'm no engineer, but I think the plate/beam relationship needs to be very rigid. Also, shouldn't the spindle/beam angle be the same as the desired camber? Something like + 1/2 to +1 degree?

Jerry

 

i like it,looks to be on the right track.
as others have stated,a few gussets in the stress taking areas
could'nt hurt.
might possibly save you from stopping in the middle of a bend
to reinforce the jig.

but as i said,looks good!

 

THis is great! I PM'd everyone from the original thread fthat said they were going to build one....there were some things I couldn't work out in my head.....

this really intrests me! thanks for bringing it back up.....I think there were a lot of unanswered questions...

EDIt: that's looking good, don't let people poo poo your idea....other's are doing it and it's working just fine..

 

What he said...

If you bend that fixture, you're out of business. All the time that went to making it perfect will be gone, and you'll have a metal thing in your shop that used to be your axle dropping jig.

Beef the shit out of it....
My first thought would be to weld it to an I-beam, that stuck out a foot past the jig on each end, and gusset it from the outside.
You can't get too heavy duty with something like that.

Good luck with it, at any rate. I hope it goes for you.



JOE

 

ben,

Cool that you're doing this, I thought I might try it, but I figured it was better left up to someone crazier than me

The base looks pretty stout with that "t" you've made, but maybe if you welded one more plate to the bottom and made an "i" ?? or just box th4e whole thing, like the others said. maybe if you flipped it over and took a pic of the bottom, it's king of hard to see what you've done. I would think all the stress would be between the jack and the outside, so that's where it should be strongest.... but I'm sure you've thought this out.

Good luck with it!!

 

You need to brace it a lot more. Also, tie the bracing to the spindle. After titus posted his axle dropping thread, I built my own jig. You would not believe the force exerted onto the jig. I dropped 2 axles, and had the jig fail halfway through the second one. Eventually, I'll get around to rebuilding it.

Karl

 

Before you get stressed out about what people are saying about it not being strong enough, it's easy enough to test it.
Just clamp a square on the base so you can measure any bending or flexing of the upright and apply the max pressure to what looks like an airjack?
If it's going to bend, it will now.
If it just flexes but is elastic enough to return it should be alright.
I think the saving part of the equasion is using an airjack instead of a hydraulic jack.
The airjack wil apply pressure but stop pushing when the resistance equals the airpressure, a hydraulic jack will keep pushing as long as you keep pumping uncompressable fluid into it.
The axle is going to "give" and stretch as the applied pressure moves it, as and when it becomes plastic enough from heating.
Using an airjack is a VERY good idea for all the above reasons.
It's pressure can be adjusted and will remain fairly constant even as it moves the metal.

(Yes, I have done some forging/smithing.)

 

i have 3 axles laying here and I am really close...I'd let you test one of mine too.
Titus' thread is how I found this place.

 

Look...I'm NOT saying it CAN'T work.
I'm saying reinforce it NOW so it doesn't fail...thats all.

Poo poo his idea...pfftttt
What should we do? Pat him on the back despite what MIGHT be a problem, and let him potentally ruin his axle?
Sorry. If I see a problem with something, I'll tell the person.
If I'm wrong...so be it.


DrJ...that jack...is it air over hydraulic or straight air?
I'd use only hydraulic myself just because it can't build up excess pressure...except thru jig deformation.

 

I am an engineer, mechanical, UNL class of '03. I hadn't checked any of the stresses involved in this thing until you guys brought it up, so this morning I checked them. I performed FEA on a rough 3d model I drew up of this thing. Additional bracing will definitely be required. I'm going to cut out some cool shaped gussets out of 1/2 plate at work this week on the plasma table. I'm putting one giant piece of 3/4 plate on the back of the vertical plate the spindle is attached to, to stiffen it up a bit. Also putting triangular gussets between the vertical plate and the horizontal angles. Should beef it up a little more. I'll be sure to post pics of this thing as it evolves. Anyone in this area is more than welcome to come check it out and use it when it's done. Updates to come...

Edited to say, not worried about screwing up an axle or two, I have about 3 dozen of them laying around. Hence my desire to make them worth a little more, hehe...

 

Also, just for info, when I did my FEA analysis, I figured on applying the full load that my 30 ton porta power cylinder can provide.

 

ohhh.... i didn't know you were a korn-husker. I was going to say if you get this figured out I might pay you to do one for me... but a korn-husker... i don't know...

rock chalk ,
nate

 

hehehe........go big red!

 

whoah, man! I wasn't even directing my comments to you....

I think it needs additional bracing too, but when I scanned down through it, 50 people told him this. I know they weren't being critical in a negative way. My mind was drawn to the original thread and a couple of others where people poo poo other's ideas; "the metal can't take it, spend the extra and let the pros do it, etc, etc."

I want to see a good ole' boy do something and make it work.....I love to beat the system!

edit: sorry, man, I can see where it looked like I directed towards you.....


let's get this thing built....I'd sure like to try it.....I passed on a couple of model a axles for cheap at the swaps in the spring....they would have been great practice....

 

I haven't built the "hoop" over the other end yet. Still working on the spindle end. I will be doing something very similar to what titus did on his though. You can see what he did on his original thread. I'll take a little better pictures of mine though, hehe. I don't mind comments and criticism, you know what they say, many heads are better than one!

 

That's enough to damn near pick up a house. (A California stucco tool shed house, not a real brick one..)

Wouldn't that be enough to bend the axle without bothering with heat?
And require some serious business holding the other end down?

Is there anything in these aparati to control the forshortening of the axle end and narrowing the track, or is that expected?

I know, it's not exactly rocket science.
(Well, rocket foam insulation science maybe?)

Just asking 50 questions because Ive been eyeing and thinking about what to do with the H beam under my welding table for a while.

 

The "hoop" at the other end serves the purpose of maintaining track width as well as drop limitation. Wait till you guys see my "gussets", hehe. This thing will weigh a ton, but should hold up to the abuse I intend to give it.

 

Keep us posted on the progress. Get some pics of the other end also.

 

I built a set-up to drop axles about ten years ago...make sure this thing is BEEFY....you'll need the strength to make your drops the same time after time...

 

Okay, well this evening I have enhanced the jig. I removed that piece of channel I had in there under the spindle in favor of a beefy piece of flatstock welded to the plate, the base angles, and the spindle mount tube. That made it much more ridgid. Then I added two bigass channel iron gussets connecting the plate to the base angles. I rechecked the position of the spindle to ensure it didn't move when I welded the piss out of this thing, it didn't. I used 7018 on a nice DC welder throughout. After adding the channel gussets, I added big bertha, an 8"x8"x3/8" piece of tube. Welded it to the back of the plate. I also started making the hoop tonight. It's mostly 2"x2" tube, with some angle iron gussets on it. Tommorrow or Friday night I'll add some strategically placed bolt holes in the base angles to mount the hoop to, to accomdate for different axles/configurations. The one thing that I haven't started on yet, are the two drop depth stops. One will be mounted at the top of the hoop, and the other at the top of big bertha. Another thing I need to make yet is the roller that goes in the perch hole to facilitate the conservation of track width. As always, comments are welcome!

Heres some pics:

 

Now you're talking....looks strong! Those are nice looking welds too......stick is much harder and takes some more talent and skill.

I'm watching this closely, so please keep us posted.

Thanks!

 

Yeah, it's a little more beefy now. I put a 10 ton bottle jack under an axle last night and jacked on it cold until I blew the seals out of the jack, and the spindle didn't move at all. The axle started bending though, cold, hehe. I think I may have a winner now. Tonight I'll drill the mounting holes for the hoop weldment, and set up the depth stops if I have time.