STEERING, How to build yourself a steering column cheap

[continentaljohn]

Hey HAMBers Well this is my way of building a steering column. I going to show you two ways , one like a 1940 ford truck and the other to mount a modern wheel and have splines on the other end..
1940 type column need list:
4 3/4 EX snap rings
2 oilite bronze bushings 1.00 od x 3/4id x 2.00 long
6" x 1.50 CRS tube with .250 wall
48" long tube with .083 wall
3/4 CRS shaft 48" long
3/4 od X .187 wide woodruff key just one

Modern column with splined shafts:
Same as above but with out 3/4 CRS shaft .. Your gonna need a 1972 to 1975 jeep CJ column.. Just the shaft, it's has a GM spline on the bottom end for a vega box or as jeep used a sag 525. The 525 was a bit bigger then the vega..

So let's start to it! first chuck the 3/4 shaft into the lath and turn the end down to 5/8 for a 5/8-18 thread 1/2 long..

[continentaljohn]

1

[continentaljohn]

Next setup the cross slide for a taper of 3 degrees

[continentaljohn]

cut key way with cutter on the mill

[continentaljohn]

Then chase a 5/8-18 thread on the end. So now you have to work on the end caps. Chuck in the 1 1/2 crs into the lathe.
Turn the end to 1.325 x 1.700 long cut

[continentaljohn]

Then do the other side of the 6" long piece.. Then your gonna cut the ends to a bit over 2.00 .. Then finish cut on lathe to 2.00

[continentaljohn]

Ok with ends done , now press in the bronze bearing, I do mine in a vice.. I also chuck the bearing in the lathe and cut a lead-in .020 deep 1/8 long.. This way it goes in nice and streight.

[FoMoCo_MoFo]

nice work John!

[continentaljohn]

Ok , now you have to figure out how long your column needs to be. Mine is 44" long for the shaft, so cut it on the box end . If your gonna want a double D joint on the box end put her in the mill and take off .080 off each side to get the DD. A old trick to see were zero is to take a small strip of paper 1/2 by 4" long and have it setting between the cutter and the piece your cutting.. Move the endmill slowly till it just starts to cut the paper and not the metal. You just got Zero.

[continentaljohn]

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[continentaljohn]

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[continentaljohn]

Now your gonna have to see what steering wheel wiil be used and how much of the box end shaft you want exposed. I picked a 1939 banjo wheel and little box endshaft to be exposed. So this give me a 39 and 3/4 inch tube. So cut your 1 1/2 X .083 wall tube to lenght.. Next slide the shaft into the ends and mark the were you want the top and bottom of your column. I put my banjo wheel on and slide the top end marked it with a marker. and then the bottom

[continentaljohn]

So now your gonna cut the snap ring groove. I just modified a old cutter by grinding the side to the ring thickness. Now start cutting!

[continentaljohn]

What you are doing is cutting snap rings on both ends of the ends So 2 on top 2 on the bottom. So then install the snap rings and both ends should be contained while the steering shaft move freely.

[continentaljohn]

2

[continentaljohn]

4

[continentaljohn]

So with your ends in place your 1 1/2 tube with .083 wall should be cut to it's length.. What you need to do next is put the whole column together and weld the bottom end to the tube.

[fordiac]

real cool so far.

how do they do the auto tranny shifter?

[continentaljohn]

Ok now weld the whole bottom and grind her smooth.. The last picture was with the 71-75 jeep column, note the splines..

[continentaljohn]

So, now the top, you have two choices weld or button screw the top in 2 locations.. I did the button screws this way I could take the column and replace the bushing after a few hundred thousand miles http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[continentaljohn]

In the RPU

[continentaljohn]

Oh yea, the jeep column, the only thing your doing is putting in snap ring grooves and putting on the tube and ends. the length is super short .. In one of the pictures you see the splined end here's the grooves.. You can get steering wheel adapters for most aftermarket wheels . As long as it's a early jeep.
thanks continentaljohn

[CAS]

Damn, John. Thats really cool. Good job.

[Paul]

I just looked out in my shop,

and I can't find anything that looks even remotely like a lathe or a milling machine http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

what would be a good "starter" lathe and milling machine for a goof such as myself?

Paul

oh yeah, great post!

[dabond]

Paul,
If you need, I've got a small (9x20) lathe and a Bridgeport setting in the garage. The lathe works and the mill just needs wired. Don't have much tooling, but am working on it.

[cheaterslick]

Jeezus...that awesome. Any chance I can pull it off with an angle grinder?

[BigChief]

[ QUOTE ]
I just looked out in my shop,

and I can't find anything that looks even remotely like a lathe or a milling machine http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

what would be a good "starter" lathe and milling machine for a goof such as myself?

Paul

oh yeah, great post!

[/ QUOTE ]


We just picked up a Bridgeport J2 variable speed vertical mill (late 70's vintage) with a 42" table and Southbend lathe - forget the bed size but 14x48 rings a bell (1940's vintage) a surface grinder, dust collector, misc work carts, and tooling for just under 3000 dollars. These are three phase units which tend to be cheaper than single phase ones. If you don't need tolerances tight enough to build the space shuttle there is plenty of good, usable equipment out there. Take somebody that you trust with you that knows the machines your looking at when you go to buy.

Getting good used machine equipment isn't too hard or too awefully expensive but the tooling can add up as can repairs that are needed to bring whipped equipment into specification. Shop carefully and you too can be making some neat parts in your own shop.

-Bigchief

[continentaljohn]

Hey 60's style, used old machines are pretty cheap. Some are just sold for the scrap value. The combo machines a ok too, mill , lathe and drill press.. Really a mill is a heavy duty drill press with a X,Y and Z table. I feel with the new CNC machines are taking over most of the work. So a lot of big companys just scrap out old equipment. Plus it's great to have such tools, build just about anything.. I do have a buddy that uses his brake lathe for turning down just about anything.. As for a mill it's easy to turn things in it. Just use the mill chuck/collet to hold the stock and put a lathe bit in the vice..
Fordiac, I have seen 1940 columns with a three on the tree used as a auto shifter. Kinda like that?
Cheaterslick, I working on a grinder tech for next time, will be some turning and such.. Have fun with grinding http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
thanks continental

[Rocknrod]

Hope ya dont hit anything with that...

Be akin to taking a steel rod to the chest! Wait... thats exactly what it'd be like http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Looks nice to me http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[continentaljohn]

Hey Rocknrod, yea not a whole bunch of safty goodies on the old ones. No juice brakes, Biply tires good thing the roads were better back then http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[SlowLearner]

Thanks for the great tech!!
Re the "post in the chest", wasn't that what the double D thing was for? Two shafts in a D'd sleeve joint with a gap between them? Think it only gave a coupla inches of crush. Had a 68 Olds (NON power assist) steering. Had that. I guess the wheel would just crack your sternum and stop your heart instead of skewering you. Oh well. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

[Rocknrod]

Pretty much...

IF ya can pull it off, from what I understand you want the column to break away and head down as apposed to up... crumple closer to ya at the bottom... not the top.

Havent the foggiest as to how ya achieve it... but alot of the late model cars (well not real late model...) run a rag joint between the box and the main shaft http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[Rocky]

Great post. There is one leetle thing that bothers me tho. Instead of turning out the oilite bushings, why not just buy cheap sealed bearings like the oem stuff?
I suppose ya prolly had the bushing material on hand, eh?

[Shiva69]

As for the breakaway column. If i remember correctly there a couple types. The older style uses a double d collumn with a large gap between the top inner shaft and bottom inner shaft. there was also a I think plastic pin throught the top shaft.

So when you hit the pin it shears and the colunm drops.

But once again you get what you paid for on this info.

Garth

[Paul]

of course safety is always a justifiable concern when designing and building a car from scratch.

but considering the type of car this collumn would go in I would think that design functionality deserves just as much if not more than equal considration.

the pure simplicity and solid nature of this collumn makes it appear very unlikely to fail.

it would be for example not only less likely to fail than the popular "suicide" front end it would also not be the cause of an accident.

we can make our cars safer by avoiding design failure.

Paul

[continentaljohn]

Ya know , safety is alway top of the list.. I went for cheap cheap and hit on function.. The column cost me a total of 45 bucks.. I know I could have done cheaper but time was a issue.. Rocky, Oh the sealed bearing were gonna be used but at 11 bucks a crack Bronze was 4 bucks and had a greater surface on the shaft. I felt it was a bit too much for the seal ones. With time I could have found it cheaper and would have used it.. We use the bronze bearing alot in our machines, cheap easy and work great under normal loads. It also doesn't call for a hardend shaft as some bearing do.. Really the out side tube is just for looks, the old race cars looked to have a shaft and that's it.
thanks continental

[Paul]

btt