Anyone built their own axle?
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Anyone built their own axle?
by Willowagon » Thu Feb 28, 2013 4:05 pm
Hi guys, I finally got around to my bent axle replacement project and decided to order the cut-to-length 1.5" square axle tube & weld-in spindles from Northern Tool. Has anyone here used this kit before or built thier own axle from scratch? I'm wondering if I have to worry about wheel alignment in terms of toe-in & camber. As far as I can tell the axle they sent me is just a straight piece of square tube steel. I dont think there is any bow in it for camber and the limited instructions don't say anything about toe-in wheel alignment. Is this even necessary on an 800lb trailer?
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Re: Anyone built their own axle?
by KCStudly » Thu Feb 28, 2013 5:11 pm
The fact that you are contemplating making your own axle presumes that you are (or have the help of) a competent welder (both the person and the machine). I would not recommend the following if that is not the case.
One opinion (mine) is no, you don’t need camber for small light trailers; build it as straight as you can and if there is a little toe due to welding, put the ‘toe in’ at the front.
I would try to avoid uneven camber (could get uneven tire wear... or even worse, quirky handling such as wag). If you get everything lined up straight (clamp it if you can) and just tack weld the four centers of the spindle spuds in the middle of the flats on the square stock first (one tack at a time starting on one pair of opposite sides, making any needed adjustments along the way) you should be able to make small adjustments and pull it right straight where you want it by adding weld in small equal proportions.
Use the same sequence and jump back and forth from one spindle to the other giving each time to cool between welds so nothing moves with too much exuberance. The worst thing to do would be to rush and burn it all in all at once and then find that it pulled all over the place and is no longer straight.
If it bugs you, there are ways that you can put some camber in. I would use one of the following methods on the tube before adding the spindles.
Heat and form method:
Tack weld a few angle iron locating lugs to the welding bench (two on the left and two on the right) all facing the edge of the bench aligned in a row, but far enough back from the edge to allow the axle to be clamped down. Weld a spacer in the middle to set the amount of camber desired (maybe a piece of 1/2 inch square stock welded to the bench), then clamp one end of the axle tube down with the middle on the spacer and one end on the bench. Clamp that side of the axle face to the two lugs on the same side. Heat the center of the top, front and rear sides to orange hot and draw it down to the bench and lugs with clamps locking in the camber. That way you don't accidentally put twist or bend it in the wrong plane.
Another way would be to bump it in a hydraulic press, but you would need to be sure not to crease or crush it.
A small slit on three sides (front, rear and bottom) from a cut off wheel to form a miniature pie cut, bevel the edges, bend to close the notch, weld, then scab on some flat bar fish plate reinforcements would work, too. Taper the ends of the fish plates into diamond shapes so that you do not introduce a single line stress point.
Just my ramblings on the subject.
One opinion (mine) is no, you don’t need camber for small light trailers; build it as straight as you can and if there is a little toe due to welding, put the ‘toe in’ at the front.
I would try to avoid uneven camber (could get uneven tire wear... or even worse, quirky handling such as wag). If you get everything lined up straight (clamp it if you can) and just tack weld the four centers of the spindle spuds in the middle of the flats on the square stock first (one tack at a time starting on one pair of opposite sides, making any needed adjustments along the way) you should be able to make small adjustments and pull it right straight where you want it by adding weld in small equal proportions.
Use the same sequence and jump back and forth from one spindle to the other giving each time to cool between welds so nothing moves with too much exuberance. The worst thing to do would be to rush and burn it all in all at once and then find that it pulled all over the place and is no longer straight.
If it bugs you, there are ways that you can put some camber in. I would use one of the following methods on the tube before adding the spindles.
Heat and form method:
Tack weld a few angle iron locating lugs to the welding bench (two on the left and two on the right) all facing the edge of the bench aligned in a row, but far enough back from the edge to allow the axle to be clamped down. Weld a spacer in the middle to set the amount of camber desired (maybe a piece of 1/2 inch square stock welded to the bench), then clamp one end of the axle tube down with the middle on the spacer and one end on the bench. Clamp that side of the axle face to the two lugs on the same side. Heat the center of the top, front and rear sides to orange hot and draw it down to the bench and lugs with clamps locking in the camber. That way you don't accidentally put twist or bend it in the wrong plane.
Another way would be to bump it in a hydraulic press, but you would need to be sure not to crease or crush it.
A small slit on three sides (front, rear and bottom) from a cut off wheel to form a miniature pie cut, bevel the edges, bend to close the notch, weld, then scab on some flat bar fish plate reinforcements would work, too. Taper the ends of the fish plates into diamond shapes so that you do not introduce a single line stress point.
Just my ramblings on the subject.
Last edited by KCStudly on Thu Feb 28, 2013 9:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
KC
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My Build: The Poet Creek Express Hybrid Foamie
Poet Creek Or Bust
Engineering the TLAR way - "That Looks About Right"
TnTTT ORIGINAL 200A LANTERN CLUB = "The 200A Gang"
Green Lantern Corpsmen
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