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...
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Tire Carrier continued:
After mounting the hinge on the van I found that the door was loose on the pin. The hinge that bolts to the van frame, the "frame wing", had the pieces of bushing fall out when I first disassembled it. To stop the door wobble I'll have to replace those bushings.
I'm going to make my first ever bushings from a brass rod. I don't know that brass would be the best possible material in this application but I do know you can buy brass bushings so I'm guessing it will work. Also I had the brass rod on hand.
I took a 0.4375" C360 brass rod and cut off a short section. Enough for the bushing length along with extra so the lathe would have something to clamp onto. Reduce the OD of the rod till it fits the inside of the hinge.
Once the OD is the correct size drill out the inside of the bushing to match the hinge pin. First use a center drill to make a starter hole for the regular drill. Without this step the end of the drill bit might "wander" and not be centered.
Then use a 11/32" drill. Notice that the drill bit is held steady while the bushing is what spins.
Reverse the bushing in the lathe chuck and use a parting tool to cut off the extra part of the brass rod. Just to the left of the groove the parting tool is cutting is the "lip" that I'm leaving on the top of the bushing.
Finished bushings. Not bad for a first try.
The gap between the two different parts of the hinge is pretty tight. On the left is the frame wing and on the right is the "door wing". I had to do some slight filing on the lip of one of the bushings before they would line up.
That finishes the first hinge. Before starting on the second hinge I removed the rear door off the van. It will be easier to make measurements for the second hinge and do the layout of the tire carrier with the door on sawhorses.
The rear door weighs 47 lbs.
Work out the size and shape of the second hinge plate.
Here's the second hinge finished and mounted on the door. It went a lot faster than the first one.
Tiger giving his opinion, like always.
continued -
After mounting the hinge on the van I found that the door was loose on the pin. The hinge that bolts to the van frame, the "frame wing", had the pieces of bushing fall out when I first disassembled it. To stop the door wobble I'll have to replace those bushings.
I'm going to make my first ever bushings from a brass rod. I don't know that brass would be the best possible material in this application but I do know you can buy brass bushings so I'm guessing it will work. Also I had the brass rod on hand.
I took a 0.4375" C360 brass rod and cut off a short section. Enough for the bushing length along with extra so the lathe would have something to clamp onto. Reduce the OD of the rod till it fits the inside of the hinge.
Once the OD is the correct size drill out the inside of the bushing to match the hinge pin. First use a center drill to make a starter hole for the regular drill. Without this step the end of the drill bit might "wander" and not be centered.
Then use a 11/32" drill. Notice that the drill bit is held steady while the bushing is what spins.
Reverse the bushing in the lathe chuck and use a parting tool to cut off the extra part of the brass rod. Just to the left of the groove the parting tool is cutting is the "lip" that I'm leaving on the top of the bushing.
Finished bushings. Not bad for a first try.
The gap between the two different parts of the hinge is pretty tight. On the left is the frame wing and on the right is the "door wing". I had to do some slight filing on the lip of one of the bushings before they would line up.
That finishes the first hinge. Before starting on the second hinge I removed the rear door off the van. It will be easier to make measurements for the second hinge and do the layout of the tire carrier with the door on sawhorses.
The rear door weighs 47 lbs.
Work out the size and shape of the second hinge plate.
Here's the second hinge finished and mounted on the door. It went a lot faster than the first one.
Tiger giving his opinion, like always.
continued -
