Travel limiter for hyd. cyl.

[Wayne County Hose]

He-heee. For all that trouble, you could have cut an inch off the rod and welded the end back on.

[Couple of Achers]

Originally Posted by Wayne County Hose

He-heee. For all that trouble, you could have cut an inch off the rod and welded the end back on.

Sure. NOW you tell me! I guess I could have cut it off, but I have no way to weld it back on. And, it really wasn't a lot of trouble. I just had to drill a couple of holes. I do like your idea though. It would make for a lot neater installation. And I suppose the time to take it somewhere to have the shaft shortened would be before I fill it up with oil. Local welders are getting harder to find around here. Seems like none of the younger kids are taking over when the older guys retire.

[Couple of Achers]

Originally Posted by Wayne County Hose

He-heee. For all that trouble, you could have cut an inch off the rod and welded the end back on.

I do like your idea, and if I can get by with an inch shorter retracted length, I will adopt it.
Thanks.

[Wayne County Hose]

Originally Posted by Couple of Achers

I do like your idea, and if I can get by with an inch shorter retracted length, I will adopt it.
Thanks.

Retracted length would be the same as now. Didn't really know the exact reason why you needed to limit the stroke or I would have suggested this in the first place.

[J_J]

A cylinder operated lever would work, and you don't have to cut anything or weld. When you push on the end of a lever that is secured in the middle and allowed to pivot, what ever distance you push on the the one end will make the other end move the same. Now, shorten one end, and the distance that the arm moves should be smaller. Just another choice. Only need drill bits, nuts, bolts.

[Couple of Achers]

Originally Posted by Wayne County Hose

Retracted length would be the same as now. Didn't really know the exact reason why you needed to limit the stroke or I would have suggested this in the first place.

Since the rod sticks out of the cylinder almost 1" when fully retracted now. You can see the painted part of the rod in the picture. If I cut that one inch off it will not stick out of the cylinder at all when it is fully retracted. Thus the shorter retracted length. I think if I do cut the rod off one inch, I will then also add a big washer to the bottom of the tie rod end before I weld it back on so the weld doesn't seat down on the seal. The washer will seat down on the cylinder instead.

[Mace Canute]

Cutting an inch off the rod and welding the end back on will do nothing to change the stroke of the cylinder, it will still have a six inch stroke even though extended and retracted lengths would be one inch shorter. I think your chain setup is the simplest and most foolproof, plus it has the benefit of working with any stock 6" stroke replacement cylinder if you have the misfortune of having to replace it. It follows the KISS principle and almost looks factory installed.

[Wayne County Hose]

Originally Posted by Mace Canute

Cutting an inch off the rod and welding the end back on will do nothing to change the stroke of the cylinder, it will still have a six inch stroke even though extended and retracted lengths would be one inch shorter. I think your chain setup is the simplest and most foolproof, plus it has the benefit of working with any stock 6" stroke replacement cylinder if you have the misfortune of having to replace it. It follows the KISS principle and almost looks factory installed.

Yep, I see loads of factories using a chain to limit the travel of a cylinder. Was that a joke?
What he wanted to do was not limit the stroke, but to shorten the overall length. To take an inch off the rod is the simplest, most dependable way to avoid future problems that there is. While the chain will work in this situation, hopefully, I don't think anybody short of Jeff Foxworthy or Larry The Cable Guy will mistake it for being factory.

[Couple of Achers]

Originally Posted by Wayne County Hose

Yep, I see loads of factories using a chain to limit the travel of a cylinder. Was that a joke?
What he wanted to do was not limit the stroke, but to shorten the overall length. To take an inch off the rod is the simplest, most dependable way to avoid future problems that there is. While the chain will work in this situation, hopefully, I don't think anybody short of Jeff Foxworthy or Larry The Cable Guy will mistake it for being factory.

Hey, I resemble that remark! Thanks for your input everybody. There is always a lot to learn on this site. I'll take it from here.

[soulasphil]

You could also have used a hydraulic instead of a mechanical limiter, such as is used for example in log splitters. On mine, when the ram goes all the way up, it pushes a yellow cover which in turn pulls a small chain which acts on the valve to cut the inflow of oil. I think you could have built something of the kind.