OP
bitseeker
Silver Member
CASTER UPDATE:
Having used the snow blower with the casters every day since December 26 (lots of snow) I have found that the particular wheels are not up to the job. I would say they have 10 hours on them and have lost the shields on all four wheel ball bearings. This will surely cause early bearing failure. Additionally, one wheel lost one of the four bolts that hold the two halves of the wheel together. I found all seven other bolts loose.
If anyone knows of a supplier of high-quality 10" pneumatic caster wheels, with sealed bearings, I'm in the market.
The setup is working great, and once I found the correct clearance (about 1.5 inches scraper-to-ground for my gravel driveway) it now picks up no gravel, and breaks no shear pins.
SHEAR PIN REALIZATION and QUESTION:
On the subject auger shear pin alignment, it just recently occurred to me that I can easily find the broken pin by aligning the free auger side with the other auger side. Getting close by lining up the auger halves and then using a Q-tip to clear the grease makes it much easier to punch out the pin from the shaft. I am probably the only person who had not noticed this easy broken pin finding method!
I made up my own shear pins from 2.5" long 5/16" bolts by chucking them in the drill press and running a sidewinder grinder against the bolt where they should shear. They work fine but it's tough to judge how much to remove, and they usually turn out thinner than I'd like. Lacking a lathe, has anyone found a quick and precise way to cut the reliefs in standard bolts?
BS
Having used the snow blower with the casters every day since December 26 (lots of snow) I have found that the particular wheels are not up to the job. I would say they have 10 hours on them and have lost the shields on all four wheel ball bearings. This will surely cause early bearing failure. Additionally, one wheel lost one of the four bolts that hold the two halves of the wheel together. I found all seven other bolts loose.
If anyone knows of a supplier of high-quality 10" pneumatic caster wheels, with sealed bearings, I'm in the market.
The setup is working great, and once I found the correct clearance (about 1.5 inches scraper-to-ground for my gravel driveway) it now picks up no gravel, and breaks no shear pins.
SHEAR PIN REALIZATION and QUESTION:
On the subject auger shear pin alignment, it just recently occurred to me that I can easily find the broken pin by aligning the free auger side with the other auger side. Getting close by lining up the auger halves and then using a Q-tip to clear the grease makes it much easier to punch out the pin from the shaft. I am probably the only person who had not noticed this easy broken pin finding method!
I made up my own shear pins from 2.5" long 5/16" bolts by chucking them in the drill press and running a sidewinder grinder against the bolt where they should shear. They work fine but it's tough to judge how much to remove, and they usually turn out thinner than I'd like. Lacking a lathe, has anyone found a quick and precise way to cut the reliefs in standard bolts?
BS
