Muckmudd's 2018 Build off "Astro Rat" [2018 Build-Off Entry]

Since you don't need your lock collars right away, I'd wait until you make a trip to a princess auto or keeping hunting around on-line for the right deal. I might also try to combine them with another parts order to save on shipping costs. I feel bad for you Canadian guys. I order small parts and things from ebay all the time and I never worry about the shipping costs because it's either free or cheap.

muckmudd wrote:

2 for 4$ on pillow blocks??? that's ridiculous. Why is Canada so insanely pricey... But yes I can weld. I am planning on making an inner sub frame out of some 2'' square tube and drill some holes so they are removable.

Same reason it is pricey for you. Also, if I remember right the TSC ones are stampted steel not cast like your picture above.

Alright Ill keep hunting. And yeah I guess If they are stamped they are pretty bad. I will also have to buy a sprocket and brakes at some point.

Does anyone know what # of chain is stock for a foote? I was thinking I could just use the old sprocket off the mini diff and make myself a hub. Also, I found these brakes because on ebay its either 100$+ or real cheap. Anyone ever try these?

I have a brake assembly very similar to that one on my Baja Doodle Bug mini bike. It works great in that application.

Crazy_Carl wrote:

I have a brake assembly very similar to that one on my Baja Doodle Bug mini bike.  It works great in that application.

Do figure it would be sufficient for a mower? After all none of my mowers have brakes...

The pads do look smaller than what comes in an Azusa mechanical rear brake disc caliper for a go-kart. So I'm not sure how long it would last in a mower. I'd try it in something light like a rally style tractor but not a big heavy garden tractor.

I usually make the smaller parts for my projects. The lock collars, you need 8 you said, WOW. On my sprocket shafts for the drive system for the tracks, has brake rotors, pulleys, and 3 bearings on each shaft of 2 shafts. No way was I going to buy lock collars to fit all that stuff together. I welded bolts to each end of the axle shafts with nuts and washers big enough to hold the parts on the shafts but pull the nuts and washers off to remove the parts. Then I found a piece of black pipe, that fits over the axles, that I cut up to use as spacers between everything. The whole axle is either covered with a pulley, rotor, bearing, or a spacer. Which gave me the option to coat the axle with grease so it don't rust and axle is completely covered so the grease doesn't wash off. Plus nothing has a set screw to dig into the shaft to create burrs, maintenance will be a breeze when it's time to do it. I also had to use washers between the spacers and the pulleys and rotors so the keys wouldn't work themselves out since everything is floating on the axles. With the nuts and washers on the ends gave me the option to make midevil hub spinners, like on the horse drawn chariots.

So you pretty much just made spacers to avoid the use of lock collars? Thats not a bad idea especially in my case since I do not want to cut a super long keyway in my axle material. And it is not going to be a big heavy garden tractor. It is going to be a fairly light racer.

I make my own calipers and rotors also. You mentioned you can make your own hubs and key ways in axle material?

Yeah I will try to do it on the lathe at school and there is a milling machine that will be good for keyways. I would like to bring back my question... What chain size is stock for the foote 3 speed? I want to re use the sprocket.

40 or 41 pitch.

Might be 40 or 41 chain. Best way to know is to go to BMI karts website and look up chains. They have a page on how to measure the chain so customers know what to order. Even if your not buying, you can look to learn how to measure chain. It's under "buy chain by the foot"

Link to page-
http://www.bmikarts.com/Chain--Purchase-by-the-Foot_p_635.html

Link to video on how to make a brake caliper. A rotor is just a round plate of steel on a hub.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1NkY-SMDUk&t=59s&list=FLBQHfu3PufJWVACRmorJnWg&index=32

Would save you some money if doable for you.

yes It would be doable and it is very genius. What do they use for the pads? I measured from tip to tip on the sprocket and it is 1/2'' gap. I read an article and it says 1/2'' means that you can use #40. If you can use #40 can you also use #420 and #41?

If my roller width is 3/16th, and 3/16th is 415 chain, which does not seem to be as common as 420, which is 1/4 inch roller width, would it be ok to run the 420 chain or would there be too much slop?

I've never heard of 415 chain.  Check this out. https://redboarchain.com/pages/size-charts-product-info.  It looks like a 415 chain won't fit on a 40/41 sprocket because the chain is too narrow. It looks like 420 will fit with a little bit of side to side play.

Crazy_Carl your link does not work but I was looking at this, And none of the 1/2" pitch chains come in 3/16th roller width.

and on this chart, it does come in 3/16th and it says its 415 chain...

So are you thinking that the sprocket on your gearbox is really meant for 415 chain because it is narrow? I'm confused on why you brought up 415 chain. Is it something you have laying around and you're wondering if it will work?

No, on the second chart 415 chain says that the roller width is of 3/16'' which is also the width of the sprocket I am using so I was thinking that 415 chain is what I needed but I was asking if it would be ok to run the 420 chain which has a roller width of 1/4''.
On another topic, what length of axles do people use for their tractors, I am in the middle of machining an axle but I don't know what length I should make it to.

That all depends on what kind of stance you want the tractor to have. I would cut it to a length that made the overall width of the tractor measured with the rear wheels on the axle somewhere around 40-48 inches.

It would be OK to use the 1/4 inch wide chain. The extra side clearance would help with slight misalignment between the sprocket on axle and sprocket on gearbox. Which would be the 420 chain. Plus the 420 chain would be stronger too, since the pins are 5/32 inch thick compared to 9/64 which is thinner pins. The pins hold the chain together. The 420 chain is more common and should be less expensive too.

The brake pad used for the home made caliper is just an automotive pad cut in half and tack welded to the tubing, don't want to put too much heat into the brake pad because it will melt, just a couple little welds good enough to hold the pads on. When the pad wares out just cut off the tack welds to remove the worn brake pads and tack weld new brake pads back on. The automotive brake pads should be easier to get and it doesn't matter what kind of car they are from. If you are buying new auto brake pads, just pick a car with cheap brake pads, like an Escort or Malibu.

My advice on the axle width would be to cut the axle blank(no key ways yet) extra wide for a mock up, then you can figure out where the key ways can go after everything is on the axle. Then figure out how wide last.

yeah I was going for a 40 inch axle. It seems reasonable to me. After all I was going to buy the 3 ft axle which is 4 in shorter. Thanks Prancstaman for clarifying the brake situation and I will order some #420 motorcycle chain and hope it works. I will finish machining the axle then do a mock up, pick up the new foote and find some bearings.

Done machining the axle. Now I just have to see if the bearings fit after I order them. It's a 40 inch btw so it will be fairly wide.

nice mill and lathe work!

Thanks Carl. I love using the machinery at school.