Todays Project - What did you do today?

[Mayhem]

Arvid - use a stud to locate the wheel. Simply screw it into the hub and then you can 'hang' the wheel like you would on most other vehicles. Once on, you can easier locate the holes for the remaining bolts.

[PixMan]

(05-10-2015, 09:15 AM)arvidj Wrote:

(05-10-2015, 08:08 AM)PixMan Wrote: Good use for the old wheel nuts and screws! OT question: What cars other than BMW's use screws for the wheels rather than studs and nuts? My now-extant BMW's ('88 535i, '02 530i) had longer screws similar to the one on the right. No other American or Japanese (1 Nissan) car I've ever owned used them. All others had studs pressed into wheel hubs, and nuts to fasten wheels to the hubs.

Ken,

Do you have any idea why BMW does this? Is there some perceived advantage to screws over studs? Our '97 M3 was that way it it made tire changing a real PITA.

As a side note my John Deere X595 lawn tractor is the same way ... screws rather than studs. I've got a set of wheels for the summer and a set for winter (more aggressive tread and the chains permanently mounted to the rear set) and changing from one to the other with the screws makes what should be a 15 minute task about 45 minutes. The center hubs are a very tight fit with the holes in the wheels. With the screws, if I don't get things lined up reasonably well I can not turn the wheel to match the wheel screw holes with the hub threaded holes. Twice a year I say "I'm going to fix this and install studs next time ..." but I never actually do.

Arvid

No clue as to why BMW and (apparently) Mercedes does that. What I DO know is that on BMW's their wheels are "hubcentric" in that the bore in the wheels is a very snug fit on the hubs of the car. I also know that for people doing a lot of track days or racing their BMW's, one of the first mods is to screw studs into those holes and Loctite them in.

[Sunset Machine]

Big trucks call them "hub piloted", using flat faced nuts and studs. What happens there is if the nuts aren't tight enough, the wheel slips and shears the studs off...

Apparently the industry decided that the cone shaped nuts/bolts tend to concentrate loads over very few studs due to machining inaccuracies. In other words, the tapers bend the studs. It's better to bolt them flat. Wheels and drums usually have ample clearance around the studs to avoid any contact, and just a couple thou clearance on the hub.

[RobWilson]

Allot of cars have screws now ,all of the  vans I have had used them , the reason is simple , one less part , why make a nut and a stud ? , when you can just make a screw/bolt . 


Rob 

[Pete O]

I have way too many projects under way at the moment, this is one that has been waiting for a start for about 18 months, which is when I bought a copy of the Artful Bodger's foundry book (actually it's probably been waiting 10 years since I bought 'The Complete Handbook of Sand Casting'...) anyway I've been waiting for a suitable drum or piece of large pipe to come along, got tired of waiting so a couple of weeks ago I asked a local metalwork business to roll some sheet for me. Today I welded the seams on what are now the inner and outer liners for my furnace and the ring for the lid, plus cut some plywood discs on the saw bench and rolled and taped the inner former.    

I can finally see some progress towards melting some metal. I also ordered 3x25kg bags of pyrocrete 1650 formable refractory. Since I started planning this project, the supplier has moved an extra hour away from me! Serves me right for procrastinating I suppose.

[Mayhem]

Pete - I really think this deserves a build thread of its own...

I've not seen one with an inner and outer liner. Is the refractory poured between the inner liner and the former and then an insulating material placed between the inner and outer liners? In you build thread, please don't forget to give the dimensions that you use. A furnace is on my list of projects but I haven't found the time to progress it further than getting a 200L drum. So I for one will be watching your build with interest.

[Pete O]

Yep, spot on Darren, the inner of the 3 cylinders is just there to support the refractory whilst it is poured / rammed and curing, then it comes out- which is why it is a thin sheet of colourbond, supported by plywood discs to hold it's shape. The middle of the 3 cylinders separates the refractory from the insulation- I'm hoping I can find some rockwool or similar. this is quite a bit smaller than a 44 gallon drum, the diameter of the inner chamber is 250mm (10") and as it stands there on the shed floor it is approx 450mm (18") high.

I'm not really sure whether it would be kosher of me to post a detailed build thread, as I am taking the design entirely from a book by Colin Peck called 'The Artful Bodger's Iron Casting Waste Oil Furnace'. I might contact the author by email and ask whether he is okay with it, he has offered support through the build process having bought his book. If the author / designer gives the okay, I'll start a thread documenting the build- might be a slow process though!

[dallen]

(05-12-2015, 03:25 AM)Pete O Wrote: I have way too many projects under way at the moment, this is one that has been waiting for a start for about 18 months, which is when I bought a copy of the Artful Bodger's foundry book (actually it's probably been waiting 10 years since I bought 'The Complete Handbook of Sand Casting'...) anyway I've been waiting for a suitable drum or piece of large pipe to come along, got tired of waiting so a couple of weeks ago I asked a local metalwork business to roll some sheet for me. Today I welded the seams on what are now the inner and outer liners for my furnace and the ring for the lid, plus cut some plywood discs on the saw bench and rolled and taped the inner former.

I can finally see some progress towards melting some metal. I also ordered 3x25kg bags of pyrocrete 1650 formable refractory. Since I started planning this project, the supplier has moved an extra hour away from me! Serves me right for procrastinating I suppose.

your not building anything that wasn't built before Colin P. wrote his book, lot of people build furnaces the same way as what your fixing to do.

Myself I prefer to have it solid refractory, but I also understand that in some parts of the world that ceramic fiber is cheaper to use.

Check out Myfordsboy's video's on how he built his furnace, same principles double wall construction.


DA

[Pete O]

Having thought again about it, having a build thread would not be breaching anyone's intellectual property- would be more like free advertising if the thing works! I'll make sure to take plenty of photos and start a project thread when I get to the next step. Having seen other projects on this forum, the pressure will be on to do a good job. Might be a while though, lots on the go at present.

[Mayhem]

(05-13-2015, 04:06 AM)Pete O Wrote: Having thought again about it, having a build thread would not be breaching anyone's intellectual property...

Good man - now go forth and build, document and take lots of pictures