Got a bit more done on the power steering setup.

Before attacking a $40 lump of aluminum I thought It's be a good idea to make sure my serpentine pulley machining was up to snuff. I had to make a new alternator pulley as I'm going to drive it with a 4PK belt of it's own. I grabbed a piece of 60mm diameter billet and started machining. As you can see I've had a couple of goes to get it right.

http://i1247.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2addb7d2.jpg

The tool steel is ground at a 40 degree angle and I've cut the grooves at a 3.56mm pitch. Numbers I got from the belt specs on the Gates web page.

Here I'm trial fitting the pulley to check the alignment with a neat tool I picked at a swap meet years ago. It's a lazer alignment tool for V belts and multi rib belts. It aligns from the grooves in one pulley and shoots a beam at the other that you can line against. It's one of those tool that you don't use very often but when you do it makes the job so much easier.

http://i1247.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1359887923

Happy with the alignment. now I can clean it up and make it look nice.

http://i1247.photobucket.com/albums/...psd5b629ff.jpg

With the serpentine machining set up working I could get back to the big lump of aluminum. There's a huge pile of swarf on the lathe now because like any complex shape you machine you have to start with a big piece of material and remove an awful lot of it. I reckon more than 2/3 of the original material has been machined off to reveal this pulley. A heap more material came out after this pic.

http://i1247.photobucket.com/albums/...ps24aa12ca.jpg

The back of the pulley is the important stuff. It has to run true and it also sets up the belt alignment. The shaft on the pump is 3/4" diameter but I've machine the hole .002" undersize for a press fit.


The front side is all about making it look nice. I've machined a center cap to cover the retaining bolt and then turned the whole thing as one piece.

http://i1247.photobucket.com/albums/...ps76de9301.jpg

Trial fitting and checking the alignment and how true it runs.

http://i1247.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6dc7e77b.jpg

Pulleys all finished. Just measuring up to order some belts. Might have to machine up a new water pump pulley too as it's looking a bit scruffy next to it's fancy new friends.

http://i1247.photobucket.com/albums/...psbdfd24e4.jpg

Cheers

Tools
 

So Mike,

To be able to do all great stuff you do all I need is better tools :LOL:


IF ONLY.......:3DSMILE:


STIFFY

Yep, exactly.

I've got no formal training on any of this stuff. I only did one year of metal work at high school and we never even touched any machine tools. A few years back I just bought an old lathe and started having a go. There's a ton of info out there these days. Videos on youtube that show you all the techniques etc. I reckon it's a heap of fun making stuff on the lathe.

You can pick up a half decent Lathe for $1500 and with a bit of patience and thought you would be surprised what you can make.

Cheers

Just don't leave the chuck key in the chuck - that just makes a mess if you let her rip - lol!!

Had that one beaten into me when I did my auto-machining apprenticeship.

But then I did see a horrible near miss of exactly this as the forgotten key broke free of a chuck one day and flew past that apprentices's face to luckly land harmlessly if very noisely elsewhere far away in the the machining shop.

I'd swear the trainers were all ex-Vietnam Sergeants by the way they roared at that poor bloke afterwards. He was ashen enough from the close personal call.

All looks like fun Mike but I just haven't the time or equipment to tinker like that these days.

I've also probably forgotten more than I was ever taught on the niceties of all those machine shop skills too - Ha

Slo-some

I left the key in the chuck once with my old Lathe. It flung it right across the shed and gave me a hell of a fright. Taught me a valuable lesson. I haven't done it since.

In which case I'll make a suggestion I hesitated to make before. I'm not sure about the alternator 'twin' pulley you show in the lathe and the 'single' one mounted to the alternator but it is useful to roll a thin piece of aluminium (or similar softish material) of uniform thickness around any delicate shape (e.g. threads) you are holding in the chuck jaws to minimise damage to the item being held.

It's a very good suggestion Peter. You can see the marks from the jaws on the roughed out pulley. Most of the time I try to do the bulk of my machining while gripping the part on a section that will be machined off later. The twin pulley pictured was a failed attempt on one end and I just flipped the material around and machined the pulley out of the other end.

Depending on what I'm machining and how tightly it needs to be gripped I use strips of aluminium sheet between the jaws and the work piece. If I just need to take a light skim on something I'll often just grip it not so tight. Just don't make big cuts as you don't want the work piece to spin in the chuck.

Cheers

Mike

You can sometimes get by wrapping delicate items in a strip of emery paper - coarse side on the item, BUT, don't use coolant as it will soften the paper.

Not a bad idea Peter. I've had quite good success using a wrap of masking tape on aluminium parts. Especially when you are trying to juggle things to mount the piece in place.

Cheers

Kirkham has their factories, Mike has his shed...!
Game on! haha

Amazing stuff Mike!
I can't believe you do all this in just your "little" old shed.

Biggest miss we had in high school was a kid moving the Oxy-Acetylene kit after replacing the Oxy with a full tank he didn't put the chain around the Oxy.
It fell off the trolley and knocked the gauge clean off on a metal bench.
The noise was incredible and it shot across the workshop through the wall at the end and ended up on the oval. Missed everything and everyone on it's 15 second trip...

yes, saw them do that on purpose on mythbusters - that tank went flying, straight through a double cinder block wall if memory serves me correctly.

Mike, as usual, love your work.
I wouldn't mind having a go at a pulley myself, did you grind the tool steel angle yourself or is 40 deg an off the shelf bit?

Dave

Thanks Dave,

I ground it myself. It's only aluminum so regular old tool steel works just fine. I use a green stone (Silicon Carbide) wheel on one side of my pedistal grinder that's great for tool steel.

Cheers

Another piece of the puzzle turned up on my desk this morning. This is the Uni that will couple the steering shaft to the VP commodore steering rack.

http://i1247.photobucket.com/albums/...psed5c6d68.jpg

It has the Double D socket on it and it is retained with a pinch bolt. Just looking at it I reckon it'll be spot on for the Commodore rack.

http://i1247.photobucket.com/albums/...psdcb1ad4d.jpg

I also picked up the belts for the alternator and pump on my way to work this morning. Can't wait to get home and try them all out.

Cheers

Hmmm.. Not all going to plan.

Looks like the double D input shaft on the VP commodore rack is not standard. It's the correct diameter 3/4" but it's a bit wider accross the flats. I've dismantled the rack and I'll machine the flats on the input shaft to match the steering uni. This was a bit of a downer last night.

My belts also worked out to be about 20mm too long. Fortunately the bearing supply I got them from where really god and have exchanged them for some shorter ones. They should be in tomorrow.

Hopefully have better luck on the weekend.

cheers

Mike I'm guessing you will need to take 1mm (total) off the double D. The round-tube CR uses the VP rack, and with the Uni that Ian supplies it requires taking 0.5mm off each side of the flats of the D

Ben

Hi Ben, yep it looks about 1mm total off the width. I'll get some more accurate measurements on the weekend.

Cheers

Mike,
I did the same, as Ben said, from memory its 15mm down to 14mm.
I took the pinion out (easy job), set it up in the mill and chattered badly, the shaft is obviously hardened.
I ended having to surface grind it, with a stone in the mill.

Dave

Thanks Dave,

I got the pinion out the other night but I couldn't get the pin out that goldt the input section to the pinion so I'll have to machine it all as one piece with the oil gallery section attached. It makes it a pain to grip and I reckon I'll machine up a collet to hold it without dammaging it.

Cheers

Michael