Project Frankensquare

[Will L.]

This is all looking great.

 

[Husker6.5]

That new lower mount design looks like it can handle the torque load much better that your first "stick" design, Nate.

 

[n8in8or]

I got the chassis turned around. After that I made a crossmember for the rear and removed the temporary crossmembers.



I spent more time planning the dump bed hinges. I’m going to let it marinate in my brain for a bit before I do any cutting.

 

[n8in8or]

I was dealing with some stomach bug so I didn’t get out to work on it for the last two nights. Tonight I made good progress on the dump hinges. I first lopped off the back of the frame and cut the hole for the outer “race” with the plasma.



After that I grabbed a couple pieces of DOM I had originally cut for another application and welded them in as the “race”. Then I welded in some pieces of 1/4” plate to cap off the end of the frame and wrap the race for a little extra support.



This will give me a pair of dump hinges with a 1.5” diameter pin. Should be plenty strong.

 

[Will L.]

Your nice work makes me miss my fabricating days. Keep it up.

 

[n8in8or]

Thanks Will, it’s been pretty fun overall. It feels good to see real progress.

 

[jrsavoie]

Thanks Will, it’s been pretty fun overall. It feels good to see real progress.

I could have sent you home with some 1-1/2" ID hollow shaft. I'm pretty sure I still have some. Must be about 2-1/2" O.D. I don't remember giving it away, but that doesn't mean anything

 

[n8in8or]

I could have sent you home with some 1-1/2" ID hollow shaft. I'm pretty sure I still have some. Must be about 2-1/2" O.D. I don't remember giving it away, but that doesn't mean anything

I appreciate that, unfortunately when I saw you last March, I was about 8 months from even knowing I was going to be doing this project. I got this tubing locally when I was working on the bushing for the front upper shackle hanger. When I measured it with a tape measure at the place, it looked to be 2-1/8" OD and 1-1/2" ID, which was perfect. Unfortunately, when I went to use it I found the bushing fit loose.....that's when I got out the calipers and found the ID was actually around 1.550", but that was actually perfect for this application.

 

[n8in8or]

I wanted to add some gussets to the front hoist crossmember. I had made some gussets earlier that were too big for a different crossmember, but fit nicely here, so I cut a piece of 2” square and added another complete crossmember just for funsies.

 

[Husker6.5]

I think you just like finding excuses to do some more welding!

 

[Will L.]

I think he needs to do some welding on a tahoe that needs to go faster…

 

[n8in8or]

I think he needs to do some welding on a tahoe that needs to go faster…

I want to be mad at this........but you're right.

 

[Husker6.5]

But first, there's that skidsteer!

 

[n8in8or]

But first, there's that skidsteer!

I knew this was coming..... I couldn't think of how to get in front of it though!

 

[Husker6.5]

You should just nickname your skidsteer Nike - Just Do It!

 

[SnowDrift]

Will you be using bushings for the pivot pins?

 

[n8in8or]

Will you be using bushings for the pivot pins?

I won’t be using bushings, but I will be adding grease zerks so I can keep them greased.

 

[jrsavoie]

I won’t be using bushings, but I will be adding grease zerks so I can keep them greased.

Might be good to groove or bore the pins.
I think you said there was plenty of slop in the pins, so that would not be necessary

 

[SnowDrift]

Nice snug pins will keep it useable for much longer. The sloppier they are, the more they will peen.

 

[n8in8or]

Might be good to groove or bore the pins.
I think you said there was plenty of slop in the pins, so that would not be necessary

Yeah, there’s about .050” clearance, so there’s plenty of room for the grease to move around.

Nice snug pins will keep it useable for much longer. The sloppier they are, the more they will peen.

I get that, and was tempted to go that route, but the more I thought about it, the more I convinced myself that I’ll be ok with some slop. This truck is going to primarily be a flatbed truck that happens to have dump capabilities. It will do a lot of dumps to start when I move the pile of dirt, but after that dumping will be a pretty few and far between. The clearance gives me some allowance for any misalignment, so that’s helpful. Also, I did buy a pair of prefab dump hinges that I decided to not use, but what I did notice is they too had a similar amount of clearance, so that gave me some more reassurance.