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Making a homemade tram gauge

J

JeepsAreBuilt

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I'm planning on making a tram gauge.. and wanted to run my idea by you guys, before I commit to ordering the materials. I think it'll work well, if the materials are what I'm wanting it to be.

The tram bar will be square aluminum tubing, 1" with 1/8" wall. I'll be getting various lengths so I can have a short, medium, long sizes. I haven't handled raw tubing like this before.. would a 8' long piece in this size be pretty rigid ? or slightly bendy ?

I found a website on line where I can order this tubing, it is 6061.. the 1" stuff at this link: https://www.onlinemetals.com/merchant.cfm?pid=18014&step=4&showunits=inches&id=1270&top_cat=60

I plan on making the sliding point holders out of 1.25" tubing with 1/8" wall. I'm wanting this tubing to slide over the 1" tram bar tubing.. Will this work ? The 1.25" with 1/8" wall will have a I.D of 1". So, will it slide over ok ? I'm thinking the aluminum has no welded seam inside it, and the inside bends will not be too rounded so it'll make a interference fit between the tubing ?

Has anyone used a online source to order aluminum tubing and was the service ?
 
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LXCam

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I use that stuff all the time and it's no where near accurate enough for what you're wanting to do. Why do you want to be able to slide it, 6" apart is fine for tramming. I'd suggest just using solid bar stock, but in order to make it dead square, you need to tram the head ;)
 
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mike13u

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6061-T6 will not often telescope (fit inside) although the dimensions say that it should. 6005A-T6 aluminum square tube and 6063-T832 in aluminum round tube will telescope.
 
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K

kazlx

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I'm all for building stuff, but the Edge Technologies one is $100 and pretty damn hard to beat for the price. If you do build one, everything should be fixed in position. Anything that slides or moves is just going to cause problems.
 
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mike13u

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kazlx said:
I'm all for building stuff, but the Edge Technologies one is $100 and pretty damn hard to beat for the price. If you do build one, everything should be fixed in position. Anything that slides or moves is just going to cause problems.
Click to expand...

Agree 100%. I own the Edge Tech one as well. I don't want to discourage anyone from making their own tools but it's going to be hard to beat this one when time and money are a consideration.
 
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J

JeepsAreBuilt

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mike13u said:
6061-T6 will not often telescope (fit inside) although the dimensions say that it should. 6005A-T6 aluminum square tube and 6063-T832 in aluminum round tube will telescope.
Click to expand...

This is what I want to know.. if the tubing will telescope. Where can I get 6005A-T6 aluminum square tubing ? I'm willing to use solid square bar instead if it will telescope better. It'll be a bit heavier.

I think you guys may be thinking of a different type of "tram gauge" than I am thinking. Mine is for doing chassis work, point to point measurements, uni body collision repairs.. here is a example of what I want to build: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tram-Suspen...:g:KhwAAOxy9tpR8cjv&item=221865874025&vxp=mtr
 
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mike13u

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Yes, you are correct. We were talking about tramming a machine head.
And no, 'off the shelf' 6061 and 6063 SQ tube doesnt telescope well. UPS will ship an 8ft piece of aluminum (105" is the max). My suggestion would be to do a Google search for the 6005A-T6 or 'telescoping aluminum' and see if someone is willing to ship to you in the quantity you need.
 
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J

JeepsAreBuilt

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Thanks for the tip !

I didnt find much in the sizes I want. What I wanted was 1" and 1.25" tubing.. which I found but with .110" wall. And the specs say it'll have .013 clearance on each side.. making it have a .026 total slop.. almost 1/32". I'm not too thrilled with those specs.

Just wondering.. what makes the 6061 tubing not telescope ? I only need a 3" length peice of 1.25" to slide over the 1" bar I was originally thinking of using. Could I possibly file inside the ID of the 1.25" or round off the corners of the 1" to make the project work ?

Another idea would to be put UHMV plastic tape with .010" thickness on the inside surface of the 1.25" telescoping tubing to give it a tighter fit.
 
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astroracer

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You are making it too difficult. I tram my mill in with the rods from my dial indicator stand. Take the base off and chuck the rod in a 1/2" end mill holder and tram away... takes about 10 minutes for the whole procedure...
Mark
 
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manwithtools

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Try this: https://alcobrametals.com/products/telescoping-tube/telescoping-aluminum-square-tube/6005a-t6-telescoping-square-tube

Might be tricky to have a clamp mechanism, I suppose you could weld some thicker plate to the outer tube and thread a Helicoil into it to thread a camp bolt through. Looks like the eBay version you referenced uses plastic thumbscrews - not a great design if you ask me. It does not look like the thumbscrew threads thru enough material, I'll bet you strip them out within three or four uses.

I'd be tempted to make a clamping plate on the sliding outer members that you could equip with a tee handle.
 
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J

JeepsAreBuilt

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racingtadpole said:
How are you going to lock the 1 1/4 in place? Unless I'm missing something you will need some form of positive engagement to make the sections of larger tube stay where you want them.
Click to expand...

I'll use a bolt or some kind.. plastic or metal, a thumb bolt or one with wings. drill and thread the tubing.. and add some meat for more threads if I need to. I may put in 2 bolts to lock the sliding section in place well.

I'm now wanting to get some of that 6061 tubing and try to see if I can get it work.
 
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