Hello all!
I just wanted to keep adding quick updates as I said I would.
I was hoping to be further on but being summer it is also the season when my beautiful wife wants me to get some other projects done( me too), the never ending house renno continues although getting materials is a still bit of a challenge, we were hoping to do some stone veneer on the lower part of the house to compliment the other changes we have made but the delivery date estimate on the veneer went from 4 to 8 weeks to 8 to 12 weeks after we ordered, kind of crappy but everything just seems to be behind these days, myself included……
I did get to laying out my suspension arm brackets out of some .188 flat stock, cut them out and cleaned up ready to use. I them switched my attention to the tubular element of the arms. I am using 1 inch .120 wall DOM tube and want to “ fishmouth” it nicely together.
Once upon a time I did have a hole saw type tube notcher I built in another life, but I did not bring it along for this one, always figuring I would make another when the time came.
Well I have a better tool collection now and came up with a different way hoping this would work for the 1 inch and later when I get into the .750 tube for the inner structure.
I have become aware of these magic things called annular cutters, I also have a mini mill......... so I ordered a 1 inch annular cutter with a ¾ inch Weldon shank. I then found a ¾ mill holder ( cheaper) for my little mill. My old 1941 Logan lathe has the same taper as my mill so I just knocked it into the headstock and trimmed it off until the Weldon shank flats lined up with the locking screw. Then into the mill with the cutter.
I tried my small mill vice but it just could not do it so out came the full size vice on the mini mill, yes it looks a bit crazy but after a couple of tests I figured out where the speed should be and how much I can cut at once, then it went fairly well.
I am sure the thinner wall .750 tube will be much easier to cut but the 1 inch is doable and the resulting joint is perfect.
I am making a jig out of the old base plate from my 105 bender, sure glad I did not send it for recycling yet. I just want something that will hold the bracket centers parallel to each other that I can quickly modify to make the next pair of arms.
And that is the reality of this project as I am only making 4 pairs of arms here, there is no need to get carried away with production tooling, I can hold things and tack them and check the fit one at a time, I just want things to be even in the end.
So that is it, I am getting ready to start welding the rear lower arms together. Don’t mind the bit of surface rust, things have gotten crazy humid in the last month and I am trying to keep it out of the garage.
I will clean up the weld areas ( always) and when I am happy with the end product the arms will be grit blasted and painted with Por15 as will the whole chassis before final assembly.
Hope I can update again soon, be well my friends!
