Step one. Bought the van.
Hello Everybody, First post. I camp a lot in tents but after spending three days straight in a tent in the rain at Dolly Sods I swore I'd make a change. Here it is. Bought it Wednesday. Dro...
Forum Discussion
Tire Carrier continued:
Here is a quickly done drawing of my hinge plan. Not exact.
I'll start with four 1" long blocks cut from a 3/4" square bar of 1018 cold rolled steel. These will go on the top and bottom of the factory hinge. I measured the pin that came out of the hinge and it was very close to 11/32" in diameter. I'll use that size of a drill bit on each of the blocks.
For a hinge pin I'll use some W-1 Tool Steel (AKA Drill Rod). I don't know that this is the absolutely best material for this application but I have some 3/8" rod on hand and I think it will work. The hole I drilled is 11/32". 3/8 = 0.375 11/32 = 0.343 So I have to remove 0.032". That's about the thickness of 8 sheets of copier paper.
I'll use the metal lathe to do this. It's only the second time I've ever used one so I'm sure there are some mistakes being made. Cut off the appropriate length of drill rod along with some extra and clamp it in the lathe. Use a carbide cutting bit moving back and forth to slowly reduce the diameter of the drill rod. The drill rod is so tough I can't take a lot of material off at once. Have to move the cutting bit forward .001" at a time. This operation took some time.
After awhile I got the new pin to fit both the new hinge blocks...
and the original hinge.
Set it up on the van. Note that the hinge pin will be trimmed down.
Need to figure out the size and shape of the 1/4" plate that I'll be welding to the two hinge blocks. Using the level you can see in the picture to line up the hinge with the one of the two holes I already drilled in the door for the first carrier I bought. Use a piece of posterboard to stand in for the 1/4" plate. I really need to wash the van.
Here is the posterboard laying on my total supply of 1/4" plate. I got this particular plate when I got a tour of the machine shop a few weeks back. They allowed me to take some leftovers from their metal shear. Both hinge plates will have to come from this one piece.
I've trimmed the posterboard template down to what I think is the right shape. Laying on top is a sample of the 1-1/4" 16 gauge square tube that I'll be using to make the tire carrier. The square tube cost $1.50 per foot.
I cut the 1/4" plate using my band saw. Need the clamps to hold the plate in place. I've found the hard way that on a long cut like this the saw will pull on the material harder than you can hold it.
Here is the plate after cutting. By using this trapezoidal shape I'll be able to get both hinge plates from the one piece of steel I have. You can see on the posterboard template where I've marked the planned position for the 1-1/4" square tube.
How the plate looks with the hinge.
I'll have to make adjustments to the plate where it meets the original hinge. There is a conflict. Need to remove some of the metal from along the edge. Use the mill for this.
How it looks after.
Set everything up to weld.
After welding.
The heat from the welding caused the holes I drilled through the hinge blocks to change. The hinge pin would no longer fit. Used the hand drill to re-do the holes. The distortion to the holes wasn't extreme so the re-drilling wasn't too hard.
Cut a groove in the lower end of the hinge pin for the C clip using the lathe.
I had cut the hinge pin longer than needed since it gives the lathe something to clamp too when machining. Don't need that extra anymore so cut it off.
One hinge done.
To do this one hinge took me most of the weekend. Some of the metal I'm using here was bought from Online Metals. They have online Product Guides that I've been reading to try and learn something about the different metal alloys.
continued -
Here is a quickly done drawing of my hinge plan. Not exact.
I'll start with four 1" long blocks cut from a 3/4" square bar of 1018 cold rolled steel. These will go on the top and bottom of the factory hinge. I measured the pin that came out of the hinge and it was very close to 11/32" in diameter. I'll use that size of a drill bit on each of the blocks.
For a hinge pin I'll use some W-1 Tool Steel (AKA Drill Rod). I don't know that this is the absolutely best material for this application but I have some 3/8" rod on hand and I think it will work. The hole I drilled is 11/32". 3/8 = 0.375 11/32 = 0.343 So I have to remove 0.032". That's about the thickness of 8 sheets of copier paper.
I'll use the metal lathe to do this. It's only the second time I've ever used one so I'm sure there are some mistakes being made. Cut off the appropriate length of drill rod along with some extra and clamp it in the lathe. Use a carbide cutting bit moving back and forth to slowly reduce the diameter of the drill rod. The drill rod is so tough I can't take a lot of material off at once. Have to move the cutting bit forward .001" at a time. This operation took some time.
After awhile I got the new pin to fit both the new hinge blocks...
and the original hinge.
Set it up on the van. Note that the hinge pin will be trimmed down.
Need to figure out the size and shape of the 1/4" plate that I'll be welding to the two hinge blocks. Using the level you can see in the picture to line up the hinge with the one of the two holes I already drilled in the door for the first carrier I bought. Use a piece of posterboard to stand in for the 1/4" plate. I really need to wash the van.
Here is the posterboard laying on my total supply of 1/4" plate. I got this particular plate when I got a tour of the machine shop a few weeks back. They allowed me to take some leftovers from their metal shear. Both hinge plates will have to come from this one piece.
I've trimmed the posterboard template down to what I think is the right shape. Laying on top is a sample of the 1-1/4" 16 gauge square tube that I'll be using to make the tire carrier. The square tube cost $1.50 per foot.
I cut the 1/4" plate using my band saw. Need the clamps to hold the plate in place. I've found the hard way that on a long cut like this the saw will pull on the material harder than you can hold it.
Here is the plate after cutting. By using this trapezoidal shape I'll be able to get both hinge plates from the one piece of steel I have. You can see on the posterboard template where I've marked the planned position for the 1-1/4" square tube.
How the plate looks with the hinge.
I'll have to make adjustments to the plate where it meets the original hinge. There is a conflict. Need to remove some of the metal from along the edge. Use the mill for this.
How it looks after.
Set everything up to weld.
After welding.
The heat from the welding caused the holes I drilled through the hinge blocks to change. The hinge pin would no longer fit. Used the hand drill to re-do the holes. The distortion to the holes wasn't extreme so the re-drilling wasn't too hard.
Cut a groove in the lower end of the hinge pin for the C clip using the lathe.
I had cut the hinge pin longer than needed since it gives the lathe something to clamp too when machining. Don't need that extra anymore so cut it off.
One hinge done.
To do this one hinge took me most of the weekend. Some of the metal I'm using here was bought from Online Metals. They have online Product Guides that I've been reading to try and learn something about the different metal alloys.
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