__._,_.___----- Original Message -----From: SpacemanSent: Wednesday, November 07, 2007 2:20 PMSubject: [papercreters] Long Sad StoryI've had an interesting chain of events here lately that have halted the current project for a couple of weeks. First my blade snapped, the one I'd been using for six years. I replaced that with a new X blade that mixed one load and then came off, stripping bolts as it came loose. New bolts and some cleaning of threads on the yoke got the blade back on, and back to mixing.
A few loads later I heard a grinding noise and found that the welds holding the drive shaft to the truck wheel had failed (six years old, too) or more accurately the metal next to the welds had cracked. Looking it over, I reinforced my original thought that the truck wheel was pretty thin metal, and decided I needed to make an adapter from the shaft to the truck axle. I made a few measurements and then did a sketch of the bolt patterns in CAD, making a pattern with their relative positions precisely laid out so that the universal joint bolts had the maximum clearance from the lug bolts and everything was nicely centered. I didn't have a chunk of plate steel large enough, but found two smaller pieces that could be welded together. Once I had those joined, I applied the pattern and center punched the holes. Shortly after, I found out why that drill bit set was so inexpensive. I destroyed several bits getting the pilot holes done, and ran out of suitable bits before I finished the full diameter of the holes. I made the round of local hardware stores (MV Ferreteria and Señor Dollar), but neither had large bits and it was getting late in the day, so I decided to make a trip to town on the morrow.
At the Home Depot I found what I needed, and actually found some 7/16 hard bolts to fit the universal joint, along with various washers and nuts, including lock washers. I cut the heads off the bolts and welded them into the appropriate holes in the plate because the back of the adapter has to be flat with no bolt heads sticking out. With the adapter finished, I found that the truck was now 1" too far from the mixer since the adapter is thinner than the wheel where it mounts. The truck has been on blocks for six years, and moving it was not a trivial matter, but I got it done. Back to mixing.
Then I noticed a strange noise from the rear of the truck, and panicked. Had I managed to ruin the axle bearing? No, turns out that the brake drum was not held in place by the adapter plate as it was by the wheel and it was flopping around, so a stack of washers was needed on each lug bolt to secure the brake drum. OK, back to mixing. Wait! Why isn't the slurry moving? Well, because the blade has come off again, in spite of really putting torque on the bolts last week. Now I have one bent bolt, and one partially stripped bolt. It'll be dark in an hour, so I'll wait until tomorrow to go to town, since I have to go tomorrow anyway for something else. I now declare it beer thirty, I'm done for today.Spaceman All opinions expressed or implied are subject to change without notice upon receipt of new facts.
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