Art & Inspiration Ford 9" differential in 1/3 scale

The next step was to make the top and bottom pieces. This would require a buck to form the required curve, smoothly and uniformly for both pieces. I used a couple of pieces of hardwood for the job. The radius and shape was cut and sanded smooth.



Two pieces of brass were cut and annealed. These were then pressed between the bucks to form the shape. They came out quite close, only a little tweaking was necessary.

 

The next step was to silver braze the assembly together. All the parts were cleaned and fluxed then soldered with a 50% silver solder.




After cooling and cleaning up the flux the radii on the outer edges were started, first with a burr followed by filing and sanding.

 

Here you see the housing cleaned up to this point.

 

I was just plain amazed up to Post # 18....Then...I saw the dime next to the part !!!
I sitting here now with my brain just blown all apart !!!
I have enough trouble making anything full-size ..much less the size of a dime...
WOW WOW WOW !!!

 

In the design and planning stages I had to figure how to transition from the smaller radius around the center area of the housing to the larger radius down where the axle tubes attach. To do this I machined a pair of blocks that would fit into the ends of the housing. These were made from solid brass so that the axle tube holes could be bored and there would be enough material to create the large radius. The inside edges were stepped in to locate into the housing.




The excess stock was sawed off and the pieces were fitted into the housing. They were set up in the lathe to cut a witness radius for the transition from large to small.

 

The radius was then rough formed prior to silver soldering. To locate the parts accurately and in perfect alignment a bar was made up that would go from one end to the other. It was threaded so that nuts could hold everything tight.

 

The rear cover was the next piece. Because of the shapes involved there was no way it could be made from a stamping, not without making as set of dies and having a very large press. A lot of work for a one-off.
The part was made from a piece of solid stock.
As with most parts the inside was cut first. the multiple radii that form the oval shape were laid out and machined by bumping to the lines with an end mill.


The next step was to form the clearance pocket for the ring gear. A complete step-off chart was developed with my CAD program and using a ball mill the shape was created.

 

Being that the piece would end up with a thin flange around the outside there was no way to hold it in a vise to machine the outside shapes so a fixture plate was made up to that it could be clamped.



The part was then mounted in place and the cuts started.


The outer radius was machined like the inner radius, by stepping off the shape with a ball nosed end mill.

 

The excess corner stock where the part was clamped down was removed and the corner radii were formed buy filing and sanding.



The next 2 pics show the finished cover, mounted and polished. The set of holes that were drilled initially are now covered by the rear cover and the front holes are tapped for the studs.

 

Here's some finish shots of the outer housing with the pumpkin installed.

 

The axle tubes were machined and the end plates were soldered on. I haven't added spring pads or link attachment points because a frame will have to be built first to determine what dimensions I need.
The final parts were the axles. As I mentioned in an earlier posting I had purchased the spline bushing stock for the inside of the spider gears so I made up another cutter to match those splines. The axles were machined and the splines cut.


The wheel end of the axles has the mounting flange pressed in place. Eventually it will be silver soldered to the axles. The outer ends of the axles ride on sealed bearings. There is also room for an O ring seal although I don't think the oil would get past the seals on the bearings..

 

Ok gentlemen, there you have it, a 1/3 scale Ford 9" rear end.
gbritnell

 

Here's a short video of the completed center section.
http://youtu.be/oOkmKkvC-PE

 

Really nice work! What are you going to use this in?

 

Amazing! Thanks for sharing!



.

 

Hi Martino,
I hope to one day have a '32' rod chassis built to install the entire driveline into. I have the frame and suspension drawn up it's just trying to figure out how to fabricate the frame. My original plan was to cut sheet steel and TIG weld it but a recent Pacemaker implant took that option away. I'll sort it out.
britnell

 

You have the patience of a toothache and tremendous talent.
This world needs more "metal masters" like you.

 

I said it earlier in post. Wow! You have an incredible talent. Thank you so much for sharing

 

awesome, you should have some more items in there to show the scale better.

 

Mr. Britnell, you obviously have considerable old-school machinist skills. I also have some of the same knowledge and experience, and so I'm able to really appreciate your ingenuity and abilities. I'm awed by your methods and results, I will be searching out your other threads.

Some thoughts and questions:
-Since tig welding is not an option, I'd suggest you investigate a Dillon/ Henrob/ Cobra oxy-acetylene torch, I believe you could achieve pretty much the same results.
-I watched the video tour of your shop. I'm amazed you did all the milling operations on a machine with no knee. You must have a Z axis DRO, no?
-Didn't notice a surface plate and height gauge, do you use these for layout and measuring? It appears you too use Sharpies for "layout ink"...
-Do you use an XY table on top of your rotary table? Not really rigid, but ok for aluminum and brass. Would speed up setups, I think.
-You've probably used surface hardening compounds, an application would extend the life of your special cutting tools and parts subject to wear. I'll attach a pic of a product I've used off and on for decades, works well for many things.
-If you're not already aware of these folks, you should be:
http://www.littlemachineshop.com/default.php?Source=Google&gclid=CMnq9bGQg7wCFcVFMgod8hIAMQ
A good source for all sorts of machine shop stuff.

Thanks for documenting your project so well, and sharing it with us.

 

I also need to add my thanks for sharing this incredible work. I was so impressed with the pumpkin and thought that would be it. Then you make a housing!!! Brilliant!!
But such a shame to hide the works.

Fantastic to figure out the order of processes on such a complicated assembly!

Thank You!

Frank

 

And if you think this rear end is impressive, check out his 1:3 scale small block Ford, RUNNING: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0HJjvyLj9E
Or his 1:3 scale T5, SHIFTING:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcLtBLC5yqo

 

There's a whole subculture out there, comprised of people that build beautiful, functional miniatures. Search YouTube, you'll find things like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0KtL2hotCY
A running, scale model small block Chev, complete with rumpity rump cam and crisp throttle response.

 

Wtf!!!!!!

 

Hi Halfdozen,
I do have a miniature Oxy-Acetylene torch that I could use for fabricating the frame from sheet stock. The other option was to cut it from aluminum plate, calculating the material needed for the bends etc. and then forming it to a template. The cross members could then be welded (by someone else) or riveted in place. Still thinking.
I used to do all of my machining on that round column mill, up to the differential. It was fitted with digitals on the X-Y axis and had a modified digital caliper for the Z. I have since purchased a medium sized knee mill. On this mill I have glass scale digitals for X Y and Z on the knee. I had tried rigging up a caliper for the quill similar to the old round column mill but there was no good place to mount it so it would work smoothly. I ended up with a 1" travel dial indicator. I can move my knee with the digitals when needed and then the quill for stepping within the 1" travel.




I have a 12" square surface plate and a couple of height gauges, one digital and one the old fashioned vernier type, which I use most of the time.
I have never used an XY table on top of my 8" rotary table although I have made plenty of other crazy setups on it. Usually I position my work initially and then spin it. I have used surface hardening compounds like Kasenite but generally my tools are made from O-1 or W-1 drill rod, hardened and tempered.
gbritnell

 

^^^^Ditto. Britnell you are a mad man. Thanks for sharing

 

Now I remember seeing the transmission going together. I can't wait to see the whole thing together!
Thanks for posting the links to your other creations. Your skills are incredible, thanks for including us.

 

This just gets better all the time.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

 

I'm going to go out in my shop and scrap everything I have ever built...............

Simply awesome craftsmanship!!!!!

 

Mad skills!!!!! That's incredible!!!