JD M pictures

Here are a few more pictures of the M john Deere.

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The feed grinder gets some attention in the machine shop.

The other day a neighbor stopped by with a problem with his feed grinder.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The unloading auger had worn through the sheet metal.  I had then caught on the worn through hole and torn the entire tube and flange off the the elbow on the grinder.

 

To repair it I cut a sheet metal ring to put inside the tube and welded all of the torn metal back to it.  The elbow was heavy enough steel that I could weld that directly back together.  It turned out that the auger itself had gotten bent as well so that needed some straightening.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you have vehicle, or equipment parts that are worn or damaged bring them to me and I can probably repair them.

www.maxx-industries.com

Another repair project in the machine shop

We bought a 2004 Mitsubishi Outlander that was wearing the new rear tires quite badly and would “clunk” on bumpy roads.  Looking at the rear suspension I found both sides had considerable vertical and horizontal play in them.  After some research I found this was a common problem with these vehicles in areas where road salt is used.  The seals on the rear suspension bushings fail and the bushings “eat themselves”.  A VERY substandard part for that application if you ask me.

According to the information I found the bushing in the lower control arm was the only replaceable one, The upper control arm and stabilizer link were sold as a unit.  They all three looked like the same bushing so being the fix it yourself guy that I am, I decided to give them all a try.

 

 

 

 

 

I machined a two piece puller.  One side was bored out deep enough for the bushing and the piston to fit inside and had a small step  to center it.  The piston was cut just a little smaller than the bushing O.D. and was also bores out so the center shaft of the bushing had clearance.  I drilled a 1/2″ hole in the end of both pieces for a threaded rod to go through.

 

 

Then I got to business pulling the old bushings out.  I actually drilled out the hole through  the bushings to a larger size so I could use a larger rod to pull with and then took the air wrench to them.  Here all three are pulled from one side.

After removing all three I measured them and they were all the same outside dimensions.  I proceeded to order six of the bushings listed as the part number for the one in the lower control arm.

Using the same puller, I pressed the new bushings into place.

 

 

 

 

And here is what it looked like after they are all in.

The vehicle now goes down the road much nicer with no clunks and I would guess no more excessive tire wear.

If you need custom tooling or fixtures made for your project or business, check out my website and then contact me.   www.maxx-industries.com

Tiny threaded holes make me nervous.

I cut out a small aluminum frame for a customer the other day.  With parts like this you really need to plan ahead as to what to cut first or you can end up in a spot with nothing to clamp onto.  The part had several 2mm x .4 threaded holes in it.  Makes a person nervous cutting those. The tap can break quite easily and ruin the part.

If you are in need of a small machine shop to do one of a kind parts  take a look at my web site.

www.maxx-industries.com

 

Not your every day machine shop. Custom hinges and doors.

I’ll give making about anything a try.  After putting up a shed for my neighbor he asked if I would make doors for it.  The opening is 11 feet wide and 8 feet high.  I figured I would have a hard time finding large enough hinges so I decided to make them myself.

 

After the hinges were ready I got to work on the custom made doors.  They are a plywood back with 2×4 edges and 1×4 crosses. I also made  the handle and latching hardware to be able to open and securely close the doors.

www.maxx-industries.com

My first try at Steam Bending

I gave steam bending a try for a wood project I’m working on.  It took me three tries to get it right but its looking pretty good.  The steam box is a 4 inch PVC pipe.  I used my turkey frier as a heat source and a small old well pressure tank to hold the water.  The connection from the water tank and PVC is a piece of radiator hose.

Machined Spacers and Washers

Had a few sets of plastic spacers and heavy steel washers to cut this week.  Not all that tough as far as precision machining goes.  The plastic is 2 1/2″ Acetyl, tougher than polyethylene and cheaper than Nylon.  The steel is generic cold rolled 3.5″ diameter, so pretty easy to machine.

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Graphite, A mess in the machine shop.

Finished up some graphite test bars yesterday.  It machines quite easy but it sure makes a mess of the machine.(and the operator)  I had to build a fixture to cut the 9″ radius. It worked OK for these, but I don’t think it will be a permanent shop fixture.  It’s not rigid enough to cut harder materials.

 

www.maxx-industries.com

The Bronze Ring

I’ve had a few orders for these precision machined rings.  They are an enjoyable but challenging part to make.  The material is a copper-nickel and it’s quite “sticky” and produces a lot of heat when machined.  The chips in the header picture are actually some of the drillings from the first batch.  The part also had a required tolerance of +-.002″ on the length so I had to be very careful parting them off.

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Welding needed for the John Deere H spindles

Here is a part I repaired for a fellow a while back.  The tractor had continued to be used after the wheel bearings had failed and the front spindles were severely damaged.  The repair involved welding the damaged areas to fill in the worn away material, then machining away the weld to restore the bearing surfaces to their original sizes.  I was not able to remove the 3 foot long steering shaft from the spindle assembly so it made turning them back down a difficult task.

www.maxx-industries.com