SSQA fork build

[Mysfyt]

Just some more pictures of the welding. When I was done, time to test fit the fork support bar and it slid right in without a hiccup. Good sign that the flux core didn't twist the weldment. Next up will be honing the fork supports to the support bar.

 

[Xfaxman]

Looking good. :thumbsup:

Don't know if you will need it, but you might consider some gussets on the top lip.

This happened to my light weight fork frame with too much weight on the forks:

This is the way Blue Diamond did it on the stump bucket:

 

[Mysfyt]

Thanks Xfaxman. I think I'll be OK because the top lip is tied into the side plate and also tied into the bottom crossmember with the gusset plates towards the insides of the mount. Kind of copying what Kubota did on their bucket.

 

[Mysfyt]

Wanted to contain the mess of honing somehow so I came up with the idea of cutting a slot in a 5 gal plastic pail that the fork would slide into. Worked pretty good. Honing went a lot faster than I anticipated it would. From starting with the bucket to getting both honed to spec (3-4 thousandths), only took half an hour.

Getting down to the home stretch of the build. My saying is the last 10% of a build should take 90% of the time.

 

[Mysfyt]

Cut the support bar to length which was no simple task. It is case hardened to begin with plus it has an industrial hard chrome surface. Had to grind off the chrome and then watch the sparks until they showed I was into the softer metal. Still took a lot of life out of the band saw blade, though. Assembled the forks onto the bar and then attached the cylinder. For those of you who have built anything with hydraulic cylinders, you know what's coming next. Grab the air line and hook up air pressure to see if it works, which it did. Cycled it several times to convince myself it wasn't a fluke, which is encouraging.

Like to say thank you to Jim T and the Xfaxman for pointing out about increasing the angle when tilting back!

 

[Mysfyt]

Working on the chain attachment bolts here. Found these in McMaster for only a few bucks each and they are made out of 4140 steel, which is some pretty tough stuff. Going to have some fun threading these on the small bench lathe. First, I drill centers on the ends using a 3 jaw chuck and then 'cheat' a little bit by holding them in a drill chuck on the tailstock to save some time getting the 4 jaw set up. Turn to the proper OD and then thread. Not exactly CNC quality, but they will work fine. Next will be over to the mill to get the chain end finalized.

 

[Xfaxman]

Good progress. :thumbsup:

It sure looks better than mine!

There is a little more clearance on my rod. But they slide easily by hand!

 

[Mysfyt]

You rolled up your sleeves and built it yourself and that gets my respect! People building things themselves is getting less and less with each generation and that's sad to see. My Dad's generation (the WW2 generation) were always making their own stuff to save money. Its harder to do today with stuff from places like China that is so cheap to purchase over here.

 

[Jim Timber]

Looking real good! Always fun to whip out the 4 jaw.

As for keeping it domestic: not everyone's got 10K for a lathe and mill either. Or the 5K in subsequent tooling to make them useful.

I live to make stuff. I don't want to buy it if I can build it.

 

[dstig1]

Very nice work! One question - why did you want the fit on the chromed bar to the retainer blocks to be so tight? Looser here would seem to make sense as it would be easier to slide. I realize you could get into binding issues, but there are ways to fix that. Just thinking that these are forks that may live outside, and get rusty or otherwise crudded up. Tight clearances could be trouble in the long run. But then I've never seen a chromed bar on a a set of forks...

Surprised you did not cut that chromed rod with an abrasive disc rather than a BS. That is pretty much what abrasive discs were made for. Hard stuff. And it doesn't look like you should care what the ends look like in this situation as they are covered.