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e's ExMT

...And cut off the ball end, and extend the shaft to the correct length. It would be about $40 for all 4 axles to do this.
If you can get these turned for $10, PM me for a quote on a CAD conversion from my "napkin" sketches? The Grizzly is fine for protos, but tedious for production.
 
If you use a 6mm bearing, the walls of the socket would be thin. I'm not sure they would hold up. At 8, with my 4.5mm Savage CVs, they are stout.

7mm bearings are probably as small as the design can help with.

You could turn the ends to fit just the ends of the Max tubes. It's almost too easy... but, you'll still have that curve.

I just looked at the stock tubes, and wow, they are pretty far from being straight. Took a straight edge, lined it up with the king pin screws, and it was quite far from centered over the axle. I now notice what you are talking about with the tubes looking like a sagging candle, but looking at the other axle, it is exactly the same off track. So, I'm starting to think the mold is actually off.

I wonder how hard it would be to get a delrin tube made for these that would replace the stock tube and allow any type of hub/knuckle we wanted to use?
 
It would be no harder than doing the M/M conversion, just time consuming. It's whatever it takes to set up the rotary table for the screws through the flange, and 1 pass to make the clearance for the trans bearing boss... link/shock mounts... and C hub attachment.

The reason I went with mods instead of custom is that unless your shop works for min wage... the true cost of the tubes gets absurd pretty quick. And, except for the better looks (?) there is no real difference. I have never been the type to try to scare people off the starting line with "high tech". I prefer to whup them with stuff they didn't see coming. The looks on their faces when they realize they can't play the "outspent me" card, can sometimes be priceless. :mrgreen:

If you can come up with customs that cost me less than my shop rate... you have a loyal customer for them, right here.

I messed with turning some steel tubes to 1mm wall... it's strong as hell, and pretty light. Anything to get some real alignment will help.
 
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1 down.

All but the axle flats are done on the lathe, with no tube/stub repositioning on the mandrel (1/4 turn the tool post, once). The next 7 won't take me quite as long...
 

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The venom parts are pretty good but I use them on my super and have broken a few of them. Now the aluminum ones are nice and stout. I'll get you some measurments later today. When I get home.

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk
 
Thanks. I'm just playing with some ideas while waiting on the parts.

This thing got really rigid, really quick. I shaved the mounts flush with the tube, and set it with 4mm screws. Most of this will be cut away once everything is mounted... there is plenty of room to play. I swapped sides on the Cs, so at 10* caster, the brace is tilted back enough to even the leading edge up with the front of the tubes.
 

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I've got some ideas on how to do the servo brackets on this setup. I'm stoked about how these are going to turn out. I noticed you have the knuckles backwards, are you gonna do a bta setup?

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk
 
I've got some ideas on how to do the servo brackets on this setup. I'm stoked about how these are going to turn out. I noticed you have the knuckles backwards, are you gonna do a bta setup?
Yup... sorta bta, sorta ota.

I'm waiting to test your UJs before I commit to the steering dimensions. I suspect M stuck gold with that find. We'll get the most out of them, in any case.

The knuckle arms may end up gone. I have a knuckle weight system in the works that will also incorporate high steer/zero ackerman arms. I'm trying hard to keep this simple, and to set this up so the most easily broken parts will be stock, stout, and modded as little/simply as possible. So far, the Cs look like they will not be modded, and are cheap enough to buy by the bushel.

Here's a pic of the fit on the servo. Lots of options here, if I break down and pay for 1 decent servo, I can put the batts/rx on the axle, too. With the ESC mounted with the clamp, that would put an entire powerplant on each axle... leaving the chassis empty, and ready for the stand-alone cam system.

A, unless you say otherwise, I'm going to mill your mount's tops flush. The alignment we worked for will be nearly set in stone, if you make a rigid brace.
 

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The only thing that doens't thrill me about he knuclkes is that they aren't zero ackermen. It almost seams like they will hinder the stearing a little bit unless you cut them off and drill a new stearing mount hold in the position that would make them zero ackerman.
 
Superb info. Thanks, man!

You're right, by the time you mod the arms, and bring the pivot point up... it gets ugly.

I'm on this. When we have hard #s on the UJs, I'll cut something we can ponder. In too deep to stop now...

:mrgreen:
 
Yup... sorta bta, sorta ota.

I'm waiting to test your UJs before I commit to the steering dimensions. I suspect M stuck gold with that find. We'll get the most out of them, in any case.

The knuckle arms may end up gone. I have a knuckle weight system in the works that will also incorporate high steer/zero ackerman arms. I'm trying hard to keep this simple, and to set this up so the most easily broken parts will be stock, stout, and modded as little/simply as possible. So far, the Cs look like they will not be modded, and are cheap enough to buy by the bushel.

Here's a pic of the fit on the servo. Lots of options here, if I break down and pay for 1 decent servo, I can put the batts/rx on the axle, too. With the ESC mounted with the clamp, that would put an entire powerplant on each axle... leaving the chassis empty, and ready for the stand-alone cam system.

A, unless you say otherwise, I'm going to mill your mount's tops flush. The alignment we worked for will be nearly set in stone, if you make a rigid brace.


I'm liking where this is going... My "gold" is just with the stock axles and stubs to get about 10 or so degrees (maybe more?) more steering. The CVDs you found will definitely be more durable and reliable, although I wish they had full 8mm shafts, rather than the threads on the ends.

Looking at the sagging candle stock tubes and how straight your Stone tubes are compared to them makes me want to go exactly in this direction...
 
I was refering to these:

Front Universal Drive Joint 2P

A sent 2 pr for his M/Ms. It looks like they can be shimmed to fit, so custom knuckles won't be needed.

HPI also makes a Savage to 17mm hex CVD set, with the (tapered) cups (?) reversed from mine, that I know I can make work.

M, with all this lined up right, and buttoned down...all you can feel is bearing lube. Now, spinning my stockers makes me cringe.
 
This is what I was thinking. Smooth out the tube and make a bracket like this to mount the servos/lower and shocks.
 

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I was refering to these:

Front Universal Drive Joint 2P

A sent 2 pr for his M/Ms. It looks like they can be shimmed to fit, so custom knuckles won't be needed.

HPI also makes a Savage to 17mm hex CVD set, with the (tapered) cups (?) reversed from mine, that I know I can make work.

M, with all this lined up right, and buttoned down...all you can feel is bearing lube. Now, spinning my stockers makes me cringe.

Oh ya, that gold... lol...

I still haven't ordered those universals, do you have the dimensions for them? Are they long enough to work for the long side? If we can get those to work with the stone tubes, that's the way I am going to go with my idea on an axle brace 1/4 scale servo mount. For more steering with the stone knuckles look at the wraith/xr10 knuckles. We can mount arms on the knuckles to get better throw and correct ackerman. I've done this on some stock AX10 knuckles and it worked just fine.

The stock tubes have to go for me now, I could barely put them back on the gear case since the locker wouldn't engage the axle shaft correctly since they are so far off. I was almost thinking of popping them in the oven to warm them up and using a 5mm steel rod to line up everything while it is still pliable, then letting it cool that way overnight. Problem with that would have been the possibility that the thread holes would likely get damaged.
 
This is what I was thinking. Smooth out the tube and make a bracket like this to mount the servos/lower and shocks.
Say the word, and I'll cut your stubs full length, so you have 2 layers of meat to the ends. I won't drill the pilot hole for pinning the clock, those will do it instead. After we see the UJs angle (for tire clearance), we'll know better where those mounts will go.

M, the length no longer matters. I'm only using the joints and 20mm of their shaft, to fit into the socket. Get rid of the puny bearings, and a world of choices emerges (Sure, I'll cut your 300s up!). Come to the Dark 8mm Side...
 
A, whatever you design, make sure it positively and rigidly pins the 2 tubes in line.

As shown, my rig suspends the trans between them, and it is no longer subject to any shock loads or external flexing.

M, I think you could make reforming work, but even if you get the Mad tubes straight, you still have to face the flanges. It's in the lathe now, why not just turn the things to true, and sleeve 'em with something straight?

The better the alignment, and ability to retain it, the thicker I can cut the inboard end. I may cut a piece to test to yield, for fun, but... more is better in this case, no matter what the #s.
 
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Oh ya, that gold... lol...

I still haven't ordered those universals, do you have the dimensions for them? Are they long enough to work for the long side? If we can get those to work with the stone tubes, that's the way I am going to go with my idea on an axle brace 1/4 scale servo mount. For more steering with the stone knuckles look at the wraith/xr10 knuckles. We can mount arms on the knuckles to get better throw and correct ackerman. I've done this on some stock AX10 knuckles and it worked just fine.

The stock tubes have to go for me now, I could barely put them back on the gear case since the locker wouldn't engage the axle shaft correctly since they are so far off. I was almost thinking of popping them in the oven to warm them up and using a 5mm steel rod to line up everything while it is still pliable, then letting it cool that way overnight. Problem with that would have been the possibility that the thread holes would likely get damaged.
We'll have #s on the UJs by Wednesday afternoon, I'll post them here for you.

What are the dimensions on the Axial knuckles? You got me thinking... again.
 
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