Kenworth 850 Off Highway

[RCP57]

Originally Posted by Espeefan

The straps and mounts look great, Reg. Mind if I ask what material the straps are made from, and do they actually sinch the cleaners up tight? Or are they just a detail added for the right look, and the cleaners are actually bolted up some other way? Just curious, because I'm getting close to making some tank saddles, and tank straps for my KW. I like to get ideas. I have some already, but more is always good!

Well Nate, the straps are actually just zap straps and they do hold the air cleaners to the mounts. I machined a bracket to go between the air cleaners and the guard on the fender. The bracket has grooves machined in it all the way around with a relief cut out of the back side to hide the connection on the strap. The bracket then bolts to the guard on the fender. I think once they are all painted up it will look OK.

Oh yeah, Thanks Jason! When you comin for a visit?

[steamer]

Reg, It's looking better with every post. Any chance you southern ICAT's making it to Campbell River next weekend? Sat. 12 Till 5 Sun. 12 till 4. We're short on drivers, so they'll be lots to run and lots of fun!

[Snochaser]

Another fine build from "Mr. Aluminum", this truck should be able to pull your everyday driver. You're definitely not wasting any time with this build.

Ben

[RCP57]

Haha "Mr. Aluminum" hey Ben? Well I can honestly say that I have been called a lot worse than that!lol

Rob, I was planning on attending but now it looks like I may be back to work by then(thankfully) so it doesn't look like it. I had planned to drag along my Bruder Mack and dozer too! Oh well we'll have to wait and see how the week progresses...

Reg

[steamer]

No Problem Reg. We got lots of new toys to show off, so bring yours too. They'll be lots for you to do if you can make it.

[doodlebug]

Hey Reg, how about "Mr Fusion" lol! Yet doin a wonderful job with
all that purdy aluminum!
Cheer's, Neil.

[RCP57]

Spent a little time this afternoon on the exhaust. Got the pipes hooked to the mufflers and the heatshield made so that the passenger doesn't get burned when they bail out!






Reg

[pumptech]

Awesome metal work as always Reg

[RCP57]

I've been working on the diff housings on and off for a few days now. Many things have not gone my way so far. The first thing to go wrong was a broken bandsaw blade before I even had the diffs cut out. I managed to TIG weld the blade back together well enough to finish splitting the block in two but not a permanent fix by any means. I had wanted to do a lot more cutting to save time but the weld was starting to crack so into the mill they went. After about three hours of cranking handles as fast as I could I was spent and soaked with sweat so I called it a day. The next morning I was off to town to buy a replacement blade... When I arrived at the first store I quickly found out that they had every blade imaginable EXCEPT the one I needed. So off to the next place I went only to find virtually the same situation there. They did have one that had more TPI so I reluctantly purchased it, made a quick detour to buy some cheap cordless screwdrivers(you know, future projects...) and home I went. After arriving home I quickly installed the new blade only to find out that it was a no-go on 1 3/4 aluminum. At this point I just carried on machining for a while until I finally became frustrated from shop vaccing chips off of the floor and re TIG'd the blade. If I had done that in the first place I would have saved myself at least and hour on the mill. Anyway a number of other patience testing moments have happened too but this story is already too long... I did have my cordless drill spinning the rotary table while I was milling today though...at least that was fun... until the clamps let go of the housing and....$#%^^#%

I almost have the "easy part" done. Soon I can start on the pumpkins.

Thanks for listening?...or looking?







Reg

[wolfws6]

Man, those are a work of art. Tremendous pieces you have made!

[cdm]

Since you are using a bandsaw.. how long do your blades last for?

I go through carbon blades after a few plates of aluminum.. 18tpi (highest i can get in my size)

[RCP57]

I've had it set up over two years and this is the first blade I've toasted. I normally run a 10 TPIx1/4 blade with the saw geared down. Without slowing the speed down though it would kill blades fast, especially with thicker material.

Reg

[Espeefan]

Wow. Impressive, Reg! The axles look really good. How did you machine the round part of the axle housing, right where the pinion shafts pass through? Stupid question, but I just have to ask - There is no way you free hand milled these, following your drawn on lines, did you? They look to nice for that. I'm guessing you just layed out the lines for the rough cuts, assuming your bandsaw blade would last for the job. Is that a coat of primer on them now?

Hey, a bad day in the shop is better then a good day at work, right? Well, maybe. I think we all have those days, when everything seems to be fighting you. So you've got a lot of time, sweat, and tears into this project. Hopefully no blood, yet?

[Lil Giants]

Those bottom two pics look like plastic mock ups... are they?

[RCP57]

I used the rotary table to machine the backside of the pots. I just machined a bunch of steps in them and finished it with a grinder. After that I gave them a quick bead blast to remove some of the sharp edges giving it the look you see in the last couple pictures. I hope to have it resting on it's own suspension by the end of the weekend.

Reg

[RCP57]

Here's a couple pics of my setup on the rotary table. My father in-law to be made me this "swiss cheese" plate to put on top of it so that I had lots of clamping options. I think I may ask him to make me a larger one though in the future.

[Espeefan]

That's really nice, Reg. What kind of mill do you have?

[spudd]

incredible talent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Trucker47]

Wow very nice truck! I can't wait to see the axle complete.

Chris

[RCP57]

Thanks a lot guys! These diffs put me out of my comfort zone for sure but hopefully I can get them to work.

Nate, I have a Toptech(Vario) BF30 with a Sino DRO...