Dustin M's Wood-ED (Craftsman Electric Drive Woods Tractor) [2019 Build-Off Entry]

AllisKidD21 wrote:

Super awesome build!! I'm looking forward to seeing an electric powered rig ripping it up for a change!

Do you think there's any chance that dirt will get to the love-joy coupler and cause any issues?

Thanks @AllisKidD21! I do not see any huge issues with dirt. Eventually the rubber spider will wear, but that is a $10 part. Also, in my older age, I only go through mud & water that I have to and I am careful when I do it. Cleaning mud off takes too much time and it damages bearings, bushings, connectors, etc. I do the same thing with my RC cars, but they do get muddy at the local track when it has been rainy.

muddstir wrote:

No belt issues there. It's lookin good man.

Love them old craftsmans.

Thanks @muddstir! The belt was definitely in the way for rear suspension. I am always amazed how people on here wade through mud and water with that belt flopping around down there and still keep moving!

Dustin M. wrote:

prancstaman wrote:

Hay Dustin,
Going to be a cool rig when you get it finished.

Thanks buddy! Did you ever get to doing something with the old beat engine from this thing?

I stored it in my shed for now. It's the same engine as in my tank right now. Spare tank engine. I'll rebuild it and store it when I get a chance. Those things run forever, LOL.

I think I was ignoring getting sick over the weekend, so it hit me today and I stayed home from work. Unfortunately I did not get much done, just a little controller/battery stuff in the house.

Setting the controller back to 48V, I had it at 36V:


Getting a small-ish 48V battery ready to solder on some discharge leads for initial testing and motor alignment checking:

This was the day on March 14, 2017 that I decided this tractor was going to be electric. The peaceful snow covered woods were disrupted by a loud box of explosions...no good  





Time to get home and see what I can accomplish tonight!

That stance is killer with those wheels on it. With the power train you are building will definitely open up new avenues for suspension in the rear. Will it be a swing arm setup in the rear or something like a 4 link? I can tell ya, my back is liken either or, LOL.

I think a parallel 4-link setup in the rear would be pretty cool!! A swingarm would be neat, but I imagine having some articulation would probably be nice. Then again I suppose that'd sorta cause issues with the shifter.

Hmm.... maybe we'll just stick with your plan, you seem like you know what you're doing.

prancstaman wrote:

That stance is killer with those wheels on it. With the power train you are building will definitely open up new avenues for suspension in the rear. Will it be a swing arm setup in the rear or something like a 4 link? I can tell ya, my back is liken either or, LOL.

Thanks, the random Craigslist wheels worked out nicely. The original plan was a swing arm for simplicity. With the amount logs and rocks back in my woods, some sort of suspension is definitely needed to make Wood-ED a useful machine!

AllisKidD21 wrote:

I think a parallel 4-link setup in the rear would be pretty cool!! A swingarm would be neat, but I imagine having some articulation would probably be nice. Then again I suppose that'd sorta cause issues with the shifter.

Hmm.... maybe we'll just stick with your plan, you seem like you know what you're doing.

....How did you know what I was up to ! I can't disagree with you on generally knowing what I am doing, but plans shift as things progress, and I really appreciate the feedback and the ideas. Helps keep the motivational deficiency disorder (MDD) in check.

Earlier this week I started thinking about 4-link or 3-link stuff, so I did some quick drawing with zero measurements. Good thing I found my model for a Polaris Outlaw front shock from back in my SAE Baja days. They are very similar to the to the Yamaha Raptor 660 front shocks (the ones with the white springs) that I will be using for the rear of the tractor. Plus I never designed a multi-link straight axle suspension, so this is something new for me.

After the drawing and getting more excited, I needed to get out to the garage to make sure the motor was not going to hit the frame if I was going to get into the articulation game.

WARNING: Exciting rear articulation pictures are coming!







The motor still has 1" of clearance, so this could work!


The look they will tuck in perfectly behind motor & transaxle.




This link is just a small one to help visualize things (from some disassembled piece of test equipment from work). From this I decided I did not want to invest a small fortune in spherical rod ends (heim joints).


So I started thinking about a simpler design that still gives me articulation and I might be on to something...

Oh boy, I'm on the edge of my seat over here!!

Made some progress today and went on the electric maiden voyage! Finished up modifying the American sized step key for the 17mm motor shaft. Made some updates to the motor mount and checked to make sure the Lovejoy was reasonably aligned. Drilled an additional hole to mount the transaxle lower. Temporarily mounted the controller and throttle pedal. I have the controller set to 25 amps to protect the wimpy power tool battery that I am using for this initial testing and it still has enough torque to start in 5th gear. Imagine the torque when I turn up the wick to the full 95 amps that the controller can deliver!

Does anyone know what the total gear ratio (from input to output) in 5th gear is?



This was in my kitchen from earlier in the week when it was cold out.


Lots of Craftsman in this picture! (Tractor, drill, flashlight, and oiler)


Yes it was raining on my electronics the first time out, they are pretty well sealed.


With the transaxle back in, I can start on the mounts and the linkage for the rear suspension.

Fifth gear ratio from input shaft to the axles 12.209 to 1. I have the same transaxle in my riding mower I did the 5 speed with a vari drive setup on one mower and did all the math in detail for it including the transaxle with pics and drawings. Here's the thread link. The transaxle stuff starts on the first page 3/4 of the way down.
https://www.atltf.com/t5355-vari-drive-with-5-speed-transaxle

Thanks @prancstaman, exactly what I was looking for! That is a higher reduction than I was hoping. Starting to think about the day when I go to a live axle and a single chain reduction. I was hoping for something less than 6:1 to keep the axle sprocket small so that it does not hang too low.

Looks Great! I love the Idea of having Suspension in the Rear!

Here is some daylight testing of the electric drive train on Sunday. Drove it around in the yard and took it out back in the woods, probably drove it around for a total 30 minutes before the battery died.

Here is a video of my father on it so you guys can hear its electric roar


It needs suspension...that rear tire could be tucked right now! (the front tire is about 6" off the ground, the leaves makes it hard to see)


The woods were a little wet.


What do you do with the mail and the newspaper? Throw it into the milk crate in the frunk (front-trunk) were the test battery is currently banging around!


Peak amperage was 34A. It used 3.4Ah when the battery started blinking red.


And one more glamour shot for good measure.

Looks like she moves out pretty good ! and 30 min run time, i'm impressed. keep up the good work !

looks like a very successful test! I'm looking forward to the progression of this build because I like electrical projects a lot. I'm curious to see how you finalize everything and do the rear suspension too.

@diddie - Yeah it is pretty quick, too quick with no suspension. He only moved it up to 4th.

@Crazy_Carl - I am glad you are excited about the electrification process, I will do my best to capture a reasonable amount of detail! The next steps will be to finalize the mounting of the controller (need to lengthen the power & sensor wires of the motoe), purchase a 48V to 12V step down converter to get the headlights working again, and get the 'on' switch connected to the original key switch.

Just putting the tractor to work today moving wood chips from the pile in front to my raised path in the back. My Elmer puppy was helping!

Its the same like it is with electric cars...
I miss the Engine sound LOL

@SebastianAlbrecht My neighbors don't miss the engine noise when I am out working at 10pm...or later! We are going on our 6th year of Nissan LEAF ownership and not putting gas in it or changing the oil in all that time is something that is really easy to get used to!

I got my Waterproof DC/DC 48V Step Down to 12V 10A Converter ordered. I will have working headlights again, hopefully this weekend.

Great to see a successful test run! Very much looking forward to seeing this build progress further.

Progress has been pretty much on hold since my wife surprise left me, took her stuff out of the house while I was at work, filed for divorce, and took my Elmer puppy with her. That was about a month and a half ago. So I have been busy with dealing with financial and divorce crap a little more than usual. 

The stuff I have been getting into has been all over the place, a sign of my current life status, can't seem to find anything to make me happy. The week she left I was working on converting a Powerwheels Jeep for a friend's son's 4th birthday. Other activities include replacing my truck's fuel pump, upgrading the Harbor Freight portable garage, buying my first kayak, running my brushless converted RC boat in the Cuyahoga, testing a big plane RC motor in the 1/8th scale monster truck, helping my neighbor with fencing side jobs & burning the rotted boards, and rebuilding a garbage picked bike for another friend's kid. Plus I just got a "new" Yard-man lawn mowing tractor that is linked to in my signature.





There has been some tractor usage and progress. It helped moved stuff that my neighbor was burning (he is young and just moved here, so he is making use of my equipment, which I don't mind). It has been going on deep woods expeditions to clear logs off my main path and start the path expansion. Plus I pretty much settled on the rear suspension design, which I am calling an "Articulating Swing Arm". Before I get to that, I need to get the controller and throttle properly mounted.

[adm]BUILD IS ON HOLD, It has been a while since we heard from you! [/adm]

Man I hope you have been able to get your life back. I know how those situations can be. Although your case it was a bit more shocking. I don't know how I missed this update the first time. Please let us know if you plan on continuing the build (might be a good release). I know these situations can be financially stressful and we would like you to focus on YOU first.

Good luck man.

nice what kind of batterys you running and hows the tq with the electric motor

MightyRaze wrote:

[adm]BUILD IS ON HOLD,  It has been a while since we heard from you!   [/adm]

Man I hope you have been able to get your life back.  I know how those situations can be.  Although your case it was a bit more shocking.  I don't know how I missed this update the first time.  Please let us know if you plan on continuing the build (might be a good release).  I know these situations can be financially stressful and we would like you to focus on YOU first.

Good luck man.

I am back and will do my best to finish this thing before the 31st!

Kyracer13 wrote:

nice what kind of batterys you running and hows the tq with the electric motor

I will be posting more information soon.

Excellent!  Welcome back.  I'll take the hold off.

Build-Off is in the final 20 days!  Good Luck!