Have you tried the HF metal cutting Circ Saw?

[GuglioLS]

.....Snip......Snip...... I am having trouble finding suitable material to use for pin bushings. .....Snip......Snip......

Randall,
Have your considered using DOM (Drawn Over Mandrel) a.k.a seamless tubing?

Pic of 1.5" OD DOM X .25" wall (1.00" id):



I use DOM exclusively for my projects that require bushings and it works quite well. Finding "ready" made bushings to fit your project will be a cumbersome search. Best to buy a length of DOM and cut bushings to length yourself. Most store bought pins are undersized somewhere in the range of .002" - .004" so it fits the DOM nicely. If needed the ID of the DOM can be honed with a break hone or use a die grinder with a .75" stone to open them up a bit if your short on having a lathe to turn them. Here are some pics of pins and bushings in hopes to give you a few ideas: (I cheated by using a lathe, sorry about that)








Welding bushings onto brackets require the bushings be clamped square and tight against the brackets. A couple of long 1" dia bolts come in handy for that:





After everything cools, remove clamping bolts and test fit:



Kinda got carried away with pics, sorry about that man.
I have some of my home made grapple bushings with grease fittings, would you like to see those?

Larry
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y299/GuglioLS/Ford/Bushingsandpins/Bushingsandplates8.jpg

 

[mcd176]

Where can you buy the rippers from? I never thought of using them for a grapple, I like the idea and will watch your progress .

-Mike

 

[Kernopelli]

I picked up the Harbor Freight Metal Cutting Circ Saw #8897 and it does a great job. I hope they come out with a 14 Chop saw style with this blade and RPM. I cut some 1/4" mild steel plate at a rate of 6" in about 40 seconds and even tried some 3/4" and at a rate of 6" in about 120 seconds. I bought the warranty as I am getting ready to start the fab of a grapple and I will put it to an endurance test on that project alone.

There are a number of manufacturers for these types of saws now and I'm surprised they don't seem to be more popular. I haven't used the HF saw but I bought a blade for Milwaukee's version of metal cutting saw and use it w/my regular circular saw and it works awesome. I have cut up to 3/8" plate and 1/2" rod with it and it cuts so smooth and quickly it makes abrasive cutting obsolete ( no sparks or heat) and it's 10X's faster than my band saw with equal or better cut quality.The blades aren't cheap but well worth the money. I have used the blade on my table saw to cut some 3/16" sheet and used the fence as my guide and it worked perfectly. No chip collector like the purpose built HF and other purpose built saws but it makes far less mess than abrasive cutting anyway. I would highly recommend them to anyone who cuts a lot of metal. I shopped around and ended up getting mine from an Ebay store for about $40 including shipping. I've also noticed that the price for these blades has come down considerably since I purchased mine. I think MSRP on a Milwaukee 8" blade is about $50 now, when I got mine it seems like it was about $70 (if I'm remembering correctly)

 

[DEON]

Randall,
Have your considered using DOM (Drawn Over Mandrel) a.k.a seamless tubing?

Your work looks very professional. Are you a machinist?
I have never heard of DOM. It's very interesting. Can you buy it at exactly 1" ID? If so, is it smooth enough inside to use as a rotating bushing like a cylinder end? What kind of store sells it and what is a typical length?
Thanks for all the photos. I can learn a lot from guys like you.

DEON

 

[jjcc246]

I picked up the Harbor Freight Metal Cutting Circ Saw #8897 and it does a great job. I hope they come out with a 14 Chop saw style with this blade and RPM. I cut some 1/4" mild steel plate at a rate of 6" in about 40 seconds and even tried some 3/4" and at a rate of 6" in about 120 seconds. I bought the warranty as I am getting ready to start the fab of a grapple and I will put it to an endurance test on that project alone.

Dec3361,
help me out here. i searched HF for your saw by name and by number and it doesn't exist on their website. i even blew up your picture to get the numbers off of the tag on the saw and no good. could you find it on their site and post a link. thanks

 

[dex3361]

Dec3361,
help me out here. i searched HF for your saw by name and by number and it doesn't exist on their website. i even blew up your picture to get the numbers off of the tag on the saw and no good. could you find it on their site and post a link. thanks

Try this link and see if it works.

http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa/itemdisplay/displayItem.do?itemid=8897&submit2=find+it

 

[dex3361]

Randall,
Have your considered using DOM (Drawn Over Mandrel) a.k.a seamless tubing?


Kinda got carried away with pics, sorry about that man.
I have some of my home made grapple bushings with grease fittings, would you like to see those?

Larry
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y299/GuglioLS/Ford/Bushingsandpins/Bushingsandplates8.jpg

Larry
That is just what I need to use DOM seamless tubing. I love the pics they are inspirational I would ask that you send more, very nice work.

 

[dex3361]

Where can you buy the rippers from? I never thought of using them for a grapple, I like the idea and will watch your progress .

-Mike

Here is the link and I saw on TBN where others have used scarifiers for grapples. Search for willdbeast and look at his and I think JJ has used them as well.

SCARIFIER SHANK 17.88'' 4 HOLE - Agri Supply

 

[JoelD]

Where can you get DOM in various sizes?

I have never been able to find bushing material.

Thanks,
Joel

 

[GuglioLS]

Your work looks very professional. Are you a machinist?
I have never heard of DOM. It's very interesting. Can you buy it at exactly 1" ID? If so, is it smooth enough inside to use as a rotating bushing like a cylinder end? What kind of store sells it and what is a typical length?
Thanks for all the photos. I can learn a lot from guys like you.
DEON

Thanks DEON,
I'm no machinist, but rather a hobbyist machinist wannabe. I get by with just enough to satisfy my tractor project creativity. DOM is available from just about any metal supplier. If they don't stock it they can order it. As with just about any metal it comes in 20 to 21 foot lengths. DOM is rather expensive and usually sold by the inch to the end user. DOM size is specified by OD and wall thickness (not ID) so the ID can vary a few thousandths. The OD and ID are very smooth and uniform throughout the length so it makes for great bushing material. DOM is what hydraulic cylinders and bushings are made of as well as the cylinder end cross tubes so there are many sizes to choose from.
Rems are usually sold at a discount, I buy rems that are anywhere from a few inches to a few feet long. As an example 1.5" OD DOM X .25"wall (~1.0" ID) is about $1.00 an inch.

Do you have any custom race car / drag / dune buggy shops around? Most of them use DOM by the tons in making chassis and roll bars. They are usually happy to sell the short remnants.

Larry