question about track tire guides

[flippy]

will 1" width by 5/16" thickness flat bar be sturdy enough to build tire guides?I understand most people use 1 1/2" x 3/16" but I am hoping that that I can use the One inch because it is thicker,However I am concerned that it might bend at the tire sidewall area because it is only 1" wide.

[john swenson]

flippy, i'm thinking what your losing in width strenght wise, you will make up for in the thickness. on my homebuilt halftracks, i spaced the guides about 6'' apart on center. have not had any problems with bends, even with the angle exstensions. i did bend mine with a 45 degree at the corners to follow the tire curve. i think a shape like a staple would bend easier and tend to maybe wobble more. i made a jig and bent mine cold. pretty good workout ! how you going to bend yours ? and only being 1'' wide you may need to space them a little closer. also if you don't put exstensions like i did, you can reinforce the bends with some type of simple gusset. look forward to your progress buddy. johnboy va.

[flippy]

thanks for your help,your the guy I listen to and I am going to try and copy your setup.Your video and pictures are helping me greatly.Did you put extended outer bearing cages on or did you leave your machine stock?I plan on bending my steel in my large vise and using my torches to heat the area cherry red so I can get a good bend.I plan on attaching the belt the same way you did by sandwiching it and welding.I can really appreciate your work,your tracks turned out nice and professional.Thanks for telling me about your bends being 45 degrees,I thought they had to be 90's.Also.thanks for telling me about the spacing being 6".All of your trial and error and experiance you have done and the fact you are sharing it is awesome!

[flippy]

I plan on making the guides 5" in height on the sides ,do you think that is good?

[john swenson]

flippy, glad to help. i sure have done alot of trial and error and feel like i finally have the tracks working well. the 5'' sides are plenty. one thing i discovered was with the angle extensions on, if one side of the track grabbed harder than the other, the track would ''rack''. in other words the guides would end up at a angle instead of straight across the tire. if you use a solid belt for the track, even though it's sandwiched between the guide and a top metal piece, it still needs to be bolted on each end thru the 2 metal pieces and the rubber. i used 1/4'' bolts with lock nuts. this stops the racking. you can still go back and cut out squares on the rubber between the guides to get mud and snow out. now, depending on your tire size and clearance from the tub instead of using flat bar for the top piece you could use 1/4'' angle. it would grab better in mud and snow,but depending on how close apart you put the guides it could be alittle rough on hard ground. also since you will bolt the top metal piece thru the rubber then the guide,no need to weld it at the ends. keep asking what you need. glad to help and want them to turn out nice for you. johnboy va.

[john swenson]

also, the first time i made the tracks i did'nt have the extra outer angle extensions with the extra 2'' belts. so they fit the max without rubbing the tub. next i added just the outer belt and still worked fine. but when i added the inside 2'' belt i had to buy the 5'' wheel exstensions yo clear the side of the tub. i have the tracks off now so i'm going to take a few closeup pictures this weekend so it will show more detail of the latest mods. and no,i didn't add extra outer bearing cages. so far no bent axles. also i can let you know of another easier way to make the tracks that you may like better. johnboy va,

[flippy]

Thanks a million,I will have to get some pics up of my progress,I made 1 tire guide today and I did have to use my torches in order to bend it.I am going to have to figure out how I can make a jig so they are all the same.I am in no hurry and want to do it right the first time.

[tattooman]

John, what kind of axel do you have? Hollow ,solid or splined.

[john swenson]

tattoo, they are the solid splined buddy. in fact i leave my wheel exstensions on even with tracks off, one less step when i want to use them. looks kinda cool too. was going to tell flippy if he had a strong log splitter, he could make a jig and use that to press his guide shapes. johnboy va.