1 1/4 Splined axle upgrade

[racerone3]

Last fall at the Busco ride, I swore that I would upgrade my Attex Wild Wolf to 1 1/4 axles before I built another machine. 3 machines later, I'm finally getting around to it... on a different machine. Last month I started accumulating parts to upgrade the Wolf and the Tank Trainer to Argo axles. The Wolf was still at McCoys house, so the tank trainer got pulled into the shop.

I am lucky to have an awesome Argo dealer locally, who donated all the axles that I will need. They are used axles from machines that he is updating to the new HDI bearing setup.
Next I located a 6 spline hub to fit the axles at Surplus Center - W1-1/4SP6 1-1/4" 6 SPLINE BORE HUB and ordered enough to do every sprocket in both machines (failed to factor in the rotors, so I will need 4 more down the road)
using the lathe, I machined off the weld and knocked the old sprockets off their tubes (luckily all my sprockets are in good shape)
next I opened up the center hole in the sprocket until it was a press fit onto the hub
here is one sprocket and one rotor pressed in place.
I am resisting the temptation to weld them this weekend with the MIG in favor of taking them to work monday and using the TIG machine. I'm afraid with the MIG I may get too much heat and distort the splines.
The front and rear axles in the Tank Trainer will work great, but all 4 center axles will require that the spline be lengthened about an inch.
Next I need to build a jig to drill the frame and body for the Argo flanges, and get the fronts done.
The nice thing about this mod is that I can do one axle at a time and the machine will still be useable between. I hope to knock out the front and rear axles in the next week, then start studying on my best option for lengthening the splines.

once the 2 attex's are done, the Hustler will get the same mod. No chance of Argo axles working in that one though. I will have Whipper build axles for that machine whenever it's time comes

[micmac]

Looks great Race. Without setscrews how will you locat the hub on the axle?

[racerone3]

I failed to mention that Micmac. I will drill and tap the hubs for set screws except for the ones at the brake rotors, those will be held pretty well captive by the caliper, but still be allowed to "float" on the axle

[micmac]

Here is a similar hub but with setscrews. It's 3x as much but just incase someone wanted the setscrew version out the gate.

X11406P - 1-1/4 x 6 Spline Bore Hub

[racerone3]

Impatience got the best of me as it usually does. I decided to try MIG welding a hub to a sprocket figuring I was only out $4.19 if I ruined a hub. It worked fine so I went ahead with the other rotor and sprockets for the front axles. As I'm using used axles, some of the splines are a bit beat up, so I had to spend some time cleaning them up.

Next I built a (crude) jig to redrill the frame and body for the larger 62mm bearing flanges. the jig also can be bolted to the inside of the frame to use as a guide for a hole saw to open up the hole in the body and skid plate making room for the bearing flange

I discovered that the cast Argo flanges may not work for me. The hole in the attex frame that the set screw portion of the bearing race would pass through isn't big enough. There isn't a lot of meat there so I'm not sure I want to open up the hole any more... still studying on that one.

I was all set last night to redrill some old Hustler flanges to a 4 bolt pattern and install the front axles using the spare ecentric collar bearings that I had on the shelf for Beth's max, but when I dug them out I discovered that B-lo Bearing had sent the wrong ones. I will give Greg a call tomorrow and get that sorted out

[racerone3]

Monday's lunch hour was spent making my first attempt at extending splines. 18 milling operations per axle using a 1/4" end mill. The first one took the entire hour. Today I was able to get back on the mill and found the order of cuts that seems to be most efficient. Managed to get 2 axles done today. Tomorrow I will knock out the last one I need for the Tank trainer and a spare for the bucket.
I hadn't run a mill in 6 years and had never attempted splines, but it went smoothly and I'm happy with how they came out... even happier that I was able to do the job myself!

Bearings should roll in in the next day or two. Tomorrow I will probably pull an all nighter getting the rest of the machine torn down and machining/ welding sprockets.

I looked at the Wild wolf the other night and I think it will be a really easy upgrade. None of the axles should need the splines extended. The only hurdle I see in that machine is needing to space the inner bearing out from the frame rail about an inch. I have a few ideas in mind and will see which I like once she makes it into the shop for surgery

[lewis]

Looking good there Race!

[LarryW]

Nice work!!! Great upgrade. Looks like you are enjoying the new lathe.

[jpswift1]

Amazing work, Brian! I think the only major downfall in any of the Attex drivetrains is the 1" non splined axles. Now your machines will be bulletproof........I believe the description is quite fitting, especially for the tank trainer

[JoeMeg]

Thanks Brian,saw this thread after I posted the ? on the pic . I'll go online and get the p/n's from Argo part man's for various machines and see how those compare. For the spline "extension" operation ( Whipper would probably enjoy chocking us both right now) there are "saw" type cutters for milling machines called Keyseat cutter and/or woodruff key cutter(journeyman machinists feel free to edit) that just may suffice. Might you have available the scratch paper you laid out the dim's for the template on?
IDK if this will work but I'll try, http://www.americastoolcrib.com/cgi/...WORD=DH6010214

Joe.