Garage made shock towers, brace, support and wing setup

[Jimbobjr]

Mocking my setup and going with a Tekno wing and mount directly to the tower. Doing away with (sorry arrma) the wingmount and brace. My setup directly will mount the brace to the tower and bulkhead instead of the wing mount and the support which only mounts to the bulkhead.

 

[Dutch213]

Mocking my setup and going with a Tekno wing and mount directly to the tower. Doing away with (sorry arrma) the wingmount and brace. My setup directly will mount the brace to the tower and bulkhead instead of the wing mount and the support which only mounts to the bulkhead.View attachment 33524View attachment 33525View attachment 33526View attachment 33527View attachment 33528

seriously!!!! That is impressive man!!! well done...

 

[GMballistic]

Great work and definitely impressive as Dutch said above.

 

[CrayZee_One]

Awesome work!
I wish I had a Bridgeport in my garage
Looking forward to seeing more of your work

 

[Jimbobjr]

Thanks guys, I be been thinking about this for a while for the Kraton. I have the spare chassis and bulkhead for mocking it up. I most likely will still break the wing mount but it’s easy to remove. Take out 4 screws and put 2 shorter ones back in to the tower and bulkhead.
An ideal situation would be to tie the towers, bulkheads and motor/center diff mount with a single one or two piece brace. It’s definately doable but I want to see the new versions and what they do for bracing. Problem is weight, adding it creates other problems.

 

[Jimbobjr]

Awesome work!
I wish I had a Bridgeport in my garage
Looking forward to seeing more of your work

Thanks, the Bridgeport mill and Southbend lathe are two of the most important machine tools of the 20th century. My Bridgeport is the lighter m head and is most likely from around 1950 or so. The J head is more rigid but harder to move as they get pretty heavy.

I take forever to make anything. I’ll try and get this done before the yard work and maintenance kicks in. Only get a couple hours to tinker each week...try to spend most free time bashing.

 

[joostin420]

I can send my address to you when you are done fabbing my set ???

 

[CrayZee_One]

Thanks, the Bridgeport mill and Southbend lathe are two of the most important machine tools of the 20th century. My Bridgeport is the lighter m head and is most likely from around 1950 or so. The J head is more rigid but harder to move as they get pretty heavy.

I take forever to make anything. I’ll try and get this done before the yard work and maintenance kicks in. Only get a couple hours to tinker each week...try to spend most free time bashing.

Nice!
They don't make em like that anymore for sure.
I think I'd be happy enough with a cheapie new lathe/mill combo for small jobs at home.
I have recently lost the luxury of working in a maintnenance facilty with all the fun machinery and it's time for a career change (after 25+yrs as a Fitter and Turner) so I can't do my "foreigner jobs" when I need haha.

 

[Jimbobjr]

The all in one machines are ok but castings and steel the old machines are made of make all the difference. Good machines are still made but are costly. Old ones like mine can be found on Craigslist for about what you pay for an all in one. Mine came from a Vo Tech school when the change from teaching things like welding, machine shop and auto mechanics to interpretive dance and drama took place around 25 years ago...

 

[Jimbobjr]

Rear tower, brace and support are done. Front brace is almost done, front tower needs to be started. Wish I had a chunk of time when it wasn't so cold and i could just knock this out.

 

[Lingerfelter6]

Rear tower, brace and support are done. Front brace is almost done, front tower needs to be started. Wish I had a chunk of time when it wasn't so cold and i could just knock this out.

that is impressive! sure looks beefy.

 

[Jimbobjr]

The tower is .250” I think stock is .190”. That’s why I milled out the area where the shocks and suspension hinges go. I really like how the support fits on to the tower and bulkhead. The new v4’s have a better setup now with the support mount also mounted to the tower (I think) and slammed against the rear of the bulk head tight. Far better then the other one which would break or flex and snap the bolts.
Can’t wait to see what voltage and GKA come up with for the new kits...

 

[Saltystevo]

Rear tower, brace and support are done. Front brace is almost done, front tower needs to be started. Wish I had a chunk of time when it wasn't so cold and i could just knock this out.

WOW, looks beastly!
Sick job Jimbobjr!

 

[olds97_lss]

What are you making them out of? 6061/7075?

Nice looking stuff regardless! Are you using a CNC or manual?

 

[Jeffashbaugh452]

Rear tower, brace and support are done. Front brace is almost done, front tower needs to be started. Wish I had a chunk of time when it wasn't so cold and i could just knock this out.

Impressive work. Those look great.

 

[Jimbobjr]

What are you making them out of? 6061/7075?

Nice looking stuff regardless! Are you using a CNC or manual?

They are 6061. It is what I have on hand in the garage. It is extruded bar stock though which is generally stronger than sheet. Sheet is often annealed for easier workability in press work. 7075 would be ideal for the towers. If I bend them I would try 7075 but I’d have to buy the stock. No cnc’s here just older manual type. I have a Bridgeport mill, Southbend lathe, delta saw and an old belt sander. There’s a pic of my Bridgeport up on the 1st post.
I work for 3M Corp. Superbrasives division where I run several cnc machining centers. They are very strict about using their equipment and material for personal use. I thought about opening a job shop years ago but found it easier just to work for someone else. Just too lazy I guess. I have done a fair amount of side work at home but if there’s overtime at work I make far more money there...
it’s a shame not more young people get into machine work, I learned in high school and them trade school. It’s easier on the body then many of the trades and the pay and demand can be very good. We have openings for machinist and tool and die makers almost constantly. There are two openings right now...we had a guy retire yesterday so his job will be up too.
Our ceo was walking the plant the other day and asked me where people learn to do machine work these days. I told him the only place I know is maybe prison. (they may just play video games there now). Everyone thinks manufacturing is dead in America but it isn’t. Also many service oriented machine jobs connected to public transportation, power plants, and medical that no one thinks of. Instead of spending 120,000$ on a bs in whatever and not find work. Young people could do better and spend a couple years in a free apprentice ship and make 80,000$/year when they’re done at age 21 or so. Not a bad deal...sorry about all these words that have nothing to do with rc cars.

 

[Jimbobjr]

I have the front brace and tower. Tower is pretty much a copy of the original only thicker. I added a second tapped hole in the front for a second screw and machined out the wire holder which no one but a crazy person would do, then put some shrink tube around it to keep the wires safe. All other aluminum braces I see have to have the battery wires tied down in some fashion which is just awful...if I can do it on a manual machine they could certainly do it on a cnc.

 

[olds97_lss]

Very nice. The stock one had that little clip. Thought it was odd that the HR one didn't have any such provision for the battery wires.

 

[BashingBrian]

Nice looking stuff..??

I'm quite jealous you have those machine tools at home..

I like the way you have incorporated the wire holder on the brace..???

 

[GMballistic]

Very nice @Jimbobjr .

How do the machined parts compare with the stock ones for weight?
Much difference.