ZMotorsports Shop Projects 2.0

[zmotorsports]

Best thing to do nowadays is live within your means and pad your bank account. That’s exactly my game plan. Figure in 3 months I will have all three credit cards paid off as well the car. This year I want to also pay property tax in full when it comes due in June. This will free upwards of 1000 per month.

Good to hear you’re on the right track.

I can attest to you that not being saddled by debt is a great feeling.

 

[Bob Heine]

Good to hear you’re on the right track.

I can attest to you that not being saddled by debt is a great feeling.

Mike, I've had the same experience. Once the house was paid off we didn't need as much monthly income and over time that turned into assets that pay me back. My retirement income, 25 years in, is higher than my best year working and the investments continue to grow. Sadly my children live in a different universe.

 

[zmotorsports]

Mike, I've had the same experience. Once the house was paid off we didn't need as much monthly income and over time that turned into assets that pay me back. My retirement income, 25 years in, is higher than my best year working and the investments continue to grow. Sadly my children live in a different universe.

Thanks Bob. That’s all we owe on currently is the house. We had our previous home paid off for 11 years before buying our new home which caused us to go back to having a mortgage. It’s manageable but we’re paying extra plus contributing to our investments in preparation for retirement. I want to go into retirement without the mortgage because we have some expensive hobbies that we want to be able to continue enjoying through retirement.

Glad to hear you have been able to enjoy retirement as long as you have. I love hearing success stories like that. It gives the rest of us inspiration.

 

[zmotorsports]

I’ve had a project sitting on my workbench for way too long. A gentleman my wife works with had asked if I could take a look at an ice cream making machine for him. That was a couple of months ago but I haven’t had time to look at it until this weekend.

It did allow me to finally purchase a dividing head that I’ve wanted for a while. I’m sure I won’t make enough off of this job to pay for it but it’s a start.

This is an old White Mountain ice cream maker. I haven’t seen one of these in nearly 40 years so I eagerly took this project on although I have never cut gears before so I was a little nervous.


A few teeth on this gear will need repairing.


This gear is completely trashed.


Step one was to turn down to the correct OD plus the step which runs in the housing.


Then the setup moved to the milling machine using the new BS-0 dividing head.


Calculation made for the correct plate.


Zeroing in on the top of the shaft.


Zeroing in on the top of the cutter.


Zero the Z-axis on the DRO.


Raised the knee half of the shaft diameter less half the cutter thickness and locked the knee.




Calculated the depth of cut and making the first pass.


Last pass completed.


Cleaned and inspected. SUCCESS!!


Turned the outer end down to .500” for the gear to slide on.


Stay tuned for more work to complete this project. For the first time cutting a gear I am very pleased with the results.

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

Nice job Mike! Any info on the arbor and cutting tool used?

 

[Duker]

Nice job Mike! Any info on the arbor and cutting tool used?

Yeah I am going to have to second that... both on the nice job and the tools you used!


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[stinkity stoink]

Great work. I would think that’s a pricey repair and takes quite while to complete.

 

[loganb]

Excellent work.

Hard to beat home made ice cream on a warm summer day. We would it a couple times a year growing up and always did hand crank with White Mountain mixers. One year we got the power unit for it off a flea market and it made the process much easier!

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[LXCam]

Holy smokes Mike, nice job my friend. That’s gonna be one very expensive ice cream maker when your done or will it become a labor of luv? Kinda reminds me of several one off brackets and AN fittings I’ve had to make in the past. Someone will eventually ask how much that’d cost to make another which get the “ya don’t wanna know” answer.

 

[4 FN 27]

Very Cool Mike!!!

Next time I need an Input Shaft...

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Great job Mike!

 

[gearhead1960]

Impressive work Mike. That ice cream will certainly taste better with Mike's gears in it....

 

[zmotorsports]

Nice job Mike! Any info on the arbor and cutting tool used?

Yeah I am going to have to second that... both on the nice job and the tools you used!


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Thanks guys.

The tooling was purchased from Travers. I bought the R8 shank with the keyed cutter end and after calculating which diametral pitch I needed I also ordered the two DP24 cutters from Travers.

The BS-0 dividing head is a nice Taiwanese unit that I purchased from Matt @ Precision Mathews.

 

[zmotorsports]

Great work. I would think that’s a pricey repair and takes quite while to complete.

Excellent work.

Hard to beat home made ice cream on a warm summer day. We would it a couple times a year growing up and always did hand crank with White Mountain mixers. One year we got the power unit for it off a flea market and it made the process much easier!

Sent from The Garage Journal mobile app

Holy smokes Mike, nice job my friend. That’s gonna be one very expensive ice cream maker when your done or will it become a labor of luv? Kinda reminds me of several one off brackets and AN fittings I’ve had to make in the past. Someone will eventually ask how much that’d cost to make another which get the “ya don’t wanna know” answer.

Very Cool Mike!!!

Next time I need an Input Shaft...

Great job Mike!

Impressive work Mike. That ice cream will certainly taste better with Mike's gears in it....

Thanks guys. Definitely not going to make enough to cover the tools and tooling I had to buy but it will be a start and I now have a dividing head that I've wanted for some time.

This was definitely a learning experience for me as I relied heavily on my Machinist's Handbook for the formulas and charts necessary. My scratch pad looks terrible with all of the mathing that was going on.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

This was definitely a learning experience for me as I relied heavily on my Machinist's Handbook for the formulas and charts necessary. My scratch pad looks terrible with all of the mathing that was going on.

Keeps the brain sharp, right?!

 

[zmotorsports]

Keeps the brain sharp, right?!

Ain't that the truth Marc. I kept calculating and re-calculating to make sure I didn't make a mistake. I finally thought "well, I may as well start cutting and if I made a mistake, I'll have to start over with a new blank." But it turned out great and was a fun learning experience. I actually do really like the learning process just as much as the making money aspect.

 

[aka Larry]

Anyone else expecting a future post where Mike is building new gears for a Swiss watch?

Nice work as always Mike!

 

[zmotorsports]

Anyone else expecting a future post where Mike is building new gears for a Swiss watch?

Nice work as always Mike!

Thanks Vincent. Don't know if I'm ready for watch building but I appreciate the confidence.

 

[casmurbax]

When you first bought that tool I was like WTH is that, I had to go look it up, definitely not one that said to me "buy me now" like some of your other tools you show.

Quite interesting to see how it gets set up and what it allows you to do. Pretty neat.

 

[zmotorsports]

When you first bought that tool I was like WTH is that, I had to go look it up, definitely not one that said to me "buy me now" like some of your other tools you show.

Quite interesting to see how it gets set up and what it allows you to do. Pretty neat.

Yeah, the dividing head is pretty task specific but they work better than a rotary table for cutting splines and/or gears.

 

[zmotorsports]

Last night with the help of a friend we added some exterior lighting to the west side of the house garage to help with lighting of the dead zone on the west side of my house garage leading back to the shop.









There are more pictures over on my shop build thread but this will give you an idea of what we accomplished last night.

 

[quadrcr87]

Should help for clearing snow at night.


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[zmotorsports]

Should help for clearing snow at night.


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Thanks. That was the main goal but just to have the ability to light up the side yard and approach to the shop is a plus. I will like the extra light when backing the coach in the back yard.

 

[GRN96WS6]

What, no dusk til dawn sensors or auto sensors?

[emoji848][emoji57]

 

[zmotorsports]

What, no dusk til dawn sensors or auto sensors?

[emoji848][emoji57]

No. These won't get used unless I'm outside and in need of the light so I don't want nor need them on every evening.

 

[MP&C]

Well done Mike, what time for Ice Cream?? You know you have to fully test it, right?

 

[zmotorsports]

Well done Mike, what time for Ice Cream?? You know you have to fully test it, right?

Thanks Robert. I may have to do a test run.

 

[rmack898]

Mike, you should frame the scratch pad page with all your calculations on it and hang it by the mill.
Years down the road from now and you're making gears for something and doing the calculations in your head, you'll have a good memory of the first gear you cut.

 

[zmotorsports]

Mike, you should frame the scratch pad page with all your calculations on it and hang it by the mill.
Years down the road from now and you're making gears for something and doing the calculations in your head, you'll have a good memory of the first gear you cut.

Good idea Mac. For the time being I stuffed it into my Machinist's Handbook along with several other pages of calculations. The Machinist's Handbook was paramount in obtaining all of my calculations, but I'm sure most everyone already knows that.

 

[38Chevy454]

Neat project making the new gears. Are you planning anything for anti-wear coating or lubricant on the gears? What base material is the gear shaft?

Sent from dumb operator on a smart phone

 

[zmotorsports]

Neat project making the new gears. Are you planning anything for anti-wear coating or lubricant on the gears? What base material is the gear shaft?

Sent from dumb operator on a smart phone

Thanks Terry. I'm not planning on anything other than using grease like what was packed in the cavity from the OEM. I just used some mild steel to machine the splined shaft, similar to what the original one was.

 

[zmotorsports]

I had a guy that I did some work for about ten years ago contact me via one of my YouTube videos over the weekend. He also joined garagejournal recently and asked if I would be willing to do a small job for him.

He had an LS cylinder head with a broken exhaust manifold bolt that also had half of a easy-out broke off in it and asked if I could remove them.



Here you can see the fastener is broken well below the surface with the broken screw extractor even slightly below the fastener.




Here I use the TIG welder to bathe or immerse the end of the fastener with the arc. This will aid in annealing the hardened extractor as well as heat things up uniformly. Once I put some heat into the part I will establish a very small molten puddle using a small tungsten (1/16") and then slowly add some 309 filler rod to build up the center so it is slightly above the surface.


Once the bead profile is slightly above flush I will set a nut in place and fuse the weld profile to the nut. I keep some various sizes of nuts at the ready that have had the coating removed by means of muriatic acid for this purpose.


After the weld is no long glowing red or in the "plastic" state I apply some force and see if it will break loose. Most of time they come right out.


Broken fastener with broken extractor removed.


Next I run a tap or thread chaser through to clean up the threads.


Job completed.




Another successful bolt extraction.

 

[Just Fishing]

Mike = my Obewan Kenobe

 

[zmotorsports]

Mike = my Obewan Kenobe

Thanks Chris. I was happy to be able to help and glad to have been able to save it for you.

Have a Merry Christmas.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Nice work, Mike. That's how I get them out too. Much easier when the head is off!

 

[zmotorsports]

Nice work, Mike. That's how I get them out too. Much easier when the head is off!

Thanks Marc. Agreed, much easier with it sitting on the bench.

Have a Merry Christmas Marc.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Thanks Marc. Agreed, much easier with it sitting on the bench.

Have a Merry Christmas Marc.

Same to you and yours Mike!

 

[Jeff Ivers]

Very nice job on the head repair!

Am I correctly interpreting the steps as:
1-cleaned the debris out of the hole with wire brush and perhaps blown air
2-put bead of weld on top of broken bolt
3-centered nut over hole and welded nut to remains in hole
4- removed nut and damaged bolt with wrench
5- chased the threads with a tap

If so, what prevents the weld from sticking to the head?

 

[zmotorsports]

Very nice job on the head repair!

Am I correctly interpreting the steps as:
1-cleaned the debris out of the hole with wire brush and perhaps blown air
2-put bead of weld on top of broken bolt
3-centered nut over hole and welded nut to remains in hole
4- removed nut and damaged bolt with wrench
5- chased the threads with a tap

If so, what prevents the weld from sticking to the head?

Yes that is pretty much what I did, below is a more detailed account. I think I should have done a better job of documenting the process.

1- cleaned with wire brush and compressed air. The bolt and extractor were well below the surface.

2- use the TIG welder to "bathe" or immerse the end of the fastener and extractor with the arc before adding material. This somewhat anneals the hardened extractor as well as heats things up evenly. I've found if you just jump right in with the arc and start applying filler the fastener actually swells in the hole making removal more difficult rather than easier.

3- after putting some heat into the fastener I focus the arc at the center and just start to get it molten and apply a dab of 309 filler rod. This is where having a foot controller is necessary as at this stage you are increasing and decreasing the amperage in order to build up the profile. Apply some current and melt in some filler, then back off a little to allow it to solidify but keep the arc established. Increase the current and dab again. Lather, rinse, repeat until the bead profile is above the surface.

4- place a nut over the profile and fuse the built up bead to the inside of the nut. I also use nuts with the coating removed at this stage to prevent not only the popping from the zinc coated nut but also to eliminate the possibility of introducing contaminants into the weld which will weaken the already questionable integrity of the small cross sectional area in which will be twisting upon removal. I generally keep a few nuts of various sizes in which I have removed the coating using muriatic acid.

5-once the nut is welded onto the fastener and no longer molten or in "plastic" state, I put a wrench on it and slowly apply force. Most of the time they come right out. On occasion it may require a second attempt but seldom.

6- chase the threads and task completed.

As for what keeps from welding it all together, in this case the head was aluminum but when performing this task on cast iron heads and/or exhaust manifolds you have to be very careful not to fuse the fastener into the part. The key is to use a small tungsten, I usually use 1/16", keep it very pointed and focus the arc on the center of the broken fastener to avoid the internal threads.

I hope that helps and thanks for the comments and for checking out my projects.

 

[PhantomEB]

Extra lighting is always a bonus. Now my GF loves the Christmas lights along the bottom 1/4 of our fence for the dogs....she ain’t said no to rope lighting on a timer for the rest of the year.