Tire Chains, Home Made Anyone done it?

[HSSC]

Hey Ken,
thanks for the pic's they help a lot. After looking online etc for chains I've decided to make my own.. the one question I have is the "twisted link" cross chains.. did you just twist your own to make them ... It looks to me like you used the same side chain and just twisted them with your vise ... do I have that right?

I called my local DOT garage and they acted like I was insane asking for their old chains.. almost like I pay their salary or something... pfff!!

Thusly I'm going to buy bulk chain and start bending... I feel the testosterone increasing just thinking about it.

tractor on

Those are standard cross links and they are hardened as they are the boys put to work, on the ground, giving your vehicle traction. I never bothered welding any of them, only attached them to other links. Just run a grinder over them and create a kerf and a larger set of channel locks and they break rather quick. All of those cross links at one point, were full links. I just cut them to the length for what I needed.

The conditions on the highway last year ( fall ) was icy and some what thin as I traveled those same roads later in the day with full loads of concrete on dry roads. The broken chains were everywhere. Many of which were like new.

It was a bonanza. Kind of funny how it all worked out cause, I'm traveling those same roads this year and not to much to harvest this year.

Maybe those truck drivers learned how to tighten up their chains.:confused3:

 

[HSSC]

As far as using a coil spring, a good way to do it as that metal is much harder than the round stock I used. Just make your cuts and clamp them together and weld away.

I had some round stock on hand and the chains I built will only see dirt, gravel, some concrete, so hardness wasn't an issue. Someone else will send these to the scrap yard. They should last the rest of my life.:cool2:

 

[rScotty]

As far as using a coil spring, a good way to do it as that metal is much harder than the round stock I used. Just make your cuts and clamp them together and weld away.

I had some round stock on hand and the chains I built will only see dirt, gravel, some concrete, so hardness wasn't an issue. Someone else will send these to the scrap yard. They should last the rest of my life.:cool2:

Has anyone actually tried welding a section of a coil spring? If so, please tell me how, because in the past I haven't had much luck getting good welds to stick to spring steel.....Or in heat-bending springs either. Not even after annealing it first.

Maybe the alloys are different. I've done enough re-arcing of leaf springs to know that whatever steel they used 80 years ago is different from the alloys now. So maybe some are different from others.

On hard cross links like the twisted ones versus soft iron cross links - I've made and used both styles but after 30 years of using them I really can't tell yet which one wears more than the other. Mostly chains are used in the winter, but for a couple of summers I was working the tractor in really rough country making dirt roads and we used chains in the summer a lot to save the tires from spinning on sharp granite rocks....fixing chains being cheaper than losing large chunks of rubber. Good in deep sand too - and particularly in deep wet sand. That was hard on chains, but the problem wasn't wear so much as fit to the tire and stretching the chains. Good fitting sets of chains wear very well and don't damage the tires. I'm sure there is a difference in wear due to hardness, but I just didn't see it and so don't know if wear favors chain cross links made of soft iron or of hard steel.
rScotty

 

[Mace Canute]

Awhile back on another forum someone posted a chart to help identify "junkyard" steel as far as carbon content went.
From that chart, car coil springs were supposed to be 4063 steel, truck coils 5160 steel and leaf springs both 1085 and 5160. Of course, they could be something else too, but what I got from the chart was that it was more likely to be those particular ones.

 

[SensibleNick]

Well.. just got in from clearing 18" of wettish snow.. and I NEVER expected the grip to be so good!! :thumbsup:

I have yet to do the front chains, but they're seriously needed to get steering authority when pushing *that* much snow

The cruddy galvanising on the chain has predictably worn in the ends of the links, and the 1% elongation of the chain caused them so seat incorrectly... I kinda expected that, but I'll be finding myself some springs tomorrow to build in a semi-permanent tension on the outsides of them to keep them in check

I'll post another update with more pictures when I finish the fronts and install the tensioning system.

If you've never used chains in the snow before, and are thinking "Hmm.. I wonder if they're *really* going to make a difference", YES... yes they are. a huge one. Massive. Really really big. :licking:

EDIT: have a Photo. Rear chains only on a Foton 254 4WD... and this pile of snow was moving along happily. A pile a 1/3rd of the size would have had the tyres slipping without the chains

 

[smiley]

Well.. just got in from clearing 18" of wettish snow.. and I NEVER expected the grip to be so good!! :thumbsup:

I have yet to do the front chains, but they're seriously needed to get steering authority when pushing *that* much snow


If you've never used chains in the snow before, and are thinking "Hmm.. I wonder if they're *really* going to make a difference"[/I], YES... yes they are. a huge one. Massive. Really really big. :licking:

Nick mentions chains on the front also. I found the same to be true more so with 4wd than 2wd. With 2wd the front tires are generally going where you steer them. With 4wd if the front wheels spin and break traction, the front end tends to slide sideways especially on a side slope.

 

[crazyal]

They were about $650 American. I bought some other stuff so I can't say for sure. Both the Tellefsdals and the Aquilines seam pretty pricey but I really like how they (and your set you made) wrap chain around the tread, can fall between the lugs with that design. I also expect they will be the only set of chains I will ever buy for the tractor so I just bit the bullet and got them.

After reading here I wouldn't mind trying to make a set.

 

[crazyal]

Nick mentions chains on the front also. I found the same to be true more so with 4wd than 2wd. With 2wd the front tires are generally going where you steer them. With 4wd if the front wheels spin and break traction, the front end tends to slide sideways especially on a side slope.

I've always used my brakes to steer. It's only when I have to lock the rear Diff that I've had problems.

 

[SensibleNick]

I've always used my brakes to steer. It's only when I have to lock the rear Diff that I've had problems.

Being a Tractor Newbie, I need posts like this ^^^ to remind me that I have split brakes... :ashamed:

I think another factor is that the tread pattern for the front tyres on 4WD tractors is not well-suited for lateral grip. anyway... the front chains are nearly done, and I'm damned if I'll let those front wheels miss out on the fun

Thanks!!

 

[rScotty]

anyway... the front chains are nearly done, and I'm damned if I'll let those front wheels miss out on the fun Thanks!!

If the snow is not too deep then I'll often just put on the front chains. Lifting the front tires with the FEL is easy, and the front chains are a lot lighter weight. Anyone else that lazy?

Probably the hardest part of making a large set of rear chains is constantly having to pick those heavy units up and and reposition them on the workbench + putting them on/off the tire a dozen times for measuring things.
rScotty

 

[smiley]

I've noticed a few mentions of horsing the heavy chains onto the tires. For any newbies, you'll eventualy discover it for yourself, but you don't horse them on. Lay them out in front or behind the tires, drive part way on, wire or bungee cord it around the wheel and drive the rest of the way on until the chain is in an easy position to hook up.

 

[SensibleNick]

I've noticed a few mentions of horsing the heavy chains onto the tires. For any newbies, you'll eventualy discover it for yourself, but you don't horse them on. Lay them out in front or behind the tires, drive part way on, wire or bungee cord it around the wheel and drive the rest of the way on until the chain is in an easy position to hook up.

... and how do you do it if you made them as a continuous loop with removable links only in the side-chains?

 

[smiley]

Don't put the links in until you have them wrapped around the tire.

 

[SensibleNick]

Hi again.

As promised, here's the finished job. Fronts and rears made using the same techniques but in different patterns.

One of the re-occurring comments here is "I did it once, I wouldn't do it again". You'll find me on the exact opposite side to that thought: I've had immense fun at a fraction of the cost of commercially available chains, and these things fit well and function flawlessly. The difference in grip is astonishing - more of a difference than I had expected :thumbsup:

When you do something like this, you learn techniques, processes and a working method. If I were to do this again it would take a fraction of the time and I'd probably enjoy it even more the second time round.

Total cost of making these chains (Including my own time which is free if I'm having fun) is in the region of $200... though chain may well be cheaper in the USA.

All photos can be found here. Picasa Web Albums - Nick - Tractor Chains and as said before, if you want to mooch about in my other albums, be my guest.

Cheers!

/Nick

 

[Mace Canute]

Those are good looking chains, Nick!:thumbsup:

 

[CowwFace]

Hi again.

As promised, here's the finished job. Fronts and rears made using the same techniques but in different patterns.

One of the re-occurring comments here is "I did it once, I wouldn't do it again". You'll find me on the exact opposite side to that thought: I've had immense fun at a fraction of the cost of commercially available chains, and these things fit well and function flawlessly. The difference in grip is astonishing - more of a difference than I had expected :thumbsup:

When you do something like this, you learn techniques, processes and a working method. If I were to do this again it would take a fraction of the time and I'd probably enjoy it even more the second time round.

Total cost of making these chains (Including my own time which is free if I'm having fun) is in the region of $200... though chain may well be cheaper in the USA.

All photos can be found here. Picasa Web Albums - Nick - Tractor Chains and as said before, if you want to mooch about in my other albums, be my guest.

Cheers!

/Nick

Hey Nick,

WOW!!! Your chains put mine to shame.. I'll get some pic's up ASAP.. I just did straight accross the tires. I may have to add some chains parallel to the tires like you've done.. VERY nice job!!

Tractor on

 

[SensibleNick]

Awww.. you're too kind. Thanks.

Things I've learned so far... If you look at my front and rear chains you'll notice that the "continuous lengths" that run all around the tread of the tyre are closer to the middle of the front tyres than they are on the rears. This was because I'd used the rears before I finished the fronts, and had already worked out that having these lengths slip off the side of the tread was a bad plan: it takes the tension out of the entire system.

The addition of a spring-loaded tensioner is a REALLY useful upgrade, and means that any slack will be taken up... stopping eventual creep and looseness. (Is looseness even a word?)

When this season is over, I'll be shortening the "bars" across the tread on the rears: This'll make them more stable on the tread, and mean I have to adjust them less.
I've had to re-adjust the rears once... and it was annoying. The fronts however have stayed exactly where I put them.

Usage:
With grip comes responsibility Before the chains my "not overloading the drivetrain" safety-net was the fact that I'd loose traction easily. Now I don't loose traction, I loose power.... and I think that this might well lead to me overloading the FEL ot drivetrain at some point if I'm not cautious.

Currently I park the tractor in my warm garage... I line up my entry accurately and ensure that I don't need to steer either way: I suspect the floor will thank me later.



Things I consider to be the most important bits..
The "inboard loops" should be continuous, and not "tensioned" by an extra system as this allows movement... and you don't want that.

The loops over the tread shouldn't go too far out towards the edges of the tread... because when they slip off you'll waste time levering them back on...

The "outboard loops" should be tensioned with an across-the-hub system (huge mechanical advantage) and a spring that keeps the tensioning system tight - even when the chains wear. Check these springs regularly to ensure that they're still tight, because early on in the life of your home-made chains they'll be bedding in a lot and shifting.

Oneday I'm sure I'll be making another set of these. :thumbsup:

 

[rScotty]

Awww.. you're too kind. Thanks.

Things I've learned so far... If you look at my front and rear chains you'll notice that the "continuous lengths" that run all around the tread of the tyre are closer to the middle of the front tyres than they are on the rears. This was because I'd used the rears before I finished the fronts, and had already worked out that having these lengths slip off the side of the tread was a bad plan: it takes the tension out of the entire system.
Oneday I'm sure I'll be making another set of these. :thumbsup:

Nicely put. I've made several sets of chains for 4 tractors now and noticed pretty much the same things you did. The critical thing is the width of the cross links. I like an X pattern because with an X pattern the crosslink cannot fall between the lugs - which obviously changes the way the length fits.
Also agree that adding rubber tension bands seems to improve the way that any chains work. Only one of my sets really needs the tension bands, but on that set they make a huge difference and don't even have to be very tight.
Congrats on your chains.

 

[David Devuono]

You did a great job on the chains. I also like the wings on your blade. I was going to make a 7 footer, but I think I will buy 8 foot and cut the ends like yours.

 

[KWentling]

You guys have inspired me, or maybe it was the being stuck on practically flat ground with a 1400 lb. bale, that did it. I got the pliers, delivered by UPS today. I have a set of 16.9x34 chains for my semi-retired tractor but the "new" tractor has 18.4x38s, so the chains are too short. They look to be wide enough though. I also have an old pair of truck (semi) chains for parts, so now when I get healed up from hernia surgery, I have a project. Them suckers are heavy! Should be somewhere around 200 lbs. when extended. I'll probably have to move the wheels out to get cab clearance too. Fun fun!

Kim