Narrowed Axles Part 3

Another productive day in the garage…

I started the day by making a couple of stands to hold the axle on it’s thread bar studding, so that I could rotate it for welding, a bit like a spit roast!

Like this…

I then welded into the slight step between the two slightly different diameter axle tubes (one end is just slightly up the diff pumpkin so that I can get the 13″ difference between a short and long axle shaft), and then a series of bigger welds over the top with my 165 Amp MIG set on full pelt…

And the same over the top and sides… huge weld 😉

And then rejoined the radius arm mount to the axle tube, welded up the cut in the mount too, and then tidied everything up…

From the back, you can just about see the weld on the right isn’t perfect… this is when the gas decided to run out! 😦

So no gas to weld the gussets on… I’ll have to nip our and get a bottle on Tuesday afternoon…

Shame, as I was hoping to get this axle finished today…

So I sat it to one side, and decided to mock up the rear axle… this is the tyres set at a track width of 50″ which it should eventually end up as, so you get an idea…

Slightly closer and lower photo…

Might as well make a start on the other – the front – axle then?… All cleaned up. King pin bearing shells and oil seals out, all excess bracketry removed.

Ooops! No going back now then?! LOL 🙂

Measured, re-measured, marked with Gorilla tape again, and then…

Toughly stuck together, the radius arm munt needs re-arcing to suit the wider axle tube of the start of the diff pumpkin, then it will sit right like the other one… Might as well order another bar of studding? So they can be swapped onto the rotisserie! LOL