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build your own full float dana 44?

Discussion in 'Builds and Fabricators Forum' started by 47v6, Jan 6, 2015.

  1. Feb 26, 2015
    47v6

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    Terry, I do not have a dividing head or a horizontal rotary table. I do have several fairly wasted D30 stub shafts that may be affixed to the new axles that need splines. I will use them as a pattern. Stay tuned for the redneck machine shop where next time we cut splines with piece of wood and a nail...

    But seriously, I really need a dividing head and a rotary table with a chuck that has the capacity to accept the shaft through the table/chuck assembly. Thats probably not going to happen, so i might need to be creative. Seems I have more tooling than i realize and may be able to substitute.....
     
  2. Feb 26, 2015
    tarry99

    tarry99 Member

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    Chris, I have a rule around here in my shop , and it simply is that you can build anything you want within the constraints of the equipment , time and knowledge currently at hand. Now I am all about a challenge and some additional education and even buying some new tooling if it has a use going forward...........but I have also learned that spending 4,6 or 8 hours on a project that someone else could do in 2 hours with the right equipment is really not very productive...........I think you have done a pretty good job of stretching out the capabilities of your current equipment........time maybe to do a little outsourcing.
     
  3. Feb 26, 2015
    47v6

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    Tarry, you may be absolutely correct. I may not be able to do this at all. It certainly isn't cost effective in so much as time vs money for sure. I haven't even looked around to see if I can repurpose anything to meet my needs. I did try and cut splines in plexiglas for some research equipment. I tried to do it correctly and had over 40 hours in a project that I had to give up on because I neither the skill or equipment to do it correctly. I really hate thinking about that. I really thought i could do it, but in the end I just could not make a satisfactory part. I won't get to the point of wrecking anything, well, maybe not...


    Ok, i got this here measuring tool. I have been told it is the correct tool to measure round stuff. This is the measurement i have on the outside splines of a D30. I read this as 1.155.
    [​IMG]
    the next step is to cut this shaft to length. I used an angle grinder because for cut off tools all I have is chinese HSS and the shaft just blunted it.
    [​IMG]
    I then faced the shaft and center drilled it.
    [​IMG]
    I then chucked up the shaft with the splined end in the jaws and indicated it as close to zero (.0005~.001) as I could get it at 1 inch from the jaws. This was the shaft that had issues. At the end where the new splines will be it was out .005. That was consistent with the previous measurement. I cut one pass and there is .0005 runout.
    [​IMG]
    this should put the splines in the spider parallel to the splines in the drive hub of the lockout. maybe...
     
    Last edited: Feb 26, 2015
  4. Feb 26, 2015
    47v6

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    Ok. got the shaft machined to the outside diamter of the D30 splines, 1.154. I over cut by .001. I don't have a DRO and my feed has lots of backlash.. whatever. This diameter goes through the spindle to the back of where the brass bearing or in a real D30 spindle, bering goes. This will give me the clearance to make sure my shaft does not friction weld to the ID of the spindle.
    [​IMG]
    on top is the D30, middle is the original shaft and the bottom is the finished, minus splined shaft

    It fits exactly like i think it might supposed to, hahahha
    [​IMG]

    the shaft just slides through the spindle until it get to the relief cut to ride in the spindle. Plenty of room then.
     
  5. Feb 26, 2015
    Howard Eisenhauer

    Howard Eisenhauer Administrator Staff Member

    Tantallon, Nova...
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    Since you've got the shaft all shiny & polished looking will you be installing seals in the axle tube end bells like are used with the tapered shafts?

    H.
     
  6. Feb 26, 2015
    tarry99

    tarry99 Member

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    Chris, not to be anal..........but , that old 1-2" Mic you have there should also be checked for tolerance. If that is off 5-10-20 thousands that could easily upset any spline work you may do.
    The only way to check that is by using a known measured standard or gauge block of the proper dimension.

    [​IMG]
     
  7. Feb 26, 2015
    47v6

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    I didn't machine them to a specific size, just to fit through the spindle and there is no nicely finished spot. Apprently guys don't put seals in there. I will be doing something to seal them though. they do make seals that get stuffed into the tubes for YJs i guess.

    someone has done this before i am sure.
     
  8. Feb 26, 2015
    47v6

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    You're totally anal. I have looked at your build thread. Its not a bad thing when making parts out of metal that you want to work correctly. What you didn't see was that I actually took scotchbrite to that thing to get the rust off and actually read it. Pretty funny if you ask me.

    Yeah, I don't have gauge blocks. I do have 2 other calipers though and I checked every micrometer measurement against them by measuring the distance between anvil and spindle. I didn't trust that rusty thing either, but all three agreed in the measurements. I also don't really trust the calipers either, but all three cannot be exactly the same wrong on every measurement.

    The number I used is slightly oversize from what Nick measured on his D30 spline ends. I did that on purpose.

    None of this might work at all. If that is the case, I am out 160 bucks for the cost of the 2 axle shafts including shipping. What i will have gained though is how to better make parts that i actually might need to know how to do for my real job. Training and knowledge is something I try and give myself and this is the form it generally takes. Sometimes it fails, sometimes it works, all the time I learn.
     
  9. Feb 26, 2015
    tomtom

    tomtom Sponsor

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    You might be able to index it with something like this (which isn't prohibitively expensive). Unfortunately, I think the axle diameter is too large to go into a collet in the spindle. You might be able to hold it between centers on the mill table and use something like a lathe dog with the indexing spindle to rotate it.

    http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INSRIT?PARTPG=INLMKD&PMPXNO=950007&PMAKA=235-6011
     
  10. Feb 26, 2015
    Mike C

    Mike C Member

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    Do you have enough cut off piece from the long side GM axle to turn it down and at least try splining it before diving off into your long blank? Looks great BTW. Watching with interest.
     
  11. Feb 26, 2015
    47v6

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    I actually have a rotary table. The problem is that its only horizontal and not vertical. I will try and rig up a 90* plate to mount it to and see what i can do to rig up a holding fixture in it to clamp the shaft. It might be fairly sketchy. I make zero guarantees on that for sure. The long shaft is pretty long too. By the time I get a setup for the rotary table and a center for the other side, I'll be out of space. The cost to have these splined is around 150 bucks from moser per their website. Thats really inexpensive compared to the price of a dividing head or other tooling to make this accurate.
     
  12. Feb 26, 2015
    47v6

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    Yes, yes I do have a piece of shaft for this purpose.
     
    william_cj3b likes this.
  13. Feb 26, 2015
    millennium falcon

    millennium falcon Member

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    I have this awkward heavy SOB that i use for drilling rotors and stuff. It mounts horizontal or vertical. If you were closer I would let ya borrow it and my back brace to move it...haha.

    [​IMG]

    Spacing Chart.

    [​IMG]
     
  14. Feb 26, 2015
    47v6

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    Mine is similar, but smaller. Thank you for the offer. Unlike you, I have never used mine, but I have used my bosses before I got mine. His is some chinese made one. Mine is an old palmgren that didn't see much use. If I had a plain back chuck I could fab up something.. I am definitely going to try an make splines on a piece of scrap just to see if I can prove my ghetto concept. I may send out the shafts, but not before I try to do this. Who knows, maybe it will work great.
     
  15. Feb 26, 2015
    millennium falcon

    millennium falcon Member

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    I have seen some cool videos on youtube of guys cutting splines with some pretty creative setups... It can be done! You probably already talked about this but.....Will you have to treat the shaft at all after you machine the splines? I didnt know if since you removed the end of the axle that you may have gotten into softer material...which would be nice to cut but may need hardened.. I really have no idea, I'm just asking out of curiosity.
     
  16. Feb 26, 2015
    47v6

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    my understanding is that the splines are cut by moser or currie or whoever and thats it. No treating, nothing. thats what I have read. I don't really know. I do know that If i get this part real hot it will distort and wreck whatever I make, so heat treating a finished part is not easy. These shafts are already pretty hard steel. They are no less hard the further i cut into them either.

    The reason I am considering this at all is because of the youtube vids of people doing this. I will see how it works. I think the easy part is making the carbide tool bit holder. The hard part is indexing the shaft correctly. Thats really the key.
     
  17. Feb 26, 2015
    torque

    torque New Member

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    What I'm thinking of doing on mine is leaving the shaft an inch or so long and turn that to 3/4" then cut an inch of the spline I need off an old shaft and bore it out to go over the 3/4" and lock it with a set screw (may need to aneal first). Then use a drive flange or side gear mounted on an angle plate (think 4" angle iron) to index it and cut splines with a single lip cutter. The other end of the shaft would be mounted in a v block (my mill isn't very long) and squared to the table then all that needs to be done is to loosen the clamp holding the shaft in the v block and turn to the next spline. When done just saw off the 3/4" stub.
     
  18. Feb 26, 2015
    47v6

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    yup. I'm thinking about cutting off the d 30 27 spline end and machining the end to fit on the end of the new shaft in a recess. Tight machine fit, tack with a tig weld and use that to index in a fashion similar to your idea. Its been done before like this. I pulled a paragraph from a machinist site with this idea. Post #7.
     
  19. Feb 27, 2015
    47v6

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    Finished the long side shaft OD in the spindle and cut to length. The OD of the shaft is 1.155. That is the same as the measurement I get on my extra D30 OD splines. It is this same OD for 6 " from the end. This allows clearance in the spindle for the shaft.
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
  20. Feb 27, 2015
    millennium falcon

    millennium falcon Member

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    Looks good. I hope you plan in putting more than two bolts on those spindles.... ;)
     
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