# This winter's project. A transmission for the 302 engine



## gbritnell (Aug 20, 2010)

I know it's only in the preliminary stages but this is what I have in mind for one of this winter's projects. It's going to be a transmission for my 302 engine. 
 This is what is called a T-5 made by Borg-Warner. It is a 5 speed manual that was put in the Mustang and many other cars. My son had one in his garage that he traded with another fellow. I dug it out and hauled it to my house. After a good cleaning I started taking dimensions off of it. As with any scale project this part of it takes many hours of measuring. The hardest part being that you don't have any square edges or sides as reference points. I have all of the outside shapes completed in AutoCad and have started on the gears and inner mechanisms. I have about 45 reference pictures in my file to use as I build this cad drawing. 
 I'm attaching a PDF drawing of where I'm at to this point. I have all the major views complete along with sectional views that are cut horizontally and vertically. 
 This is going to take some time to whittle from bar stock but it's only time. 
George


View attachment T5 TRANSMISSION.pdf


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## putputman (Aug 20, 2010)

WOW!!! If anyone can do it, it is you George. Looking forward to this build.


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## b.lindsey (Aug 20, 2010)

This will definitely be one to keep an eye on. Quite an ambitious project George, will look forward to your progress however long it takes.

Bill


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## SAM in LA (Aug 20, 2010)

George,

I can not imagine building a 5 speed transmission to the scale you are tackling.

The small bearings, gears and synchros boggle my mind.

I'll be watching this build closely.

Regards,

SAM


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## kvom (Aug 20, 2010)

After that, make a transfer case for 4wd ;D :bow:

That's quite a project!


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## SAM in LA (Aug 20, 2010)

How about positraction or air lockers front and rear.


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## stevehuckss396 (Aug 20, 2010)

Great project G! I have always wanted to do a 3 speed but I haven't cut gears and they are expensive. 

I had the T5 trans behind a 302 in a little ford ranger. It was my everyday driver for 4 years. It was a fun 4 years.


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## kcmillin (Aug 20, 2010)

Awesome!!

Kel


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## ozzie46 (Aug 20, 2010)

George; Although I will probably never attempt something like this I will be following along faithfully. Your builds are so educational and I enjoy them immensely.


 Ron


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## Deanofid (Aug 20, 2010)

This should be quite the project, George, and you're just the man for it!
I'm looking forward to another thread of 'wow' education.

Dean


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## zeeprogrammer (Aug 20, 2010)

Very very neat. I'll be watching too. Lots for me to learn!


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## ttrikalin (Aug 21, 2010)

First time I'm longing for the winter  

t


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## 4156df (Aug 21, 2010)

George,
Can't wait to follow along!
Dennis


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## ariz (Aug 21, 2010)

what a project you have in mind George! 

I'm hooked, following along


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## Speedy (Aug 22, 2010)

always wanted to see this done! 
cant wait, will follow along :bow:


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## IronHorse (Aug 22, 2010)

Great project. I have a TopLoader 4 Speed in my Mustang and I am always wishing I had a 5Th gear.

IronHorse


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## kustomkb (Aug 25, 2010)

Very cool George! another great build to follow.

When you are scaling something like that, do you keep the number of teeth, and scale the DP, or do keep the ratio and pick a DP that's close? 

Either way, some fine model engineering for sure!


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## gbritnell (Aug 25, 2010)

In this case I would keep the pitch diameters and find a DP that will fit those diameters.
gbritnell


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## kustomkb (Aug 25, 2010)

Thanks George.


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## gbritnell (Sep 15, 2010)

Hello everyone, 
Well I've been measuring and drawing, measuring and drawing, remeasuring, changing and I'm finally getting the drawings close to finished. I'm up to 14 sheets of parts and views. I just have the gear ratios figured out for the center distance that I need so I have to layout and draw how the splined shifter rings will engage with the gears. I went to the Stock Drive Products website and they sell splined shafting and splined hubs in various sizes and made from stainless or 12L14. With the large amount of splined pieces I have to make I think I'm going to buy premade items rather than making my own. I will have to make my own gears because most of them will be 40 pitch. I'm attaching a PDF of the side and top view drawn to the proper size, .3 scale from full. I have a piece of 3 inch square 6061 aluminum that I bought for the project. 8 inches was $43.00. Now that the drawings are nearing completion I'm getting antsy about starting on it but with lots of nice weather where I live I can't force myself to stay inside.
George 

View attachment T5 TOP LEFT SIDE VIEW.pdf


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## kustomkb (Sep 15, 2010)

Awesome! 3 inch square?! wow.

Dang that sun eh?


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## SAM in LA (Sep 15, 2010)

George,

I'm looking forward to you transmission project too.

My work looks like it was done with a hammer and chisel compared to what you turn out.

Thank you for sharing your knowledge and wisdom.

Regards,

SAM


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## dsquire (Sep 15, 2010)

gbritnell  said:
			
		

> Hello everyone,
> Well I've been measuring and drawing, measuring and drawing, remeasuring, changing and I'm finally getting the drawings close to finished.
> .
> .
> ...



George

I am looking forward to watching your masterful hands carve the transmission out of that block of aluminum.

Not living all that far away, I know what the weather is like this time of year and summer will be officially over in several days but then we get that nice Indian summer which to my mind is the favorite part of the year. Stay outside and soak up the sun and the beautiful fall colours because there won't be many days like this in February. :bow:

Cheers 

Don


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## gbritnell (Nov 7, 2010)

Well it's time to resurrect this thread. I started making chips the other day. The first steps were just layout and looking at my drawings to see how to proceed. I started out by putting all the drilled holes in the case on every side. Next up was to pull the vise off the mill table and put the rotary table up so I could cut all the angles edges on the front and rear faces. I made up a gauge button so I would have something to paper against to maintain my dimensions. With the ends cut I pulled the rotary table off and put the vise back up and indicated it.
George


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## gbritnell (Nov 7, 2010)

This is the last update for today. I laid out the top surface for cutting the interior cavity. I'm going to drill out all the corners due to the depth of the cavity. The fillets are .125 and it will be too deep to work into the corner with a .25 end mill so I'll relieve them first. 
George


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## lee9966 (Nov 7, 2010)

I have been looking forward to this thread since you first talked about it, I am glad you are going for it. This is going to be fun to watch.

Lee


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## stevehuckss396 (Nov 7, 2010)

AWESOME!!

I'm going to make some popcorn and i'll be right back!!


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## Metal Butcher (Nov 7, 2010)

WOW George! :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: 
 That's a lot of work in just a few days. Its incredible to see you how quickly you can design and build your own creations. As usual, I'll be watching and cheering as your project progresses. 

-MB


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## b.lindsey (Nov 8, 2010)

Glad to see that the weather has now allowed for more shop time George. This is such a fascinating project! Thanks for the progress pictures as well.

Bill


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## MachineTom (Nov 8, 2010)

That will be interesting, do you intend to make it scale all the way with helical cut gears, scyros, and collars, or just a 5 speed workable trans?


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## gbritnell (Nov 8, 2010)

Hi Tom,
Synchros and collars but no helical gears. After the post on making helical gears and a little studying on my part I determined that making one or two helical gears isn't too big of a deal but making ten is. 
George


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## gbritnell (Nov 8, 2010)

Well here's today's work. I had some running around to do so I got a late start. I set up the block in the mill, picked up the edges and set my zeros. I then proceeded to drill out the corners with a .25 drill. The inside pocket of the trans is just too deep to cut into the corner with a .25 ball mill. After drilling all the corners to the required depths I started milling stock out. This reminds me of making the crankcase for the V-twin engine. I got down so far and then had to start stepping around some internal bosses. I worked about 3 hours tonight and got quite a bit of hogging done. Tomorrow I'll have to slow down as there are quite a few angles and shapes in the bottom of the case. 
Here's today's pictures.
George


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## gbritnell (Nov 8, 2010)

Two last pictures for today's update. Piles of aluminum chips. Not counting the ones that are already on the floor. 
George


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## tonyengines (Nov 9, 2010)

:bow:WOW :bow:


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## ozzie46 (Nov 9, 2010)

This is definitely a must follow thread. I will most likely never be able to do this but it sure will be fun to watch. Thm: Thm: Thm: 

 Ron


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## b.lindsey (Nov 9, 2010)

Inspiring as always George and excellent pictures too. 

Bill


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## TuxMan (Nov 9, 2010)

A most impressive and ambitious project. Keep up the good work and good pictures. I will be watching.

Eric


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## coopertje (Nov 9, 2010)

Amazing George! :bow:

Question, how will you make the ribs on the outside of the transmission? This is normally something for a casting if you ask me.

Regards Jeroen


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## gbritnell (Nov 9, 2010)

Hi Jeroen,
When I'm finished hogging out the inside cavity I'll start on the outside shape. I will leave the bottom flat until the very end so I can clamp the block in the vise with the ability to rotate it to the desired angles on the ribs. I have made the drawings with ordinate dimensioning (datum line) so I'll subtract the radius of the ball mill I'm using and give myself a witness along the edges of the ribs. From there I'll cut down to the case wall and finish up those surfaces. I'll post pictures as I go so you'll see how my madness proceeds. 

 Right now I just finished dinner and am headed back down to the shop to see if I can finish up the inside. I am using a long .250 ball mill for the fillets and I've already ground about half of the shank away to get down to the deepest depths. 

 I'll post some pictures of today's progress a little later on.
George


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## gbritnell (Nov 9, 2010)

I got a couple of more hours slowly whittling away inside this thing. I tried to establish some absolutes like the side walls naturally but then cut witnesses for the depth and the tangent points along the walls where the angles start. I couldn't use my .250 ball mill. I ran out of shank, so I went up to a .312 ball mill. It's not that the larger fillet will hurt anything it's just that I wanted to keep all the inside fillets the same size. 

 I got one angular wall finished and with using the larger ball mill I'll have to recalculate my starting points for the other angles. I'll be glad when I'm done inside this case. 
George


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## kustomkb (Nov 9, 2010)

It's looking really good George.

 You sure must have a lot of numbers rattling around in your head... :bow:


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## kcmillin (Nov 9, 2010)

WOW, I second what Kevin said. These types of complex parts give me strange number related dreams. 

I wish there was a smiley depicting me shaking my head with the shivers and saying "brrrbrbrrbbrbrbrb" to describe a thought of even attempting something like this.

Kel


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## stevehuckss396 (Nov 9, 2010)

gbritnell  said:
			
		

> I tried to establish some absolutes like the side walls naturally but then cut witnesses for the depth and the tangent points along the walls where the angles start.



WHAT???? Haahahaha!! Ya lost me at "I tried"

Awesome work G, as usual. You da man!!


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## coopertje (Nov 10, 2010)

Great piece of art George! And thanks for the explanation, believe I get the point of your approach for the outside shape!

Regards Jeroen


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## gbritnell (Nov 10, 2010)

I finished up machining the inside of the trans case. There were 4 different step down angles that ran from the side walls to the lower surface of the case. There were 2 different radii that blended from the side walls down to the bottom. While all this was being milled I had to be careful not to bump into the bosses for the idler gear and the shifter rail. I'm not going to clean up the inside until I get the outside machined, that way I won't have to get my files, burrs and stones out twice. 
Whew, I'm glad that's done!!!!
George


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## BlakeMcKee (Nov 13, 2010)

This is a really awesome project can't wait to see it mounted and operational! So any plans as far as making a complete 1/3 scale mustang (Fox body GT? ) to drop the 302 in? Or any of the other fords manufactured with 302's? Would take many years im sure but would be AWESOME.


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## gbritnell (Nov 13, 2010)

The nice weather here has been cutting into my machining time but I still got some done. I started profiling the outside. I layed out center lines, ribs and bosses and started cutting. The first 2 pictures show the initial surfacing cuts. There was quite a bit of stock on this side due to the fact that it has 2 triangular ribs which project out quite a ways from the side wall of the case. The final picture shows the start of the profiling, stepping around ribs and all kinds of bumps. 
George


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## Deanofid (Nov 14, 2010)

Only a few days making chips and it's already taking shape, George. It's always an education with
your projects, and I appreciate your pictures and words.
Sure a lot to think about, and trying to imagine your thought process to keep just one cut from running
where it shouldn't fills my head up pretty fast! 
Great thread already.

Dean


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## zeeprogrammer (Nov 14, 2010)

As was said earlier, this is a great thread. I'm watching with high interest even though I always come away feeling completely inadequate.


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## stevehuckss396 (Nov 14, 2010)

I know it's way to complicated to explain but you must have some method of charting out how and where you are going to cut. Does this method come from the die making industry?

How much would you charge me to live in your garage until the trans case is done?


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## steamer (Nov 14, 2010)

stevehuckss396  said:
			
		

> I know it's way to complicated to explain but you must have some method of charting out how and where you are going to cut. Does this method come from the die making industry?
> 
> How much would you charge me to live in your garage until the trans case is done?




Yes George, please do explain your "Kung-Fu" as it is far superior to mine! ;D


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## gbritnell (Nov 14, 2010)

Hi Steve and Dave,

 I really can't explain the thought process that 'I' use. I look at the piece and see what I have to remove. I start out with details like bosses and ribs and machine around them giving me witnesses to where my broader cuts are going to be. I leave all the fine machine work to the very end, working in one area at at time so I don't get real confused moving about the part. Kind of like doing a jig saw puzzle, you take areas that you can see right away and work around them. 

 Part of this might be from my CAD background in solid modeling. When building a part you start with the largest shape, create a profile, extrude it and then add and subtract pieces until you end up with a finished part. 

 It would be great if a few of us lived closer so we could visit each other's shops and see how projects are thought out. This forum is great but it lacks the personal experience of seeing just how some things are done.

George


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## gbritnell (Nov 14, 2010)

Here's 3 more pictures of the left side of the case. This side has much more detailing than the other side so it should go quicker. The last sculpting will be the bottom. I can clamp the front and rear faces in the vise for that work. I have a few more angular cuts to do on some of the ribs and the milling will be done on this side.

 The photographs show up all the tool marks when in reality they're not as bad as they look.

 My mill has never made smooth cuts no matter how I adjust the spindle bearings. I even went to interlocking v-belts to take any vibration out of the machine but it still doesn't cut nice and smooth. It's just something I have to live with, or get another mill. At this point in my life I guess I'll just tolerate it. 

George


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## coopertje (Nov 15, 2010)

Hi George,

I am amazed by your capabilities :bow: :bow:

You must have a special talent in accuracy, patience and concentration. I am able to make some cuts with great concentration, after that I start to make failures. Rotate the wrong handle, wrong direction, make a too deep cut etc. For that reason I love CNC, when the code feeded to the machine is correct the machine will do the rest. You seem to be able to manually simulate a CNC machine!!! This I would call the most ideal situation, real time programming error correction (in your mind) and the same end result.

Regards Jeroen


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## Lakc (Nov 15, 2010)

Thats just simply amazing. I would hope you have at least a DRO on your mill to help you out. I get lost too easily doing work like that.


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## TuxMan (Nov 15, 2010)

George

This is great project!!! I will be following along.

Having seen what you do in finishing your parts I am certain that there will be no tooling marks visible in the end

Regards Eric


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## gbritnell (Nov 16, 2010)

Thanks everyone,
Jeff, the answer to your question is yes I do have a digital readout. Actually I have done similar work without it so you see where there's so much time in some of my engines. When I built the 302 it was just by the dials. 
Well I have both sides finish machined. It took a lot of extra time stepping around the filler plug boss. I had to sine/cosine the radius while resetting the depth as the boss sits on a 22 degree wall. Then there were the bolt bosses under the top rail. It was still less nerve wracking than the other side with all it's ribs and things. Tomorrow I can start on the bottom. By weeks end it ought to be all machined up and ready for the hand work. 
George


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## gbritnell (Nov 16, 2010)

Three more pics that I couldn't get in the last posting.
George


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## kcmillin (Nov 16, 2010)

th_confused0052





Absolutely incredible. 

WOW!!

Kel


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## deere_x475guy (Nov 16, 2010)

George....absolutly one great build thread!!!...I need you and Steve both as neighbors...

Actually the forum of fine members as neighbors would be perfect!!!


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## steamer (Nov 16, 2010)

Damn George.....thats just mind blowing....... :bow: :bow:

Dave


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## awJCKDup (Nov 16, 2010)

WOW  George, I couldn't even.......I mean I wouldn't even know where to.....In my dreams I don't think.....
WOW WOW WOW

John


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## ozzie46 (Nov 17, 2010)

George, it is simply beautiful! :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: You must have the patience of Job to be able to stand there hour after hour and keep track of where you have been and where you need to go. 

 I have been milling out Loco wheels and have found out you can move the wrong direction sooo easily it isn't even funny. I will be profiling Loco steam cyls out of cast iron so any tips you can send my way are sorely needed and greatly appreciated.

 Looking forward to the rest of the build. 

 Ron


 p.s. I've already invested in the ball nose end mills and riffer files.


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## gbritnell (Nov 17, 2010)

Hi Ron,
The best tips I can give when profiling is:
1. Always try to climb cut into your corners. This will prevent the cutter from digging in.
2. Always leave .005-.006 stock for a final cut.
3. Always pay attention to where you're at. If you get done with a pass and you forget whether you moved X or Y, STOP, and recheck before proceeding. Don't assume!
4. Be patient. You can make nice looking parts that work or you can make parts that look like they were cast it's just that there is so much more time involved.
George


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## b.lindsey (Nov 17, 2010)

The more you get done George, the more amazing it becomes. Thanks for sharing it with us!!

Bill


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## ozzie46 (Nov 17, 2010)

Thanks for the info George.

  Ron


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## hobby (Nov 17, 2010)

It would be so interesting, and educative, as well as absolutely inspiring, to see you perform these tasks, through a camcorder, instead of still pictures, 
even if it took hours to watch, I think it would still be very inspiring to see how much time you put into these parts, and the amount of patience needed, 
that could be encouraging to us, when we find ourselves spending hours to make precision parts.
As well as the techniques you use to produce such masterpieces.

As always, Beautiful workmanship on your project.


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## Jared (Nov 17, 2010)

hobby  said:
			
		

> It would be so interesting, and educative, as well as absolutely inspiring, to see you perform these tasks, through a camcorder, instead of still pictures,
> even if it took hours to watch, I think it would still be very inspiring to see how much time you put into these parts, and the amount of patience needed,
> that could be encouraging to us, when we find ourselves spending hours to make precision parts.
> As well as the techniques you use to produce such masterpieces.



Webcam in the shop! 

Well... I'd have a hard time getting anything done knowing that millions of people are watching my every move. Or a few thousand, anyway.

This is beautiful!


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## ChooChooMike (Nov 17, 2010)

th_confused0052 th_confused0052 th_confused0052 You keep breaking th_rulze and do OUTSTANDING WORK :bow: :bow: :bow:

We are NOT WORTHY to sweep your swarf 

Mike


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## gbritnell (Nov 18, 2010)

Today's update. Sorry for the dark first picture. This was the case set up in the vise with the light on the other side of it. I had layed out some of the shape details on the bottom side and was starting to make some cuts.
The next 2 pictures show the different step cuts to form the angled top surface intersecting with the radius on the boss. Lots of steps here, X, Y and Z. 
The last picture shows the oil drain plug side with some more stepping. 
Tomorrow I have to figure how to make a conical radius by steps. I think I will cut 4 radial witnesses, one at each end and two in the middle some where. Just enough to that I can go in a grind and file by hand. I have two of them to do, one on the front corner and one on the opposite rear corner. 
It looks like when I get done with the machining it's going to be awhile before I get back to it. A fellow from Texas sent me a 'Little Brother' for refurbishing. First things first.
George


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## kustomkb (Nov 18, 2010)

Oh my, that is looking amazing! What a detailed piece.

When you get to hand finishing, would you mind sharing a picture of your tools and bench.

Thanks George. Very inspiring.


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## ozzie46 (Nov 19, 2010)

How do you grind aluminum?? Every time I've tried it,it just loads up the wheel. Is there a special Ali grinding wheel? I"ve tried the bench grinder with ali oxide wheels and those little wheels you put in drills and they both load up something fierce.

  Ron


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## gbritnell (Nov 19, 2010)

Hi Ron,
I use a product called Royal Jade. It comes in a stick form and when you spin your small mounted wheels you just run it against the material to put a thin layer on the surface. It acts similar to chalking up a file. It keeps the aluminum from loading up the tool. I also use it on my small burrs. 
George


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## ozzie46 (Nov 19, 2010)

Thanks George. I have been googling it to find a supplier and so no luck. Will keep trying. Looks like you have had yours a while by the looks of the box. :big: :big: :big:
So it must not take a whole lot to do the job.

  Ron


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## steamer (Nov 19, 2010)

Hi George,

Was reading an article by Brian Perkins and was thinking of you.  I am now getting the jist of your "carving" technique.....I will practice your "Kung Fu" oh master...perhaps some day...before I die.... I will be worthy :bow: :bow: :bow:


 ;D

Dave


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## gbritnell (Nov 22, 2010)

Hi KustomKB,
Well I'm done with the machining and starting to finish. To answer your question the first two posts will be my tools. As I stated on my V-twin build I have some die sinker riffler files, not a lot (very expensive) but enough to get into most of the corners and pockets. Along with those I have a pretty good selection of what's referred to a jeweler's files, round, square, triangle, knife, etc. I also have quite a few 1/8 shank mounted stones of different shapes and sizes. I generally use the blue stones for most of my work. As you can see from the picture I have a nice selection of carbide burs. I use the double cut ones. I have a Magnaviewer with the LED light attachment. I have the strongest lens available. The focal range is only about 4 inches but boy does it blow things up. And last but not least I have a Dremel variable speed grinder although for this work it's usually on it's highest setting, (20,000 rpm.) The grinder is used along with a flex shaft and Dremel handpiece. The only thing I have found that is more sensitive for grinding and finishing is an air pencil grinder. The only problem is they take so much air. My 1-1/2 horse compressor hardly ever shuts off when using it a lot. Oh yeah I almost forgot, a wide variety of emery and crocus cloths.
So here's the pictures.
George


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## gbritnell (Nov 22, 2010)

The last of the tool pictures.


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## kustomkb (Nov 22, 2010)

Thanks a lot George. That sure is quite the assortment. I have a only a couple of rifler files I have inherited over the years and not nearly as many mounted points. That's a nice collection of burrs too. My Dad just gave me a dremel clone that has the digital speed read-out. oooh. Fancy, I know. Just kidding. I have a decent compressor and the pneumatic pencil grinder and have found that I can last a lot longer when wearing my gel filled impact gloves. I can have all the tools in the world but without the skills and patience to use them they are useless. Thanks for sharing. I will be watching the progress with great interest.


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## gbritnell (Nov 22, 2010)

Now to show the progression of finishing an area. The first picture shows the area to be finished. Although the steps look very large in these pictures they're not. It's just that they are zoomed up so much. On the 45* walls the cusps are about .0008. The cusps going around the circular boss are a little bigger, maybe .005 at most. Naturally they can be made smaller but it just adds so much more milling time to an already lengthy process. They can be cut down with a bur and stones in no time. 

 The second picture is the areas covered with a magic marker so that it makes it easier to see what is being removed. 

 The third picture is with some of the high spots kissed off with both a small bur and stone. I use a 1/8 ball nosed bur for the open areas and a tree bur with a small ball tip for the pockets. When using a bur you want to let the bur do the work, don't press, just let the bur skip over the high spots. If you don't it will grab and make all kinds of nasty tracks across your part. 

 The last picture of this set shows quite a bit of the high spots removed. Once you get the biggest part of the material removed with bur go to your stones. They are much more forgiving when removing stock. 

George


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## Lakc (Nov 22, 2010)

Looking good, thanks for the walkthrough.


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## gbritnell (Nov 22, 2010)

Here's the last 4 pictures for today.

The first is just a progression from the last one. Just a tiny bit more stock removed. Once you get the high spots knocked off it's time to go to the files. I have several rifflers with a round cross section. They are a little over .125 at the big part and taper down to about .04 at the tip all the while curving back like a shepherd's crook. I use a #0 cut for roughing and a #2 for finishing, at least on aluminum. The flat surfaces are filed with several flat, curved rifflers, a couple with blunt tips and others with a semi pointed end. 

 Once the filing is complete or at least seems finished I start sanding with emery paper wrapped around some maple sticks of different shapes, flat, square, rounded etc. Once you start to smooth things out with the emery you always see cutter marks to then you have to go back in with the files and touch them up. 

 I save all my small pieces of emery and use them wrapped around pieces of stock for getting into pockets and corner. 

 As can be seen from the 2 finished pictures there's a couple of dimples in the surfaces. I have to say that when you're making several hundred cuts on a part, going up and down in -Z- it's almost impossible to not make an oops. These dimples are probably no deeper than .002 but they show up like a sore thumb. If I was totally anal about the whole affair I could drill them with a small drill, put in a piece of aluminum wire and refile them but with all the work that lies ahead on this project I'll worry about that somewhere down the road. 

George


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## Lakc (Nov 22, 2010)

I dont know where to find the jaw-dropping smiley but that looks fantastic!


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## Deanofid (Nov 22, 2010)

George, these last few posts today are some of the most informative I've read in some time. For the
great majority of us who've never seen this actually done, this is as good as things get!
Thanks very much for taking the time to explain these finishing steps.


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## ozzie46 (Nov 22, 2010)

Thanks for the post George. Thats very good info. Thm: Thm: Thm: Just what I needed right now as I am trying to profile my locomotive wheels. 

( see reply #39)
http://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/index.php?topic=8358.30#lastPost

 I have some cheapie riffler files. They seem to be ok for aluminum but nothing to write home about. I will find out how good they are on cast iron when I try profiling the steam cyls. 

 I don't have any burrs at the moment. Need to look into them.

 Ron


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## Metal Butcher (Nov 23, 2010)

Hi George, the sculpturing is coming along real nice. The light weight flex shaft attachment you use is on my wish list. The weight of the rotary tool becomes an issue for me and adds to my control problem rather quickly. I haven't used my Dremel much for that very reason. 

Great work George! Your project is taking shape much faster than I anticipated, I can't wait to see it up close and in person. ;D

-MB


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## coopertje (Nov 24, 2010)

George, many thanks for the detailed explenation how to profile the outside of the gearbox. I hope to be able to use your method in a model in some time, if I can reach 20% of your result I will be a veay happy man! 

Thanks again for sharing! :bow:

Regards Jeroen


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## gbritnell (Nov 24, 2010)

This part of the build is finished. Other than some clearance issues that might occur when I start putting the gears inside I am done. I didn't know if it was wise to wait until the end to tap the 1-72 holes along the top rail but they went in without a hitch. 
Thanks to everyone who followed along and added their comments. It makes the extra work worthwhile when others can enjoy it.
George


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## stevehuckss396 (Nov 24, 2010)

Holy smokes G you truely are the man.

Any way you could snap a shot with the full size case behind the mini one?


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## kustomkb (Nov 24, 2010)

A beautiful piece of work George, very well done!

Thanks for all the detailed posts.


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## ChooChooMike (Nov 24, 2010)

th_confused0052 th_confused0052 th_confused0052

As usual, AMAZING work George !! 

<whimpering on the corner of my desk>

Mike


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## steamer (Nov 24, 2010)

Awesome build George!....can't wait for the "stuffing" in the form of gears!

Dave


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## Deanofid (Nov 25, 2010)

It's beautiful, George. Certainly, your time in making this thread is worthwhile, considering how
many of us will learn from it. Thank you, again.


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## RichD (Nov 26, 2010)

Well,
I'm late in finding this thread, but I just want to add my compliments to the rest..."Beautiful Work" George!
Rich


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## Ken I (Nov 26, 2010)

What a pice of craftsmanship - I am in awe.

If you only screw up one cut in 100 then your chances of pulling off 100 operations without mishap is only 36%

You are a Jedi Machinist.

Thanks for all the postings and information on how to..

Regards,
      Ken


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## b.lindsey (Nov 26, 2010)

Very timely, not to mention informative post George. I will need some of these finishing techniques shortly on my current project, but in the mean time am thoroughly enjoying your progress on this awe inspiring project!!

Bill


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## gbritnell (Jan 25, 2011)

I know it's been quite awhile but I have been working on the Galloway engines. I took a break from them and put a little bit of time back on the transmission. I had the tailshaft housing cut to size just sitting on the bench so I grabbed my drawings and planned an attack. 
 I started out by drilling the shift shaft hole and the mainshaft hole. From there I did the counterboring with a few end mills and finally with my boring head. My setup was to clamp the block to an angle plate for these operations but to cut all the angles I wanted to use my rotary table. The trick was how to do it. I couldn't clamp on top of the block because I had to cut that surface. I then remembered that I had a pair of pinch down clamps or toe clamps or whatever they are called. I hadn't used them in years but thought I would give them a try. 
 I was just a little skeptical with the block being so tall. After I snugged them up I gave it some pretty good hits with my hand and it seemed very secure. 
 The first pictures are of the roughing out of the cavity. This was done with the drills, end mills and boring bar. I then stepped of the cavity with a .50 ball mill.
George


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## gbritnell (Jan 25, 2011)

The next 3 pictures are of my setups. One with the angle plate and C-clamps, the other with the pinch clamps on my rotary table. I had bought these clamps way back when I was in the pattern shop and don't remember what I paid for them. After seeing how well they worked I pulled out the tool catalogs to see if they were still available. Sure enough, they still make them except you need to take out a loan to buy them, $52.00 each. I'll try and make do with the 2 I have. 
George


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## gbritnell (Jan 25, 2011)

Here's the final 3 pictures. These show all the detail machined, the ribs, bosses and flanges. I won't do any bench work in this are until I get the whole thing machined. The last picture shows the .531 through hole. I could only drill so deep from the front side and had to finish it up from the back. I'm happy with how well the 2 holes lined up. 
George


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## stevehuckss396 (Jan 25, 2011)

Very cool G!! I was just thinking about this last week hoping for some kind of update. Thanks!!


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## crankshafter (Jan 26, 2011)

Hi George "the wizzard" ;D
Have waited a long time for a update on this topic. Loged in, and man what a update, you make me th_confused0052 First class work. Keep it coming :bow:

I can see you are still using your round columb. You mentioned that you where getting you a new mill, have you desided for what mill to change to?

Best regards
CS


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## b.lindsey (Jan 26, 2011)

George, its nice to see you back on this project. Truly awe inspiring and you make it look so easy as well. Thanks for the update!!

Bill


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## RonC9876 (Jan 26, 2011)

George: I see a complete car in your future. That's if you don't crack from the strain before then. Keep turning out work like this and the rest of us will be cowering with embarrassment! Ron Colonna


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## steamer (Jan 26, 2011)

Damn George....you do mighty fine work....keep it coming, I'm learning tons!

Dave


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## RonC9876 (Jan 26, 2011)

If you think his drafting work is good you need to see his art work! Too many talents for one man to have. Ron


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## gbritnell (Jan 28, 2011)

It's been several days but here's where I'm at. 
I had to figure the best way to remove most of the metal and still have some clamping area so with the larger cuts on the bottom I clamped from the centerline up. The first 3 pictures show the shifter box area. I cut the cavity and just enough around it to give me a witness. That left all of the other flat area for alignment.


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## gbritnell (Jan 28, 2011)

The next picture is some rough layout work and then off to the bandsaw to get rid of the big pieces.The first detail on the bottom was a boss up against the flange. I roughed around it and then went in with a .125 end mill with a small radius on the corner.


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## gbritnell (Jan 28, 2011)

Next came a setup for cutting the angled surface on the bottom. I roughly set it with a protractor and then went in with my dial indicator and checked the tangent of the angle. Then some more stock removal and stepping around the newly formed boss.


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## gbritnell (Jan 28, 2011)

There are 2 ribs on the bottom of the tailshaft housing, a wider one near the back and then a thinner one about halfway up. (.150 and .063 respectively) The first 3 photos show the wide rib cut and the last one show the smaller on finished. It required several moves in the vise to set up for the angles and then finally some step-off work to get the blend angle between the 2 ribs. 
George


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## Metal Butcher (Jan 28, 2011)

gbritnell  said:
			
		

> Next came a setup for cutting the angled surface on the bottom. I roughly set it with a protractor and then went in with my dial indicator and checked the tangent of the angle. Then some more stock removal and stepping around the newly formed boss.



Great post George! And thanks, you just taught a new trick using a bevel protractor.

Now I know how to use mine to set-up a work piece in my mill vise. This has been a problem for me in the past.

They way you used it with help from a 123 block never crossed my mind.

-MB


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## steamer (Jan 28, 2011)

ya know George....you have had me stumped for some time.

You are impossible to categorize.....

Just when I think your artist...you become engineer...when I think your engineer, you explode with artistry.

In all, your awe inspiring....and I continue to be stumped...but that's OK...I'm enjoying the view none the less.

Some things just don't need labels or explainations.....just a heap of respect.

 :bow: :bow:


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## Troutsqueezer (Jan 28, 2011)

Checking the tangent of the angle, George...wouldn't have crossed my mind to do something like that but it makes sense. I'll make a note. 

Are you going to have this finished by Winter's end?


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## ozzie46 (Jan 29, 2011)

As already stated George, you just continue to amaze!

 Keep it coming. 

 Ron


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## gbritnell (Jan 29, 2011)

I got some more chopping done on the tailshaft housing. I took a little break to give Rick (MB) a hand and then got back to it. As with the gear box housing it's a matter of knowing where to go and just start removing metal. 
The first picture just shows some of the roughing steps. The area around the front part of the housing has angles and radii to be cut. I purposely left material on the rear flange with the idea that it would be used for clamping. The housing was 1/16 too long to fit in the vise so I removed the hard jaw from the movable jaw and set up for the angle cut. From the previous picture you can see this surface just to the right of the indicator tip. I then had to unbolt the vise and pivot it to get the bottom angle parallel. 
George


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## gbritnell (Jan 29, 2011)

The next thing was to create a step-off chart for the radius. The next 3 pictures show the progression of the radius. The first 2 pictures show the start of the radius from 2 different angles and the third shot shows the completed radius.
George


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## gbritnell (Jan 29, 2011)

The next picture shows one of the radii on the other side of the housing. I didn't show all the cuts as they were similar to the first side. The only difference being that there was extra stock left on the first side for the speedometer boss. There's 2 more radii to go on this side.
George


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## gbritnell (Jan 29, 2011)

The last 3 pictures are from my photography setup which give a clearer picture of the progress of the part. The chunk of aluminum is starting to resemble something at this point.
George


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## b.lindsey (Jan 31, 2011)

It really is taking shape George. Totally awe inspiring!! With all those edges and facets, etc. I am thinking in another life you must have been a master diamond cutter. :bow:

Regards,
Bill


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## Lakc (Jan 31, 2011)

Looks beautiful George. Removing all that metal makes this look a bit more like sculpting then machining. Thm:


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## kustomkb (Jan 31, 2011)

A beautiful sculpture indeed! Thanks for the detailed posts.


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## Deanofid (Jan 31, 2011)

The whole thing is still 'wow' to me. You have so many angles and depths going on at one time, I don't know how you keep track of them. Fantastic as always, George.


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## gbritnell (Feb 2, 2011)

Thanks everyone for commenting. Here's today's update. I just slowly remove more and more metal until it looks like the drawing. I had to go in with my burrs in one area because I just couldn't figure out how to hold and twist and tilt the thing to make a cut. Once I took the stock off I could then see how the curves and angles developed and did more machining. I had to take the jaw back off of the vise so I could rotated the housing to get the speedometer hole in. I layed out the centerline, center drilled and drilled the hole and then went in with an end mill and cut a witness for the surface. 
George


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## gbritnell (Feb 2, 2011)

You know when you're building something and you get a pile of parts and you just have to assemble that pile of parts to see what the thing is going to look like? You don't? Well I do. I have the main case sitting in my display case upstairs so I had to run up, get it and screw the 2 pieces together just to see what it looked like. Now it getting fun!!! This will probably be the last post for a little while. I'm now working on the 1/6 scale Galloway and finally got the drawings and dimensions sorted out so I'll be back on that for some time. Anyway here's what it looks like bolted together.
George


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## Lakc (Feb 2, 2011)

Absolutely fablulous looking George! Please dont make us wait too long. I want to see some splines and synchro's. woohoo1


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## Metal Butcher (Feb 2, 2011)

Wow George it looks super! :bow:

Can't wait to see it in person! Hint, hint.

-Rick


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## kcmillin (Feb 2, 2011)

Really Awesome George, thats some amazing stuff.

Even if you stopped now, that is quite the accomplishment, but please don't stop :big:

Kel


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## steamer (Feb 2, 2011)

kcmillin  said:
			
		

> Really Awesome George, thats some amazing stuff.
> 
> Even if you stopped now, that is quite the accomplishment, but please don't stop :big:
> 
> Kel




DITTO!!!!

 :bow: :bow: :bow:


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## ozzie46 (Feb 2, 2011)

Gorgeous George, absolutely gorgeous. :bow: :bow: :bow:

 Ron


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## doc1955 (Feb 2, 2011)

Wow is right!! th_confused0052
Totally amazing I love it!!


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## gbritnell (Feb 5, 2011)

Here's the latest progress on the trans. I make a couple of cuts then reset the case to another angle and make a few more cuts all the while trying not to take too much off. 
George


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## zeeprogrammer (Feb 6, 2011)

Still following.

That is amazing craftmanship.


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## RManley (Feb 6, 2011)

This project is truly amazing :bow: 

Its projects like this that make me sad im so far away from my workshop 

Any chance you could provide a link to the engine, and what scale is it?

 Rob.


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## gbritnell (Feb 6, 2011)

Hi Rob,
The engine is a 1/3 scale Ford 302 V-8. I'm sure there is a thread on it somewhere but for anyone new here is the link to the video on Youtube. 
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_vQp0gevh0[/ame]
Last year's project was a design and build of a V-twin engine so this year I wanted to do something a little different hence the transmission for this engine.
George


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## gbritnell (Feb 7, 2011)

I made some more chips yesterday. I felt that with most of the heavy cutting done I could machine off the 2 big lugs remaining at the top front of the case. With that done I once again took the jaw plate off of the vise so that I could clamp the case end wise to cut around the speedometer boss. I did a little nibbling there for now as I'll have to go back in and step the radius when I get more of the metal above it removed. At this point it's a slow process, more setup than cutting.
George


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## gbritnell (Feb 7, 2011)

Once the 2 big lugs were machined off I could go in and step off the radius around the shift shaft. It's tapered on the full sized case and I might make a special setup with my rotary table once all the other cutting is done to put the tapered shape on it. 
George


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## gbritnell (Feb 7, 2011)

The next step was to lay out the remaining ribs. I blued the case up with a marker and scribed the lines. It was then put back in the vise and I started the heavy cutting, if you can call a .187 ball mill heavy cutting. The finished contours will be done with .125 and .094 dia. ball mills. Once the material around the ribs is cut out the case will be rotated so that I can cut the angles onto the ribs.
George


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## stevehuckss396 (Feb 7, 2011)

Looking good G!!

If you wouldn't mind, could you take a picture (next time it is assembled) with the trans sitting in your hand. It would be nice to get a sense of how small it is.

Thanks!!


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## gbritnell (Feb 7, 2011)

Here's the end of today's work. I just finished up at 8:30 pm and took these pictures. The first set are a continuation of the rib profiling. After going in with the .187 ball I started to finish with the .125 ball. I had my step off chart set up for the radius and had my rib dimensions for the stopping points. 
George


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## gbritnell (Feb 7, 2011)

The next set of pictures are from my photo stand. The first with a half dollar coin next to it and the third with it bolted to the main case. The last is per Steve's request so a person can get an idea of the size.
George


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## doc1955 (Feb 7, 2011)

Wow does that looks nice! :bow: :bow:

(by the way I wouldn't part with my travadial! Thanks!)


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## agmachado (Feb 9, 2011)

Hello George,

I do not have words... absolutely fantastic!!!

Congratulations!!!

Cheers,

Alexandre


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## gbritnell (Feb 12, 2011)

Gentlemen, the next 3 posts are going to be just pictures. I have finished all the machining and wanted to share it with you before I started all the grinding and filing. I want to share a mistake I made and why I made it before the pictures. On the left side of the housing is a boss for the speedometer drive. It was roughed out very early on and I didn't pay any attention to it until I started blending in all the surrounding surfaces. While I was nibbling away around it I thought it looked a little 'off'. It certainly didn't match my drawings and they are very accurate. At this point a little checking was in order before I went any farther. The face of this surface is 34 degrees off of the horizontal. That shouldn't have posed a problem for setup, not like when a surface is 47 degrees and you're not sure whether it's from the horizontal or the vertical. When I put the protractor on it it read 26 degrees. What!!!! 26 degrees? That can't be!! How on earth did I set it up on 26 degrees? Nevertheless I laid it out in Autocad to see if it could be saved. I could skim the existing surface back to 34 degrees, open up the hole, make a flanged insert, press it in and all I would have to do is shift the centerline .036. Now I have to insert another clue into the story. Usually I set my jobs up with a vernier protractor, no problem. Just prior to cutting this surface I had just purchased a set of angle plates, 1-30 degrees. As I was resetting the job to recut the surface I pulled out the 30 degree plate and the 4 degree plate and set up the case for re-cutting. Hmm, something didn't look right, the surface was horizontal. Now that can't be! What the heck is going on. ??? FLASH! What happens when you put a 30 degree block together with a 4 degree block but turn the 4 degree block the wrong way? You get 26 degrees. Although it involved more work I was really happy to find out why I screwed up and that the part wasn't ruined. 
That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.
Anyway, on with the pics.


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## gbritnell (Feb 12, 2011)

Next 4 pictures.


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## gbritnell (Feb 12, 2011)

The last 3 pictures.
George


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## Metal Butcher (Feb 12, 2011)

Your work is super George! :bow:

If I didn't see you working on it in person, using your mill/drill, I would think that it could 'only' be done with a CNC machine.

George, your the equivalent of a 'Super Human CNC Machine'. :big:

-MB


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## stevehuckss396 (Feb 12, 2011)

This is the most impressive piece of machining that I have ever seen!


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## kustomkb (Feb 12, 2011)

Amazing George. That's incredible!


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## kcmillin (Feb 12, 2011)

Metal Butcher  said:
			
		

> George, your the equivalent of a 'Super Human CNC Machine'. :big:
> 
> -MB



Gentlemen, I think we found "The Six Million Dollar Man", must be some kind of bi-onics. :big: :big:

Absolutely incredible George!! 

Kel


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## steamer (Feb 12, 2011)

Damn BubbA!....I don't have any superlatives to describe.....

Dave


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## steamer (Feb 13, 2011)

George,

The more I look at it, the more I see, the more blown away I am......
I wouldn't even know where to begin with that..... :noidea:



 th_confused0052


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## coopertje (Feb 13, 2011)

George,

I have no words, just fantastic! Incredible what you can do with a milling machine... Even with CNC this would be a very complicated part and it would take a excellent programmer to make the code for the machine. The fact that you do it by hand is beyond all superlatives  :bow: :bow:

Regards Jeroen


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## Bill Gruby (Feb 13, 2011)

Absolutely unbelievabe craftsmanship. Talk about pushing the envelope.I have 40 yrs exp. and this makes that look like nothing. I can't wait to see the end of this project.

 "Bill Gruby"


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## Deanofid (Feb 14, 2011)

It's such a pleasure to see what a man can do with manual machines, George. I used up all my fancy
words in your last build thread, so I'm just sitting here slack jawed, watching.
I can't imagine what must go on in your mind keeping all these cuts and angles squared away.
Very inspiring, to say the least.


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## b.lindsey (Feb 14, 2011)

Amazing George!!! These latest pictures also give a much better size perspective...I had been thinking it was larger than it is...which makes it all the more amazing!!!

Bill


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## gbritnell (Mar 8, 2011)

Well with the Galloway builds I haven't had much time to work on the trans but I have the second engine almost complete and needed a change of pace so I went back on the tailshaft housing. The first 3 pictures are the housing with the burr and stone work done. A lot of shaping and radiusing needed to be done so I had to do more burr work than I care for. They can be tricky devils at times. I have found that the best thing is to let them cut with light pressure and not force anything otherwise they'll grab and pull themselves somewhere where you don't want them to go. 
George


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## gbritnell (Mar 8, 2011)

I didn't show the process for burring and stoning as I had done a fairly comprehensive coverage when I was building my V-twin engine. The areas to be cleaned up get a coating of ink from a marker pen and then the high spots are slowly brought down until the blue lines disappear. 
After the stone work I go in with jeweler's and riffler files to smooth out all the little bumps and marks. Once this is complete I use varying grades of emery paper to smooth things out. When you start to polish, especially with aluminum, you start to see all kinds of little imperfections so you have to go back with the files, and sometimes small stones and clean them up otherwise the part can look pretty rough.
These finished pictures will be in 2 postings.
George


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## gbritnell (Mar 8, 2011)

This is the last finish picture plus several with the 2 cases bolted together.
George


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## b.lindsey (Mar 8, 2011)

Every picture still amazes me George. Simply beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bill


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## gbritnell (Mar 8, 2011)

These last 2 pictures are for Steve. Along time back he had asked if I would take a picture with the miniature next to the full sized trans for comparison. The pictures aren't great because of the flash in the garage but at least you get the idea.
George


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## BillC (Mar 8, 2011)

Beautiful work George! Your description of working with burrs is good - kind of reminds me of raising children - "light pressure and not force anything otherwise they'll grab and pull themselves somewhere where you don't want them to go." Yep, that's a very good description!

I have some photos of a casting that I attempted to buy that was listed on eBay....I looked them up last night and found them in my photo files. These were taken by the person that was selling a beautiful scale iron casting of a 302 Ford engine block - it's little over 7 inches long. I found and bought the cast iron crankshaft that I feel quite sure goes with it. I could never bring myself to do anything to the crankshaft but just look at the way it was cast - remarkable. The iron block would have been a treasure too...It can be readily seen that the patterns for these castings were done by masters. I'll post them when I get home this afternoon. The fact that you have fabricated a 302 reminded me of these castings that you may get a kick out of...

BillC


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## BillC (Mar 8, 2011)

Miniature Ford 302 Iron block casting...


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## BillC (Mar 8, 2011)

Iron Block and Crankshaft....


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## BillC (Mar 8, 2011)

Not that you even need to make a pattern!


BillC


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## stevehuckss396 (Mar 8, 2011)

I have no words!

  :big:


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## coopertje (Mar 8, 2011)

George, still following with my mouth wide open at every picture you post, it seems just almost unreal to me! You can be glad that you live far away otherwise i would be nagging every day until you will alow me one day in your shop for some lessons in machining metal ;D

Cant wait for the updates on this project!

Regards Jeroen


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## awJCKDup (Mar 8, 2011)

Great googly moogly George!!
The work you do is unbelievable! Super , Great, the only bad thing is, if your doing machining, I wonder what it is I'm doing, cause there is no comparison.
Keep up the great posts--I never tire of them and always learn something from them.
John


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## Lakc (Mar 8, 2011)

There arent enough expletives in the english language for that, and I mean that in the most positive way. Just.... speechless.
 :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow:
Ill go off into my corner now hoping someday to do a job that well.


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## gbritnell (Apr 3, 2011)

Thanks everyone for the comments. As we have all realized on some of the lengthy build projects it's hard to continually add comments so I would expect that the responses would diminish but the pictures and information will definitely continue. 
I found some time between other jobs to fit the top cover in. It's not a big piece but yet required a great amount of setup work for all the different angular shapes and contours. The inside needed sculpting also to allow clearance for the shift linkages and shafts. When I find a little spare time I will get to the hand finishing phase for the cover. Yesterday I got the input shaft housing machined. While stepping around all the ribs and bosses I lost track of the home made holder position and the set screw did a little damage to the very end of the housing. When I finished up the milling I put it back in the lathe, cut off the marred end, counterbored it and made up a pressed in plug. Other than a small visible line around the tip it's non the worse for wear. 
George


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## gbritnell (Apr 3, 2011)

The last set of pictures show one more shot of the inside of the top cover, two with the cover installed on the main case and one of the detailing around the input shaft housing and of course the visible line at the end of the housing.
George


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## b.lindsey (Apr 3, 2011)

I always look forward to your posts George and the top looks terrific. Amazing as always!!

Bill


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## Deanofid (Apr 3, 2011)

gbritnell  said:
			
		

> Thanks everyone for the comments. As we have all realized on some of the lengthy build projects it's hard to continually add comments so I would expect that the responses would diminish



I'll bet everyone still watches, George. It's just hard to come up with some new way to say
"That looks fantastic". ; ) 
Well, once again, it does! Thanks for the new post and pics.


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## agmachado (Apr 3, 2011)

Hi George,

Still very cool !

:bow:

Cheers,

Alexandre


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## Ken I (Apr 4, 2011)

Add comments ? What more can I say - I'm dumbfounded.

George I like to think I can do anything I put my mind to - but I have to admit to myself that I coulnd't do what you do (not without an NC at least) simply because with my best efforts I could not do that many operations without some serious mistake destroying my efforts and plunging me into despair.

I'm green with envy.

Keep up the great postings.

Ken


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## steamer (Apr 4, 2011)

th_confused0052

 :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow:


Regards,

Dave


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## Lakc (Apr 4, 2011)

http://thesaurus.com/

Never be ashamed to look something up. That looks real good George!


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## bronson (Apr 9, 2011)

The machining and the finish work on this build is unreal. The detail is pretty awesome. The work that i continue to see on this forum blows my mind great work.


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## Chitownmachine (Apr 10, 2011)

I cannot believe what I'm seeing! And all done manually to boot?? I'm too broke for CNC, so there is hope! You have inspired me!  :bow:


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## coopertje (Apr 13, 2011)

Hi George,

Just want to say....words fail me to describe the art you are making.... I am stunned, gazing at the pictures over and over with great respect that you are able to keep all those positions of machining apart from one and another. I already make mistake having one reference point in my work, cannot imagine doing something similar like you do.

Keep the progress coming, following along with great interest!

Jeroen


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## lee9966 (Apr 15, 2011)

That is incredible work, I really like seeing what can be done with skill and experience.

I do find it hard to keep the size in my head, any chance for having a ruler or something in future pics? I am hesitant to even ask


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## gbritnell (Apr 15, 2011)

On page 10 is a picture of me holding the 2 cases bolted together. This will give you a good idea of the size.
George


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## Lakc (Apr 16, 2011)

Would I be incorrect in assuming we will get to see this in person at NAMES?


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## gbritnell (Apr 16, 2011)

Yes sir you will.
George


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## Lakc (Apr 16, 2011)

Good news indeed, thanks for sharing with us.


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## gbritnell (Apr 26, 2011)

A little bit of a dry spell on the trans due to other modeling obligations. I got about 3 days on it over the past week and started on the gears. First up is the top cover. The last picture installment showed it machined but in need of finishing. I took care of that. While benching it out I saw an odd looking mark starting to form on the front bulkhead. I turned the cover over and discovered that I had machined the inside shape too close to the outside shape and as I was benching it out it started to break through. What to do? I set the part up on it's fixture plate and using a .09 slitting saw I cut through the front bulkhead down just deep enough to seat a patch into the front of the cover. I then turned up a disc the same diameter as the cutter and cut a piece off. With careful fitting I got an almost invisible seam. It just shows along the top. The next issue was how to secure the patch. I have tried many products over the years, CA glue, epoxies and what-have-you. Each one is good for it's own application but I have never had much luck adhering metal parts together, permanently. I had just been reading about JB Weld and having never used it I thought I would give it a try. I'm here to tell you that this stuff is amazing! It's also a 2 part epoxy type material but it has totally different characteristics than the usual 2 part epoxies. I used that to secure the patch from the inside. In the first picture you can see a faint line across the top where the patch butts up against the top cover surface. I couldn't peen that area prior to benching the patch out so the line will have to stay. The other surrounding areas of the patch fit up almost perfectly and there is no visible seam. 
George


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## gbritnell (Apr 26, 2011)

With the top cover and input shaft housing finished that takes care of all the aluminum housings. Now it's on to shafts and gears.
 The first shaft was the input shaft. I had to make a spline cutter for the clutch end of it so first up was making a drill rod cutter for that. I had already made the gear cutters back when I had started the project. The shaft was turned and splined, the bearing was pressed into the cover. the input gear and shifter spline were machined and everything was pressed together with Loctite. 
 The splines on the end of the output shaft are different than the input shaft so a cutter was needed for that also.
George


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## kustomkb (Apr 26, 2011)

Looking good George!

Sorry about the mishap. JB Weld has helped me out plenty of times. It can be drilled and tapped fairly well too.


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## b.lindsey (Apr 26, 2011)

Got to agree, JB Weld is the Duct Tape of the 21st century. Its saved my rear on several occasions!! The project is still looking phenominal George, always look forward to your posts on it.

Bill


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## gbritnell (Apr 26, 2011)

Here is a picture of the gear cutters I made for this project. In the past I have used store-bought involute cutters and home made flycutting bits. I had never tried making hob type cutters so I thought I would give it a shot. As has been covered on this forum, hob type cuttes work well for the fact that as the part is rotated to the next tooth the cutter will put the required radius onto the tooth. These were made from W-1 drill rod. When designing the trans gears I found that I would need three different pitches to give me the proper approximate gear ratios and still maintain the correct center spacing. I ended up with 36, 40 and 48 pitch gears. Close enough so that they don't look out of place in the trans but other than the 48's they are non standard sizes. When I made the first gear for the input shaft I cut enough stock to make an extra gear for test fitting. You can see the fit of teeth on the two gears is quite good for a homemade gear cutter. The hardest part in making the hobs is maintaining accurate spacing on the teeth. Each pitch needed it's own lathe tool bit to cut the hobs. 
George


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## gbritnell (Apr 26, 2011)

Here is the procedure for cutting teeth. This happens to be the countershaft. I needed to make it from 2 pieces as the inner gears were too close together to cut properly. 
I chuck the stock in my set-true chuck and indicate it concentrically. I have my small surface gauge set to the centerline of the chuck and use it to center one of the teeth on the hob. When making the hob it's prudent to cut extra teeth. That way if it wears a little you can shift it up or down. The proper indexing plate is installed on the dividing head and then the cutting begins. For the 36 pitch gear the total depth is .06 so I take it all in one pass. The gears are being made from 12L14 so it cuts quite nicely.
George


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## gbritnell (Apr 26, 2011)

Here are the 2 pieces of the countershaft. The large one has the input and 3rd gear gears and the smaller one has the second, reverse and first gear gears. After machining they were pressed and Loctited together.
George


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## gbritnell (Apr 26, 2011)

The final set of pictures show the main case with the bearings installed, the mainshaft and input shafts in place and finally the countershaft sitting in the box. 
 I am so enthusiastic about working on the gears I would like to keep going but I have to finish up this current hit and miss engine first. 
More to come!
George


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## Ken I (Apr 26, 2011)

Nice going George.

As regards bonding metals the problem is that metals oxidise virtually instantly and no matter how good the glue is the bond is only as good as the "rust" and surface imperfections. 

Specialist adhesives require primers for this purpose (hell if they can glue airplanes together why can't we ?)

A trick I use is to sand the mating surfaces using the epoxy as lubricant - this keeps the oxygen at bay and allows the adhesive to bond directly with the substrate. Do this to both surfaces - gently wipe clean - to remove the grit etc. but leave a film of adhesive - add a bit more clean adhesive and set up as per normal.

Generally gives a startling improvement in strength - up to 5 times better.

Regards,
       Ken


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## T70MkIII (Apr 27, 2011)

Stunning work, George - it's great seeing some internals going into the case. Thanks for the gearcutting pics; they've helped me get my head around the concept.


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## ozzie46 (Apr 27, 2011)

There are no words I can think of to express my admiration of this project adequately.

  If I didn't know better I would think it was full size.

  All I can say is GREAT JOB George! :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow:

  Ron


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## dsquire (Apr 27, 2011)

George

There is not much that I can say that hasn't already been said. A big thanks for letting me look over your shoulder again. :bow: :bow:

Cheers 

Don


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## Lakc (Apr 27, 2011)

Darn good stuff there George.
Do you climb mill with the hob or conventional mill them? 
I have noticed that my homemade cutters do dull fairly easily, likely due to poor process control on my part. Looking forward to seeing it Saturday.


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## gbritnell (Apr 27, 2011)

Hi Jeff,
I generally climb cut but on that last gear in the pictures I had to conventional cut it because I didn't feel safe with the runout room at the next gear. 
George


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## Chitownmachine (Apr 28, 2011)

One quick question...are you a robot, haha,...Because your work is beyond amazing!!!  :bow: Out of curiosity what is your background in machining? I'm going to school for manufacturing engineering and electro-mechanical engineering so hopefully I can get a job as a prototype model maker. Your skills are super good and assumed you might be in the business .  If you have any tips of any kind, as a fan of your work, I would love to hear em! Thanks again!!


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## gbritnell (Apr 28, 2011)

Long story short, I served my apprenticeship with the Ford Motor Co. as a metal patternmaker. (4 years of school and on-the-job training) Worked in the field 38 years, part of that on the drafting board as a pattern designer. Learned CNC machines when they got them. The last 12 years worked as a CAD modeler and cutter path creator. (2 months of training throughout that time for program updates and related information) Now I just happily make chips in my basement shop.
George


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## agmachado (Apr 28, 2011)

Hi George,

I don't have words for this... your project is reality very, very stunning !

But I need ask you... What is the material used to make the tool cut for the gears ?

Thank you for share this with us!

Cheers,

Alexandre


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## gbritnell (Apr 28, 2011)

Thanks Alexandre,
I use W-1 drill rod. It is about the easiest to cut of the drill rods (silver steels). 
I do the normal, heat to carrot orange, dunk straight down into water and swirl around. For tools like this that have a strong tooth section I don't draw them out. I only do that with tools that have small features. After hardening they are so brittle that a small shape will just snap right off. Once hard I go back with a diamond hone and clean up the cutting edges. These tools have no side relief on them but I have recut drill rod with them and they work fairly well. 
George


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## agmachado (Apr 28, 2011)

Hi George,

I understand... the geometry of tooth can be machined normally in a lathe, okay ?

Thanks,

Alexandre


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## gbritnell (May 8, 2011)

Here's an update to the transmission. I finished cutting all of the gears. For the spline shafting and collars I had ordered off the shelf stock from SDPI. When I made the cutters for the gears I had made a broach for the splines but it didn't have enough steps to it and was a real bear to press through the stock, and that was brass. I did end up with a very nice spline collar but I was afraid for the amount of bushings I had to cut the broach probably wouldn't have held up, thus the purchase. Luckily when designing the trans the spline stock was close enough to make everything work. The only thing left to do for the gear sets is to broach a .062 key slot into a few of the parts.
First up is some pictures of the internal gear sets. In pictures 2 and 3 you can see the shift collar with the reverse gear moved back and forth.


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## steamer (May 8, 2011)

Looks a lot like the real thing George....Couldn't tell until you see the sid of your hand in the photo!

 :bow: :bow:

Dave


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## gbritnell (May 8, 2011)

The next 3 pictures show the gear set for the overdrive. This is located under the tailshaft housing. These gears were 48 pitch so stock cutters were available but I made up a hob for this pitch also. The 2 pitches in the gear box are 36 and 40 so at a quick glance they look pretty close. This set is noticeably different and matches the fineness of the full sized trans gears. 
As with the first set of pictures you can see the shift collar has moved from left to right to engage the spline on the gear. The small gear on the mainshaft will be keyed. 
George


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## gbritnell (May 8, 2011)

As an addition to this posting I would recommend to anyone wanting to make their own gears to try the hobbing method. The hardest part of the whole job is getting the width of the tip of the lathe tool to size. When I ground the bit I used a magnifier and put the edges of the micrometer tips just onto the bit. I would venture to say I was within a couple of thousands. There is a fellow on Youtube who does a 7 video set on making hobs. As can be seen in the in the following pictures the involute curve is generated quite nicely. This is the reverse idler gear. It is 36 pitch and hasn't been cleaned up yet. 
George


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## crankshafter (May 8, 2011)

George.
This is work of a real craftsman.
Thank you for showing. BTW: if I could ask, what steel quality are you making the gears and hobs out of?

Best Regards 
CS


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## b.lindsey (May 8, 2011)

Thanks for the update George. Just gets more amazing as well as more mesmerizing by the day!!

Bill


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## gbritnell (May 8, 2011)

Hi CS,
Knowing that it's not good to run two pieces of the same metal together (wear) I was going to make the countershaft from brass and the mainshaft gears from 12L14. After giving it a lot of thought I decided that although it might help the wear issue it just wouldn't look right and just how much use/wear is this thing going to get. I decided to go with just 12L for everything. 
 The hobs were made from W-1 drill rod and my past experience has shown that once hardened they are capable of cutting drill rod. If I ever find that different metals are needed I can always make replacement parts. 
 The spline and spline bushing stock are some type of steel. They say in the listing that it's CRS but although it cuts tougher than 12L it's not as bad as the run-of-the-mill CRS. (1018) 
George


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## steamin (May 8, 2011)

George, I know this has been said over and over again, but your workmanship is truly a pleasure to see. Thank you for sharing your talent and skills with all of us. Larry


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## Joachim Steinke (May 9, 2011)

Hallo George

You are doing a really fine job with this transmission! It is always a pleasure to have a look at your construction progress.

I also have experimented with this sort of gear cutters some time ago. And as you already mentioned, controlling the profile dimension (especially the tip width) when grinding the grooving tool is the most critical part of the whole gear cutter making. 

Having no suitable measuring instruments for such small profiles as well (like a projection microscope ore something similar) I choose another way to generate the fitting tooth shape. 

I assume that we always will manufacture the outer diameter of our spur gears by turning the blanks to the desired size on the lathe first. In that case the gear cutter has to cut only the side flanks and the tooth ground. That means the working depth of our lathe grooving tool can be deeper than the pure trapezoid shape of the tooth. Okay, I guess some pictures will be a good idea for easier explanation:








Grooving tool No.A will generate the needed shape, but you have to grind a dimensionally perfect fitting trapeze. Otherwise you have no real control over the right cutting depth and (much worse) the tooth profile is not complete or too deep. 

I grinded the groove cutter (B) with a complete V, very similar to a threading tool but with a 40deg angle. The theoretical cutting depth can be calculated or defined with the help of your CAD system very easily. But we need a small radius at the tip (ore something like that), otherwise the tool would be little durable. As I cant define this radius precisely enough with my equipment either, a slight uncertainty in relation to the needed working depth will still remain. 

So, depending on the radius, I groove a little bit less deeper then theoretical value, then I measure the actual flanks diameter with the help of two small wires, a principle very similar to thread measuring.








Being lazy with calculations I transfer this measure into my CAD system and get the new value of the still needed extra depth which can be used in total for all the remaining grooves in the row as well. Special wires are not required, the only thing you have to ensure is a tangential contact to the side walls of the profile. The wire diameter can be chosen in a suitable range, I normally use small drills for this operation. 

One additional advantage of this method is you dont need a new tool for every pitch, one lathe tool can create several gear cutters in a wide range of pitches. 

The gear hobs look mainly the same like yours, only the V shape is a little deeper. 



















And a little variation, for the second generation I made single cutting inserts that will fit on a small tool shaft. This seems to have some advantages for me, especially for hardening the tools as the small inserts dont tend to warp as much as a complete cutter. 




















I have made a couple of gears with the tools and the gears work really well for most of our jobs. But for all the readers who are not familiar with this subject, its not a real hob process and therefore the flanks dont get an involute shape. They are only straight formed with a kink beneath the pitch circle. So dont be disappointed if you start making your own cutters..ha ha ha..

This CAD animation will give you an idea of the generated tooth shape using gears with 12 and 36 teeth:








Achim


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## Ken I (May 9, 2011)

Achim,
     If you made the hob like a worm, inclined the milling head to the helix angle and allowed the (pre-gashed) gear to freewheel - would you not then generate a true volute as in a proper hobbing operation.

Just curious as to your opinion - I have done this for a worm gear in Tuffnol - but that's not the same thing - just a plunge to depth.

Or am I just likely to get a "drunken" gear ?

Regards,
      Ken


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## gbritnell (May 9, 2011)

Hi Achim,
Thanks for the wonderful explanation and pictures showing how the hobs are formed. You're correct on the shape of the tooth for gears with small numbers of teeth but all in all I still think it's the easiest way to make gears for home use. 
If someone needed a small gear that required a much smoother involute they could make their first complete pass around the blank and then rotate the blank by 1 or 2 holes in the dividing plate and offset the cutter in Z and make another pass, both above and below the original starting point. This would then smooth out the sharp corner on the tooth profile. 
George


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## Lakc (May 9, 2011)

George, it was a pleasure to see you and your transmission at NAMES. It looks even better in person!

RE: Joachim and youself mentioned how hard it is to measure the proper form tool depth for making the cutter. I ran into this problem myself, and realized that the depth wasnt critical as Achim said. I didnt add any radius and it eventually made its own when it snapped off.  Later on, while rereading an article from several years earlier, I rediscovered Ron Chernich had devised an elegant solution to that problem. He made a tool that he could measure, to make a tool he couldnt measure. You can read about it here. http://www.modelenginenews.org/feeney/pg2.html

Of course, its madness, to make a tool, to measure a tool, to be used making another tool, to finally make a part, to make a miniature model of something else in the first place. But thats why were all here.


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## Chaffe (May 11, 2011)

absolutly outstanding!


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## BillC (May 13, 2011)

George, you have had your hands inside transmissions before! Your knowledge shows....

Here's how I make my gears and hobs, just for some info... The hobs are made very similar to yours except that they are made in a helix as Ken mentioned. The blank is presented to the hob at the angle of the hob helix angle then is geared to the hob for the number of teeth. I built this from a set of castings from "Power Model Supply" where I used to purchase many, many items.....such a terrible loss....

A photo or two is always good....


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## Jared (May 14, 2011)

BillC, any chance of a video of it in action?


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## BillC (May 15, 2011)

Jared  said:
			
		

> BillC, any chance of a video of it in action?



Yes, but how do I post a video?


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## gbritnell (May 15, 2011)

Bill,
You take your video then open a free account on Youtube if you don't already have one. Load your video. It will ask you to fill in some information about the video, description, category etc. Once loaded open the video and there will be a box below it that says 'share'. Click on that box and copy and paste the link into your message. It's not hard at all.
gbritnell


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## gbritnell (May 24, 2011)

It's been awhile since I posted on the transmission. I have completed some small bits and pieces but thought a tutorial would be in order. 
 This will be on the construction of the shifting quadrant. This part pivots on a stud on the inside of the case. It's function is to shift the trans into reverse or overdrive. The overdrive shaft has a round button that rides in part of the lower slot while the reverse lever rides in the other part of the slot. The fork at the top is moved by a piece on the shift shaft. 
 I have made some of the parts from drill rod with the idea of hardening them. I was thinking of doing that with the quadrant but realized if it warped then I would have a ton of work down the drain so instead I am making it from 1018 CRS. The button that ride in the slots will be hardened so hopefully that will cut down on the friction when trying to shift it.
 First up will be a PDF of the part drawing so you can see what the part looks like.
George 

View attachment T5 SHEET 10.pdf


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## gbritnell (May 24, 2011)

Now on with construction. I started with a block of steel and slowly cut it side for side and end for end hopefully taking the stress out of it so when I got it down to a thin section (.078) it would stay flat.
 After sizing the block I cut down to the .219 dimension and went up to the bottom of the pivot boss. I also cut part of the fork at the top.


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## gbritnell (May 24, 2011)

The next step was to cut the first angled surface under the top of the lever. I laid out a reference line and then put it back in the mill and set the angle for cutting.


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## gbritnell (May 24, 2011)

In this set of pictures you can see the angled surface. I have reset the part and am picking up the center of the vise and the back edge of the part with my edge finder in preparation for drilling the holes.


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## gbritnell (May 24, 2011)

There is one remaining hole in the top of the quadrant. This will form the bottom of the slot that the shift bar engages. 
 I now reset the part higher in the vice so that I could cut the .078 thick area. I little explanation of my thought process for the sequence of machining. I figured if I drilled the holes before cutting this area it would help relieve any remaining stress from the CRS. and then when I made this last surface cut it would stay flat. CRS has a nasty habit of warping with successive cuts. In this case it worked out and everything stayed nice and flat. Would it have stayed flat if I did it the other way, I don't know but it's a moot point anyway. 
 With the .078 surface cut I reset the part to cut the second angle at the top. With this surface I would only be able to cut so far because it has to go below the pivot boss.


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## gbritnell (May 24, 2011)

The next step was to undercut the previous angled surface below the pivot boss. To do this I will use a mini flycutter that I use for cutting gears. I sharpened up a piece of 3/16 lathe tool stock with 40 degrees on the end of it. I set the part perpendicular in the vise with my solid square and then clamped it tight. I then set the bottom of the cutter to the top of the boss and started cutting in until I matched up the existing 40 degree surface.


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## gbritnell (May 24, 2011)

I laid out a couple of lines on the part and then took it to the bandsaw to remove the excess stock.


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## gbritnell (May 24, 2011)

The part went back in the vise to get the little square projections cut onto it. I have no idea what they do but they were on the original part so I'm copying them onto mine.
The last 2 pictures of this set show the small square bosses on the part.


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## gbritnell (May 24, 2011)

The next picture shows the machining of the 4 degree edge on the part. The last 2 pictures are of the part sitting on the fixture I made. I put in 2 alignment holes for the part, one at the pivot and one .25 hole that forms the radius between the 2 edges. These are square to the block so that when I machine the slots at the required angles and radii I will have a true starting point. I didn't have any tiny clamps so I milled up a couple. Tomorrow I will set up the rotary table and finish up this part. 
George


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## stevehuckss396 (May 24, 2011)

Will there be any metal left when you are done?


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## gbritnell (May 25, 2011)

Hi Steve,
 Yeah, a little, :big:

 This morning I pulled the vise off and set up the rotary table. Man, this thing is getting heavier or I'm getting older. 
 The first thing is to pick up the center of the table. To do this I start with a plug that fits nicely into the center hole. It has a small stem that I can pick up with my 60 degree brass plug. This will usually get me within .010. 
 Next I clamp my dial indicator to the spindle and indicate the center hole. I was .006 off in X and .003 in Y. With that done I put my fixture block on the table and using the brass center plug I lightly bring it down into my register hole which will be the rotational point for the radius I have to cut. My register hole is only .128 diameter so it's hard getting an accurate indicator reading and my plug will usually get me within .0015. 
 I clamp the fixture block and then retract the center plug. 
 The final step in the setup is to indicate one of the sides square to the machine travel. 
George


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## gbritnell (May 25, 2011)

After squaring the fixture block by rotating the table I clamp the table in place. I then set the vernier dial to -0- going up the numbers. There are 2 register marks on the table, one that is scribed into the surface and the other is a movable brass pointer. The problem with the brass pointer is it's away from the dial so you have to look two places instead of one. You can see my cure, I just make a new mark with a permanent marker. 
 With the table set it's time to mount the victim, I mean part. I had made two plugs from brass, one for the pivot point (.128 dia. and one that fits in the corner radius .25 dia.) I then used my new mini clamps to hold it in place.
George


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## gbritnell (May 25, 2011)

Using a .125 dia. endmill I cut two of the slots. With everything referenced and square it's just a matter of rotating the table to the proper angles. I stayed away from the actual tangent line between the two drilled holes so that I could go back and file and fit to the proper pin diameter. Next up was the radial slot swung from the center pivot point. Here again I stayed a little shy. It's always easier to file a little off than to make a new part. 
 With the slots cut I put in a .062 endmill, cranked up my spindle speed (2100 rpm ???) and put the radius onto the pivot boss. 
 The last two pictures are the part almost complete. Apart from opening up the fork on the top of the lever and filing the slots to size I'm almost there. 
 You're right Steve, not much metal left from the original block but for a part like this there is no other way. 
George


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## Paulsv (May 25, 2011)

Amazing work, as always, George.

It was really great that you posted a .pdf of the drawing. When I saw that slot, I had to go back and look at it. Seeing the drawing, and then seeing how you cut it, is very instructive. 

Your comment that "it's always easier to file a little off than to make a new part" applied in spades, here!


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## gbritnell (May 26, 2011)

Today's effort was to make the link that moves the reverse gear. After completing it I just had to fit some of the pieces together to see how close my dimensions and drawings are. I cut a piece of drill rod that the reverse link and overdrive fork are operated by. I also made the pivot bolt that the quadrant rotates on. I put everything together and found that I needed to take a little out of the case to clear the quadrant. 
 A quick setup in the mill and and several passes with a 5/16 ball mill got everything tidied up. 
 All the parts were reassembled and put to the test. Everything works great. The only thing I'll do is chamfer the leading edges of the two gears so they will slip in when the teeth are in the same line. 
 Following are a set of pictures showing the reverse gear in the neutral position and shifted into the reverse location. It's only supposed to mesh with the countershaft the way you see it. The full sized trans does the same thing. 
George


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## gbritnell (May 26, 2011)

A couple of more close up shots from a different angle. 
George


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## gbritnell (Jun 7, 2011)

After much fitting, filing, assembly, disassembly, etc. I finally have the reverse/overdrive linkage working like it should. Funny, it seemed so good on paper.
Anyway here's several video clips of the whole thing.
George
[ame]http://youtu.be/OryloXGQ3gA[/ame]
[ame]http://youtu.be/yGpp20ieEl4[/ame]
[ame]http://youtu.be/IDiPWUy7BZ8[/ame]


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## t.l.a.r. eng (Jun 7, 2011)

Sir, having had my hands inside hundreds of this type of trans, It is staggering the size of your thumb and fingers............ ;D

Words fall short............... :bow: :bow: :bow:

Outstanding!


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## cfellows (Jun 7, 2011)

Nice, crisp action on those movements. Clearly very well made and fitted. 

Chuck


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## JorgensenSteam (Jun 7, 2011)

That is just awesome work George.
Fabulous.

Pat J


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## Lakc (Jun 8, 2011)

Most excellent work George. Everyone loves a project you can play with like that. You may end up having to remake the top cover in lexan :big:


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## Chitownmachine (Jun 13, 2011)

I like Nirvana playing in the background of one of yer videos!


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## gbritnell (Jul 8, 2011)

Hi everyone,
 Well the end has come! It's finished! Kind of anticlimactic because everything is now hidden. That Lexan cover sure would be nice but I don't think I'm going there.
 I'm guessing with the drawings and build time I'm probably up in the 700 hour range. 
 I'm going to set up to take a video with it turning over in the lathe so I can show the shifting action and the change of speed on the output shaft. 
 I doesn't have the character of a steam beam engine nor the interest of a gas engine popping away but the darn thing is, to use a 60's term, 'really neat.'
 The shifter is a copy of a Hurst that I had in a box from years ago. It required some creative machining to get the hemisphere shapes made for the pivot on the lever. 
 And now some final pictures of this project.
George D. Britnell


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## gbritnell (Jul 8, 2011)

The final 4 pictures show the neutral safety switch and the reverse switch plus 2 overall side shots. I turned up the switch housings and simulated the plastic parts with black Delrin. 
 The shifter handle on the Hurst is chrome plated so I made this one from stainless steel with the idea of buffing it to a high shine but I have my high speed motor set up for grinding lathe tools so that will be in the future. 
George


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## cfellows (Jul 8, 2011)

Really nice, George! I admire your patience and attention to detail. Doesn't get much better than this!

Chuck


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## moanaman (Jul 8, 2011)

Hi George,
Well as a realative new member to the group who doesn't have much to say except when I see some exceptional pieces of work.  I followed this build fairly closely and many times you had me looking with open mouth. OK no steam floating around, banging and popping of an IC. Open crankshafts and rods flying every where. All enclosed in a beautifully made case, it will be appreciated those who understand the project.

Thanks Geoge for sharing 

Barry G


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## kcmillin (Jul 8, 2011)

Congratulations on Completing this Tranny!!! It has been truly amazing to watch you make it, and 'really neat' is an understatement, how about "Incredibly Awesome" and it is every bit as cool if not more so, than any IC or Steam engine. 

Whats Next, a New Process 205 Transfer Case and a '79 Bronco to put it in ;D

Kel


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## kustomkb (Jul 8, 2011)

Amazing work George. Congratulations. 

Thanks for sharing all of the techniques, tips and tricks.


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## GailInNM (Jul 8, 2011)

Exceptional workmanship, George.
I have enjoyed the journey all the way.
Gail in NM


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## slick95 (Jul 8, 2011)

:bow: :bow: :bow: PHENOMENAL :bow: :bow: :bow:

George, you have truly created a treasured work of art. 

Jeff


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## awJCKDup (Jul 8, 2011)

Jaw dropping as usual George, thanks for sharing the build with us, on a side note you actually let me handle the trans at NAMES, thanks for the upclose. 

But, George, the bar, I'm looking up and I can't see it anymore, oh well.
John


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## Spurry (Jul 9, 2011)

George
A magnificent example of craftmanship in metal. Having watched the project from Page 1, you have provided much inspiration along the way.
What next I wonder...
Pete


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## Noitoen (Jul 9, 2011)

Nice work. Now comes the easy part. A scale hotrod ;D


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## steamer (Jul 9, 2011)

George as always, your skill and dedication are inspirations to all of us. I have watched this little one come to life, and have been amazed and educated every step of the way

Thank you so much for sharing with us all. Can't wait for the video!

 :bow:

Dave


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## b.lindsey (Jul 9, 2011)

Well George, all the superlatives seem to have been used but this really is a mechanical work of art and has been an inspiration to watch!! As much as I hate to see it end, I also look forward to your next project of dazzling craftsmanship, whatever it may be. You work, particularly on the case for the tranny was a huge inspiration to me personally as I have continued to slowly whittle away on the little B&S crankcase so I am indebted to you for that.

Bill


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## stevehuckss396 (Jul 9, 2011)

gbritnell  said:
			
		

> Kind of anticlimactic because everything is now hidden.
> I doesn't have the character of a steam beam engine nor the interest of a gas engine popping away but the darn thing is, to use a 60's term, 'really neat.'



I think you have under rated this one a little. I think it has more character and interest than anything I have seen on this forum. An idea this original, completed with such a high degree of detail and skill is extremely rare. One of the things that gets me watching a thread is when someone has the guts to try something that has not been tried before. 

One question!! Will the trans now be fitted to the 302 with a clutch disk and pressure plate?????????


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## Lakc (Jul 9, 2011)

Quite simply a work of art! :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow:


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## Tin Falcon (Jul 9, 2011)

wow george you will be building a car around it next. 
Tin


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## 90LX_Notch (Jul 9, 2011)

George,

It's an amazing work of art! Having one in my '90 LX makes me really appreciate it. It's awe inspiring; as is all of your work.

Bob


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## kvom (Jul 9, 2011)

Great build! Lots of nice techniques to learn from.


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## ozzie46 (Jul 9, 2011)

George, as always a superb build and end result! :bow: :bow: :bow:

 I have enjoyed the journey and am looking forward to your next project.

 I learn something new it, it seems, every time I look at your posts. 


 Thanks for the classes "Teach".   

  Ron


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## dsquire (Jul 9, 2011)

George

There is nothing new to say that has not been said already. I have been watching since the beginning and I haven't been disappointed. Outstanding work George. th_wav 

Cheers *beer*

Don


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## kuhncw (Jul 9, 2011)

Very unique and fine piece of work, George.

Regards,

Chuck


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## keith5700 (Jul 9, 2011)

George, I second everybody's comments, amazing job. One of the best things I've ever seen!
Looking forward to see what you do next.
Keith.


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## gbritnell (Jul 9, 2011)

Thank you one and all for the gracious comments. As many of you know when doing a step by step build with pictures takes extra work, and time away from machining, but hopefully it helps someone just getting into the hobby or someone who needs a technique that is new to them. As with some of my previous threads the main idea was to help in this manner. 
 With this project out of the way I can finish up the hit & miss engines that I have taken on. Throughout the summer I will come up with the clutch/pressure plate setup for this project and when the weather turns I will get back on it. 
 I have been contemplating another engine build and really don't know exactly what it might be. I had bought Ron Colonna's Offy book a number of years ago and was thinking of doing one of them but at about 3/4 scale. Then there's one of the many radials just waiting out there. "So many projects, so little time."
Thanks again for all your interest and contributions.
George


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## Maryak (Jul 10, 2011)

George,

As usual, another exceptional piece of skill, dedication and pure craftsmanship. :bow: :bow: :bow:

Best Regards
Bob


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## mklotz (Jul 10, 2011)

Words fail me (and that doesn't happen very often). It's exquisite and another testimony to your skill.

If they ever build a model engineer's museum, your statue should be in the foyer.


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## zeeprogrammer (Jul 10, 2011)

Beautiful and inspiring work.
Looking forward to the video of it very much.


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## arnoldb (Jul 11, 2011)

Brilliantly done as always George :bow:.

Thank you for sharing the build with us - a truly educational and inspirational build.

Kind regards, Arnold


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## Ken I (Jul 11, 2011)

All the above !

You inspire & humble me.

Thanks for the lessons.

Regards,
      Ken


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## Ram50V8 (Jul 11, 2011)

I spent a good part of this weekend reading and I might add drooling over this thread. My main source of income for the last 30+ years is in the transportation field as a diagnostician and mechanic. Today I showed a few of my fellow technicians the last pictures of the completed transmission close ups using the deception of it being a trans I was looking to purchase for a project just to gauge their opinions of the external appearance. You would not believe their responses when I told them it was a scaled down functional trans. Several were absolutely taken aback at the attention to detail used to replicate the billet parts appearance to be that of a casting and the quality of craftsmanship you have shown.

 Utterly beautiful, and unbelievable are the most common responses I got! :bow:

 Darren M.


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## ChooChooMike (Jul 11, 2011)

George - Ditto on what's already been said many times over, a working work of art for sure :bow:



> If they ever build a model engineer's museum, your statue should be in the foyer.



The closest place now is Sherline's Craftsmanship Museum. Let's start campaigning to get George enshrined there !!

Mike


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## Lakc (Jul 11, 2011)

ChooChooMike  said:
			
		

> George - Ditto on what's already been said many times over, a working work of art for sure :bow:
> 
> The closest place now is Sherline's Craftsmanship Museum. Let's start campaigning to get George enshrined there !!
> 
> Mike


I thought of that about 16 pages ago, he is already there, but this should bump his standings up a notch.


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## gbritnell (Jul 11, 2011)

Thanks so much Mike. I appreciate the sponsorship but I already have a place on their roster.
http://craftsmanshipmuseum.com/Britnell.htm
George


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## gbritnell (Jul 23, 2011)

Gentlemen,
 I finally got my camera set up to take a video clip of the transmission turning over. As stated not much to see but this just show the operation of the shifter and the changing of gears and speeds.
 This will bring and end to this project. I sincerely thank everyone for following along and making their wonderful comments. This winter mixed with other projects should see the clutch and pressure plate completed. 
George D. Britnell
[ame]http://youtu.be/dcLtBLC5yqo[/ame]


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## 90LX_Notch (Jul 23, 2011)

George-

I love it. I absolutely love it.

-Bob


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## kcmillin (Jul 23, 2011)

Incredible :bow: :bow:

Kel


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## SBWHART (Jul 23, 2011)

Great work George enjoyed following the project and learning new things

Thanks for sharing

Stew


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## steamer (Jul 23, 2011)

George, That is so awesome......I have no words 

That is just fantastic!

You are my hero!

Dave
 :bow:


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## T70MkIII (Jul 23, 2011)

I've learned so much from this thread, George, and your transmission is stunning. Thanks for sharing.


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## gbravo (Jul 24, 2011)

Congratulations George,
Nice change box, I like your different proyect.
Regards,
German


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## Nsomnia (Jul 25, 2011)

Sorry if its been asked, do you plan on releasing downloads to all pages of your plans? While near impossible to replicate I think the mechanical aspects to the transmission on paper would help to adapt to custom build model transmissions. Without taking apart a t-5 or similar in the garage that is.


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## gbritnell (Jul 25, 2011)

I would be happy to download the drawings to the files section. I never gave it much thought as I didn't figure there would be that many other 'nuts' out there that would want to tackle such a project. 
gbritnell


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## Ken I (Jul 25, 2011)

Perhaps - but like me they might want to print them out and drool all over them.

To dream them impossible dream...........ta da...

Regards,
      Ken


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## b.lindsey (Jul 25, 2011)

Beautiful, amazing, incredible...just aren't enough superlatives George. Great work on the video too!!

Bill


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## ChooChooMike (Jul 25, 2011)

gbritnell  said:
			
		

> Thanks so much Mike. I appreciate the sponsorship but I already have a place on their roster.
> http://craftsmanshipmuseum.com/Britnell.htm
> George


Looking at the Craftsmanship Museum now, I should have known that you would already be in there :bow:

Everyone else has already stated what I was going to say. New superlatives escape me right now ! :bow: :bow: :bow: Ok,.... wonderful. It's been highly educational following your build. Love all the details and what at fantastic result !!

This should be nominated for the project of the year !!!

Mike


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## ChooChooMike (Jul 25, 2011)

Hoping George doesn't mind, but here 4 of his videos from this build. Easier to see in one place :

*Reverse Gear Action*

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/user/gbritnell#p/u/3/IDiPWUy7BZ8[/youtube]

*Overdrive Gear*

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/user/gbritnell#p/u/2/yGpp20ieEl4[/youtube]

*Gear Action*

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/user/gbritnell#p/u/1/OryloXGQ3gA[/youtube]

*T5 Trans Operation*

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/user/gbritnell#p/u/0/dcLtBLC5yqo[/youtube]​


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## Nsomnia (Jul 26, 2011)

I agree it would be more to drool over however I am in the process of building a model drilling rig for my father as a retirement gift and will need to design some sort of transmission. 

On a real rig they use a 6 speed diesel transmission similer to a large trucks and I think the t-5 would be perfect in its simplicity since I already know how they work on cars.

 I dont need the (Beautifully machined) case or anything. Just the measurement; gear info, distance between centers ecetera would be so useful to me and im sure others. Who has not thought at one time how useful/neat a gearbox would be behind their model engines.

Suprised no one else has asked! Definitly post when you upload them to the downloads section. Thanks.


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## Mattkguns (Oct 26, 2013)

George,

Did you ever mate this to the 302 with a clutch? i looked through your posted threads but did find it.

if so, please point me in that direction.

Matt


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