iDRY Vacuum Kilns

Sponsors:

Straightening steel shaft

Started by sprucebunny, November 12, 2006, 08:40:31 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 2 Guests are viewing this topic.

sprucebunny

I have a bent stub axle  1.75" diameter.
A Google search came up with several companies who are straightening shafts without heat.

I was thinking of putting a chain between the two axles, right next to the housing on the good side and out to the end of the shaft on the bent side and then make a triangle out of the chain with a jack and try to bend the bad axle back.

Do you think it will work ???
MS193, MS192 and an 026  Weeding and Thinning. Gilbert Champion sawmill

Faron

Might work, Sprucebunny.  Three things I would be concerned about.  That jack is going to put a lot of stress on the chain.  It might have a tendency to kick out, or break the chain if it's not heavy enough.  Secondly, you'll have to make sure the frame isn't giving instead of straightning the axle.  Third, you may have to put a piece of pipe or something over the axle so the chain doesn't mar the surface. 
I think if I could find a heavy beam to put under it and chain to it I would feel a little safer.  If you had a way to chain it to the floor it would work well, but most of us don't have that capability.
Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for dinner.  Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote. - Ben Franklin

Woodwalker

Don't know if the chain would work, but I have straightened 2 ½" Kelly bars on a few old hole diggers using a triangle shaped attachment made of angle iron. It was three feet long or so on the base, sandwiched together with a space in the middle so that it would slide over the bar to the bent area. A hydraulic bottle jack placed between the bar and the top of the attachment is used to apply pressure to the bar. I don't have pictures but can made a drawing if you need one.
Just cause your head's pointed, don't mean you are sharp.

leweee



Joan.... is the axle stub bent or the beam that holds it?
            What is the beam part...Solid or Hollow?
              Ain't that spring in a can a treat(track tensioner) ::)

PS   Reminds me of farming.....fixen bent , twisted & broken equipment. ;D
        Smoke wrench & welder were my best friends.
        If you couldn't cut it & reweld it,it was going to be$$$$$ :o
just another beaver with a chainsaw &  it's never so bad that it couldn't get worse.

junkyard

Put the shaft between centers to find and mark high spot. Lay shaft on hardwood block high spot up place another hard wood block on the high spot. hit top block with appropriatly sized hammer. Check shaft between centers. repete til straight.
                  Junkyard
If it's free, It's for me. If for pay, leave it lay.

sprucebunny

This is the axle that's bent. Maybe I used the wrong name for it. It's not very removable. If I have to remove it, I'll get a new one.



Another idea is to cut it off and weld and bolt a stub on but that would be hard to get straight, also.

Leweee, ya the thing in a can is interesting. Finally got them under control by clamping blocks of wood on it to keep it lengthened enough to get off the machine and back on. The track tensioner in that picture you used is leaning on the beam. It's hydraulic ( grease) on that one and threaded rod on the one I'm working on. Had to make new ones. 
MS193, MS192 and an 026  Weeding and Thinning. Gilbert Champion sawmill

Fla._Deadheader


Hard to tell, but, is it bent bad enough to actually hurt anything ??
All truth passes through three stages:
   First, it is ridiculed;
   Second, it is violently opposed; and
   Third, it is accepted as self-evident.

-- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

sprucebunny

FDH .... Ya ..... when you take the error out to the edge of the tire, it's magnified.
MS193, MS192 and an 026  Weeding and Thinning. Gilbert Champion sawmill

Fla._Deadheader


Tough thing to get to. Got a lesser zoomed photo to show what's in the area for jacking or other support ??
All truth passes through three stages:
   First, it is ridiculed;
   Second, it is violently opposed; and
   Third, it is accepted as self-evident.

-- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

JimBuis

If the side of your contraption is strong enough to have a stub axle welded right onto the side of it, is it possible to make a lever about two fee long out of an I-beam or similar, weld a fitting onto the end of it that is the right size to fit the stub axle, then put a hydraulic jack against the side of the contraption.  A lever with a hydraulic jack pushing on it would give you a whole lot of power to push that stub axle back down.

Some of this is hard to say without knowing better what the machine is, etc., etc.

Jim
Jim Buis                             Peterson 10" WPF swingmill

sprucebunny

I'm looking at that idea, Jim. The axle continues to the other side but I don't know if it's 'housed' or solid. Have an idea that will spread the load across the body but the jack is too big to get in there... got to keep thinking on that one.

FDH Here's another pic.

MS193, MS192 and an 026  Weeding and Thinning. Gilbert Champion sawmill

rebocardo

I can not tell what you have, it looks like a stub axle for an idler wheel on a tracked vehicle?

What I can see it looks like it is just plain welded to the frame? If so, I would just cut it off and weld on a new one. I would not take the chance of tweaking the frame or making it warped.

Fla._Deadheader


  OK. Ya need an extra hand, Joan.  :) ;D ;D ;D

  Got somebody available that will LISTEN and DO what you want ??   ::) ::) ::)

  If that thing is jacked up good and steady. I would tack weld a couple of "Pointers" to whichever way the stub needs to be bent, AND above, right exactly where the center of the stub should end up. Use these for measuring as you bend the axle into place. Get a piece of pipe about 8' long, that fits nearly tight to the frame, but, leave room to heat the stub.

  Got a rosebud tip for the torch ???  Heat close to the frame but not the weld. If so, yer good to go. A LITTLE movement on the end of the pipe will be easy to tell, so, keep measuring from the stub to the "Pointers".  Once in place, grind off the pointers.  ;D ;D
All truth passes through three stages:
   First, it is ridiculed;
   Second, it is violently opposed; and
   Third, it is accepted as self-evident.

-- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

sprucebunny

I can handle that, FDH. But isn't heating it going to take the temper or something out ???

What do I do about that ?

On another forum, someone told me to heat the long side and when it cooled, it would be shorter. Is that true ? How many times will it work ???
MS193, MS192 and an 026  Weeding and Thinning. Gilbert Champion sawmill

Fla._Deadheader

 I doubt if it is tempered. Tempered would be tougher to bend in the first place. Try striking it close to the frame, where no bearing will ride. Bet you can ding it.  ;D ;D  It just holds up the track.

  Heating the side to bend, MIGHT work, but, that's the reason I suggested the LONG pipe. Start heating and lean into the pipe. The stub will bend WAY before the temper could be lost, if it really is tempered. You only want to move it a little, looks like. ???
All truth passes through three stages:
   First, it is ridiculed;
   Second, it is violently opposed; and
   Third, it is accepted as self-evident.

-- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

Don_Papenburg

I think you need heat like you get from welding to shrink something that thick. go with FDH suggestion. remember it will spring back a little as you release pressure on the pipe . so to get it srtaight you have to over bend just a little .
Frick saw mill  '58   820 John Deere power. Diamond T trucks

Gary_C

You do need to heat that shaft to bend it straight or it will either break or will have small cracks on the tension side. Heat all the way around the shaft right where you need to straighten it and it is also best after you get it straight to reheat the bent area and allow it to cool slowly to relieve any bending stresses.

Also it will be very difficult to exert enough force to bent that shaft without heating it. You need to get it cherry red right where you need to make the bend.

Shafts are not normally hardened but may be surface hardened for bearing journals.

Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.

rebocardo

Hi,

Okay, I see the sideways picture/view now. What I think it is, a solid axle assembly, welded to the frame to keep it in place. I would grind all the welds, remove the complete axle, and try bending it back in place using a 40T shop press at a machine shop.




sprucebunny

I had to try it with the jack ;D I can't say if it was successful or not 'cause I need to take some slack out of the chain and try again.

I made this to get a grip on the end of the shaft.



Here's the set up.



There's a pointer like FDH suggested held on by a magnet above the shaft. And two 3/8" channels under the jack keeping the 3/8 square chain under control.

Update tomorrow ;D

MS193, MS192 and an 026  Weeding and Thinning. Gilbert Champion sawmill

Tim L

I would heat it. But then again I heat everything ! Many of lifes problems can be cured with intense heat . Nice pull down device !!!
Do the best you can and don't look back

logwalker

I have to admire your rigging  Sprucebunny. How did this shaft get bent? LW
Let's all be careful out there tomorrow. Lt40hd, 22' Kenworth Flatbed rollback dump, MM45B Mitsubishi trackhoe, Clark5000lb Forklift, Kubota L2850 tractor

sprucebunny

Thanks, logwalker ;D Here's the damage I did with it :D



Check out the two pieces of 3/8 wall channel that were under the jack and over the chain !!!

Bent it a tiny bit. Steel was too damaged to try any harder  :o

There is a little wear on the shaft so I thought maybe I could shim the bearings with this really thin 'spring copper" stuff I found in a workshop drawer. You can see it under the washer at the back of the shaft. It looks like copper but has a definate set to it ? It's thinner than a line on my cheapo calipers  :o

I'm hoping that between the tiny bit of straightening and jamming the bearings into line with the shaft shims  that it will be straight enough. Maybe I'm just dreaming with those shaft shims, though ???

Also included in the picture is the bogey assembly that fits on to this shaft and has a wheel axle on it.

MS193, MS192 and an 026  Weeding and Thinning. Gilbert Champion sawmill

SwampDonkey

Reminds me of my father, he made the best of two air vac harvestors over the years. Ran both for 20 years or so. First one was bought in the 60's, second of the assemly line, then another in the late 80's. He practically rebuilt both. Lots of heating, bending, cutting and prying over the years. 'If she don't work, make her work' or 'she's gotta work, there's no other way' could be heard with all the bang'n and thrashing going on.  ;D 8) 8) Way to go sprucebunny, I'da given up long ago.  ;)
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Thank You Sponsors!