Skaldiddog's "Progress"

[SkaldidDog]

Originally Posted by RcBro

Joel,
It was really great meeting you and hanging out at BOTW this past weekend. Many laughs and fun times! Running the courses with the 4 of us was one of the best times I've had in a long time, just wish I could have finished our last course so I could have place alittle higher, none the less very fun times! Seeya in March

Hey Will,

Great to finally meet you as well. That sure was a blast. You guys were troopers running 48 hours without sleep. I would have crashed and burned big time. Hope to see you at the next one. Thanks for bringing your killer lockers to the market. They rock.

J


Fab'd a new skid last night. The old one was severely worn after a year or so and the chassis rails were taking a little too much abuse. The new one extends 0.050 below the rails for a little protection.

[Hittman]

Looks good man. The machining on it is cool

[SkaldidDog]

Originally Posted by Hittman

Looks good man. The machining on it is cool

Gracias Hittman.

Some more cool for you. Many folks have commented on how short my rear uppers are so I figured I'd make some that are the same length as my rear lowers to see if there is a difference in performance. Just mocked it up with Ti links and will make the CF ones tonight. An immediate difference is that the chassis now does the "cradle rock" when you alternately torque the front and rear axle by hand. Not sure if this will mean anything on the rocks. Comments appreciated. The mount is a little heavier but meh...what's a gram when it looks that much better than my old rookie mount.

I've always found that tapping 7075 in a #43 hole was tight the deeper the tap went. Turns out I'm not the only one. Some genius made vanadium coated taps especially shaped for tapping aluminum (top). Standard tap below for comparison. Man the difference the right tool makes. You gotta try them (McMaster).

Next pic is just what it looks like after an evening of fun milling. Making a mess is half of the fun.

Next is one of SDS's Super300 seconds with a press fit hardened steel pin ready for install. The gear/pin presses into the larger gear as well for no slop at all. Thanks again John.

J

[ROWDY RACING]

What's the length difference between the old and new uppers?

[DickyT]

Nice work on the new link mount Joel, I look forward to seeing it "finished". Do you plan to chamfer edges, polish it, or any other nice finishing touches?

Chamfered edges will remove a little more weight and it looks like you could remove quite a bit without affecting the part strength for your application. being that is 7075.

Very nice milling vise!

[SkaldidDog]

Originally Posted by ROWDY RACING

What's the length difference between the old and new uppers?

Close to half of an inch.

Originally Posted by DickyT

Nice work on the new link mount Joel, I look forward to seeing it "finished". Do you plan to chamfer edges, polish it, or any other nice finishing touches?

Chamfered edges will remove a little more weight and it looks like you could remove quite a bit without affecting the part strength for your application. being that is 7075.

Very nice milling vise!

Thanks DickyT. I'll do some cosmetic work on it as you suggest...if it passes functional testing. A agree it could lose a little material without impacting strength. I purchased a polished mill ready blank (with certificate) of some wicked 7075 but didn't use it. It's too pretty to mess up so I used some old scrap for this mount. Yes I love the vice. Best investment yet for my mill and it can press fit a round peg into a square hole.

[Frankenwheely]

Like that new tap you found. I don't know how many tips I have broke it the past.

[Harvo]

Nice work. I like the hole in the center. It gives it 70s flair

[HARDKNOCKZ]

Congrats brutha...on....well YOU know

[Frankenwheely]

Originally Posted by HARDKNOCKZ

Congrats brutha...on....well YOU know

I heard that it was Very Personal information.

[TSK]

Regarding rear upper link lengths on a Berg axle...

I noticed with too long a rear upper (especially with high clearance lowers) that the WB change during suspension cycle is pretty big. With the long uppers, as the suspension droops out, the axle will clock backwards, raising the motor and cause the rear axle to rotate under the lower ink mount, causing additional WB change.

Conversely, too short of a rear upper will cause the motor to tip forward and down, resulting in less GC, and also a shorter wheelbase.

Due to the immense vertical link seperation on the Berg axle, and how far forward the upper links mount on the case, I stil think you need uppers that are shorter than the lowers to keep the axle clock in check during suspension cycle. your custom link mount howeer, looks more vertical and rearward compared to the standard link mount, so you might be better off with closer to equal length links.

[SkaldidDog]

Originally Posted by TheSCorpionKing

Regarding rear upper link lengths on a Berg axle...

I noticed with too long a rear upper (especially with high clearance lowers) that the WB change during suspension cycle is pretty big. With the long uppers, as the suspension droops out, the axle will clock backwards, raising the motor and cause the rear axle to rotate under the lower ink mount, causing additional WB change.

Conversely, too short of a rear upper will cause the motor to tip forward and down, resulting in less GC, and also a shorter wheelbase.

Due to the immense vertical link seperation on the Berg axle, and how far forward the upper links mount on the case, I stil think you need uppers that are shorter than the lowers to keep the axle clock in check during suspension cycle. your custom link mount howeer, looks more vertical and rearward compared to the standard link mount, so you might be better off with closer to equal length links.

Thanks Scorpion. Good points. I'll install both setups and cycle everything monitoring WB and rear clock angle to see the pros and cons.

J

[SkaldidDog]

Originally Posted by HARDKNOCKZ

Congrats brutha...on....well YOU know

Originally Posted by Frankenwheely

I heard that it was Very Personal information.

Gracias fellas.

I drove the new setup with longer rears for a pack or two...then the ESCs died after over a year of heavy use. Slapped the backup ESCs in but it was too dark to do any running. New ESCs on the way from my favorite Tower Hobbies and will call the gents at CC to see what can be done with the old ones. Will update on the links after a reasonable test session. In order to see how the fully integrated changes will work I went ahead and made CF upper rears with my standard fancy 7075 adapters. The adapters weigh half of what a steel grub screw does and the CF links fully assembled weigh half of what Ti ones do. Key to link assembly with two-part epoxy is the small vent hole in the CF tube. Use a pin vice and drill the smallest hole possible. I've noted no strength issues with such a hole.

[ittybitty]

Those adapters are just plain sexy...very nice work Joel!

[HARDKNOCKZ]

Ya got some SERIOUS machining skills...for a cholo that is

Your rig & skills never cease to amaze me brutha. I dig that you push the boundaries & bring your own visions to fruition...with your own 2 paws. Nice works as always.

J.D.

[TSK]

Originally Posted by SkaldidDog

Gracias fellas.

I drove the new setup with longer rears for a pack or two...then the ESCs died after over a year of heavy use. Slapped the backup ESCs in but it was too dark to do any running. New ESCs on the way from my favorite Tower Hobbies and will call the gents at CC to see what can be done with the old ones. Will update on the links after a reasonable test session. In order to see how the fully integrated changes will work I went ahead and made CF upper rears with my standard fancy 7075 adapters. The adapters weigh half of what a steel grub screw does and the CF links fully assembled weigh half of what Ti ones do. Key to link assembly with two-part epoxy is the small vent hole in the CF tube. Use a pin vice and drill the smallest hole possible. I've noted no strength issues with such a hole.

That's damn trick. What size CF tube do you use? My friend was tryin something similar but the ends of the tube kept splitting under big loads.

[scatterbrains]

Very nice Joel, those inserts look like cleaning jags can you make thim in 17 cal

[Harvo]

Looks like the tinkerings of a weight weenie

Nice work! Very shiny. I like shiny things.

[SkaldidDog]

Originally Posted by ittybitty

Those adapters are just plain sexy...very nice work Joel!

Originally Posted by HARDKNOCKZ

Ya got some SERIOUS machining skills...for a cholo that is

Your rig & skills never cease to amaze me brutha. I dig that you push the boundaries & bring your own visions to fruition...with your own 2 paws. Nice works as always.

J.D.

Thanks gents.

Originally Posted by TheSCorpionKing

That's damn trick. What size CF tube do you use? My friend was tryin something similar but the ends of the tube kept splitting under big loads.

It's about 0.250 OD. Just using arrow blanks. Never had any splitting issues.

Originally Posted by scatterbrains

Very nice Joel, those inserts look like cleaning jags can you make thim in 17 cal

Only for you sweet thang!

Originally Posted by Harvo

Looks like the tinkerings of a weight weenie

Nice work! Very shiny. I like shiny things.

Damn weight weenies. We got nothing better to do than to blindly go lightweight. As usual any weight weenie exercises I do are offset by the pound under the front axles. Thanks Harvo.

[d-wray]

You have way too much time on your hands. I think you need another kid nice work Joel