Skaldiddog's "Progress"

[SkaldidDog]

Damn those are sexy axles Rob.

Update on my cases...all are being re-cut from scratch following a less than optimal final assembly. The new ones will be mill finish for that bling look. I'll post pics when I get an update. Not holding my breath on having them ready for AZ.

J

[rob_b]

"less than optimal"

What was wrong exactly?


You could always send me some material so that I could take a shot at them.

[SkaldidDog]

Originally Posted by rob_b

"less than optimal"

What was wrong exactly?


You could always send me some material so that I could take a shot at them.

The cases would not close completely with gears in them as the depth of the cases and bearing bosses were a little off. Now that he hast the gears to play with he's starting over. I figured it would take 3-4 months to get them done and he's right on schedule.

You got CAD files for stock cases?

J

[ittybitty]

Joel...just curious here...if you're going through the motions to make new cases couldn't you make a few more changes and come out with an even better end product? Seems like you could slim the cases down in a few spots and maybe move the motor around a little. Two of the biggest things I notice when going between my XR and Berg are that the trans case gets hung on ridges and makes the truck hold a line that I don't necessarily want it to...or it butts up against something and requires some "forceful" driving to free it and the other thing is that the rear motor is so far out in front of the tubes. Neither of these changes would require different tubes or lockers so that's what got me wondering.

The changes you've made are nice...subtle and necessary. That 7075 is gonna slide beautifully as well

[rob_b]

Originally Posted by SkaldidDog

You got CAD files for stock cases?

I do

[SkaldidDog]

Originally Posted by ittybitty

Joel...just curious here...if you're going through the motions to make new cases couldn't you make a few more changes and come out with an even better end product? Seems like you could slim the cases down in a few spots and maybe move the motor around a little. Two of the biggest things I notice when going between my XR and Berg are that the trans case gets hung on ridges and makes the truck hold a line that I don't necessarily want it to...or it butts up against something and requires some "forceful" driving to free it and the other thing is that the rear motor is so far out in front of the tubes. Neither of these changes would require different tubes or lockers so that's what got me wondering.

The changes you've made are nice...subtle and necessary. That 7075 is gonna slide beautifully as well

Custom cases are cool but if I do decide to sell them to a few gents I want them to be universal. Your points are valid but given the effort it has taken to reproduce the stock ones I now see how big of a nightmare tuning custom ones would be. If I had the CAD/CNC in my garage you bet they'd be one off wicked. But as it stands, they will wear in, slide a lot better than stock and look great. I consider them an improvement but not perfect.

Originally Posted by rob_b

I do

What size block?

[rob_b]

It would probably be best to prototype from Delrin before dropping the coin on a 7075. A blank size of 4"x3"x5/8" per case half.

[phllint]

I do have a CNC router in my garage if that helps. I even have a big chunk of 1" thick chunk of delrin that I haven't touched since I got it and can get more for nothing. I also have extra Ti-Fighters if you want to look at them and take some measurements cause they are small and have rearranged gears and motor mounts. Let me know if I can help in any way :-)

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

[SkaldidDog]

Originally Posted by rob_b

It would probably be best to prototype from Delrin before dropping the coin on a 7075. A blank size of 4"x3"x5/8" per case half.

Thanks for the offer. Let's talk in AZ. Looking forward to hanging out.

Originally Posted by phllint

I do have a CNC router in my garage if that helps. I even have a big chunk of 1" thick chunk of delrin that I haven't touched since I got it and can get more for nothing. I also have extra Ti-Fighters if you want to look at them and take some measurements cause they are small and have rearranged gears and motor mounts. Let me know if I can help in any way :-)

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

Thanks for the offer Ph. I'd love to see those TiFi's but don't plan on replicating them. Too much work. Let me know if you ever want to part with them. They are cool as hell. My machinist is still in the trenches so no word yet.

In the meantime I shortened my shock cap mods by 0.112". This lowered the rig by about 0.2". I lowered my battery tray by 0.15" back to it's original location and am running less pre-load on the rears, more rear limiting, less limiting on the front and lighter oil all the way around. The rig handles better now. After many hours of driving and tweaking this setup I'm quite pleased. Only downside is that I had to go back to the hood-less shell due to the body getting all up in the front end. I also moved the BEC back to the chassis for safety and binding issues. I knocked it off flailing on my roof at the West Coast RC finals. But I didn't take a rollover. I like the look better without the BEC hanging out front. The significantly lower COG of the lower rig offsets the BEC move back to the chassis.

Sorry BC but I just can't bring myself to do this to the body you did for me. Everyone that sees it in my garage asks me about it.



Finally made some RC friendly vise jaws from black delrin.



And some under-cabinet banana hangers.



That is what happens when I have spare time and Clown Oil.


Looking forward to fun AZ road trip and comp!!!

[Bc Paints]

Originally Posted by SkaldidDog

Sorry BC but I just can't bring myself to do this to the body you did for me. Everyone that sees it in my garage asks me about it.!

That's cool, you can wear it like a hat

[rob_b]

Originally Posted by SkaldidDog

Let's talk in AZ. Looking forward to hanging out.

I'll be there Saturday with the sole intention of hanging out

I like how your stickers are low and to the front on your body. I would hate to see them throw off your balance otherwise.

[SkaldidDog]

Originally Posted by rob_b

I'll be there Saturday with the sole intention of hanging out

I like how your stickers are low and to the front on your body. I would hate to see them throw off your balance otherwise.

Hopefully you bring your Twin rig so I can see your nice work.

So after all of these years of [accidental] toe in I've decided to remake my steering linkage and move the bearing holes inward to parallel with the kingpins so that I ain't go toe no mo'. Got some 7075-T651 from Switzerland. Hardest alloy de aluminum I could find. Took three weeks to get it dangit. New linkage will be smaller but just as strong or stronger than the current one.



The question is do I bust butt and do it in the next 48hrs or wait till after AZ. We'll see.

J

[nappahdog]

Originally Posted by Bc Paints

That's cool, you can wear it like a hat

build a sporty!

[Diamond D]

Hey Joel,
Just curious why you had to buy the aluminum from switzerland? Looks like www.onlinemetals.com has 7075-T6. Although not sure if there is a difference between 7075-T6 and 7075-T651 though.

[EverettY]

I was just thinking of your rig this morning and wondering why you never got around to making a new steering link LOL.... Good luck in AZ and have fun!

[SkaldidDog]

Originally Posted by nappahdog

build a sporty!

No.

Originally Posted by Diamond D

Hey Joel,
Just curious why you had to buy the aluminum from switzerland? Looks like www.onlinemetals.com has 7075-T6. Although not sure if there is a difference between 7075-T6 and 7075-T651 though.

I like that site but I needed mill ready blank of a specific size of highest tensile and yield I could find. This part will be smaller than the one it replaces. McMaster sourced it, I technically bought it from Switzerland via LA. Online metals can take a while to ship even with repeated reminders. McMaster is usually next day to me. This time that was not the case however.

Originally Posted by EverettY

I was just thinking of your rig this morning and wondering why you never got around to making a new steering link LOL.... Good luck in AZ and have fun!

Time for the old one to go for sure.

J

[rob_b]

Last minute vehicle prep/fab is where the fun is at!

http://tciprecision.com/machine-ready-blanks

Not sure on their prices but I am considering looking into using them next "production run" I do.

[SkaldidDog]

Originally Posted by rob_b

Last minute vehicle prep/fab is where the fun is at!

Ironically quite true.

J

[SkaldidDog]

So I put in ~4hrs yesterday and knocked out design and workholding. I had to make a 6061 mounting plate as part of this. I even test fit a bearing in the 7075 plate. I learned from VP to do test cuts/fits in the exact material you are going to use as 6061 and 7075 "get out of the way" of cutting tools in different manners.





Thanks for the blem gold Voodoo Matt.



My hat was actually a little loose and now it fits nice and snug.

Tonight will be a time crunch to finish, pack, do the yard and get some sleep. Fun stuff.

J

[SkaldidDog]

Was a madman last Thurs night and finished my steering link in a functional sense, just in time for the comp this past weekend. I'll knock out the cosmetic cuts tonight and share some pics tomorrow.

J