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Post by JED on May 3, 2019 13:31:48 GMT -6
Excel ant work of the first degree
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Post by Beekster on May 4, 2019 14:51:40 GMT -6
And now a progress report on the trailer. Just today I've permanently attached the suspension and axles; the wheels are just sitting there for now. This step was necessary so that I can get the side panels fabricated and tacked on with Elmer's glue, after which I will trace out the curves for the wheel arches. I'll pull the side panels off to mill those out so that both sides will be even. I also need to be able to put the wheels on to measure up and fabricate the hinged loading ramps.   And this is what it looks like with the wood planks all cut out and laid in. They will have to be tacked down during final assembly, and a couple of the forward planks may need to be sanded a wee bit more for better fit. You can see that one has black ink spots from manufacturing. I'll see what that looks like after I've stained the wood before deciding whether or not to cut another plank. At least all the wheels sit properly on the ground!  And this is what it looks like with a Sherman on the trailer. No, not the one intended for this but an unfinished project that was near to hand:  The gooseneck is being fabricated now, and getting that done will also require the side panels to be fitted so that I can work out lengths and angles. I'll also have to mock up the tractor with its wheels & tires so that I can set the height of the gooseneck and ensure that everything looks right (and level!) when the trailer is attached. |
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Post by ogrejohn on May 4, 2019 15:34:45 GMT -6
Fantastic work!
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Post by JCON on May 4, 2019 18:37:38 GMT -6
Looking good!!!
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Post by JED on May 5, 2019 7:55:43 GMT -6
WOW great work Beakster
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Post by BUCKY on May 5, 2019 9:54:37 GMT -6
This is amazing stuff!
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Post by Beekster on May 5, 2019 14:58:17 GMT -6
First off, my apologies for the substandard photography here. I found the windowsill adjacent to my bench the best place to do what I just did, and likewise to photograph it. I have temporarily put the wheels on the tractor, and put it on the windowsill. I'm not thrilled with how it sits; it's possible to see daylight under at least one of the rear duals. I will have to make some adjustments to the axle stubs so that I get a bit of wiggle room and ensure that everything sits firmly on the ground. Mass will help, and the only place to add that is the trailer. Anyway, having got the wheels on I set the position of the kingpin on the gooseneck piece of the trailer, set it on the fifth wheel, and by trial and error fabricated a couple of shims to set on the wheels so that the gooseneck sits level. I then put the wheels on the trailer, and moved it into place behind the tractor to measure for the angled section that joins all the top surfaces together. Behold:  It looks like this. The angled top was initially made too short, so I added a strip of .040" x .250" stock to get a better angle. It is really tough to get the calipers in there without moving everything, so I'm pretty happy that I wasn't further off. A quick look with a tape measure shows that as it sits, the trailer scales out to just under 48 feet long. Just about perfect! These trailers could be made up to 53' long, so I'm right in there, when you account for the additional length yet to be added for the loading ramps at the back. I could also add still more material to the gooseneck angle piece to make a shallower angle and add some length. We'll see how it goes. This part is also overly wide as seen here; once I get it shaped so that I like the angle I will cut it down to the width of the other trailer parts. Here's a closer shot of the gooseneck on the fifth wheel:  You can see the shims better here, made of scrap material and set in place to get things level. This is the sort of stuff you have to figure out when building something like this from scratch. Will my angles match the prototype? I can't see how, since my documentation doesn't specify them--I am doing this all by Mark One Eyeball and adjusting for a thoroughly fudged trailer suspension and slightly over-tall trailer tires. But it will pass the TLAR test, I think. Oh, something else visible in the top photo: I've installed the reinforcing doubler plates over the trailer wheels. The real trailer has reinforcing panels here, and mine are strips of .010" sheet with Accurate Armour .007" thick photoetched diamond treadplate added. It took a fair chunk of one such sheet of material to do these. |
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Post by BUCKY on May 5, 2019 15:14:19 GMT -6
Nice bit of leveling work!!
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Post by Beekster on May 5, 2019 15:59:29 GMT -6
well, I knew that things were going a bit too smoothly. With the trailer on the wheels, I took some measurements and cut out a template for the loading ramps. Uh, Houston; we've had a problem. The rear face of the trailer sits too high, so the ramps would have to be too tall and wouldn't articulate properly. The root causes, I suspect, are that too-high ride height (dictated by tire height) and a rear ramp angle that is just a wee bit too shallow. I am loathe to cut off the ramp to angle it down, so I will take the easy way out: Extend it aft and down, which will also require new planks to fill the lengthened spaces. This will add several scale inches to the back of the trailer, but I've got length to spare according to the brochure. I don't think it will mess up the proportions too much, though. We'll see...stay tuned...
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Post by BUCKY on May 5, 2019 16:30:37 GMT -6
Trial and error is a big part of scratch-building. I learn that every time I try it!! LOL
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Post by JCON on May 5, 2019 16:39:04 GMT -6
Looking good to me!!!
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Post by Steve Ski on May 5, 2019 19:48:21 GMT -6
Sweet!!
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Post by JED on May 6, 2019 10:35:18 GMT -6
Well it all looks good to me Beekster,that MK1 Eyeball is well calliberated !!
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Post by Beekster on May 10, 2019 11:21:25 GMT -6
Progress and problems. I had a glue spill the other day, and the result is a damaged driver's side door (since fixed with putty), and a missing side view mirror. I don't know where it went and I've turned the war room upside down looking for it. For now, I'll rob it from my spare kit...hey, prices are going down so if I want a third to make two kits whole... But the trailer is coming along. The gooseneck is fabricated and attached now, and I am sanding the sides down before tacking on the side plates to mark out the wheel arches. These trailers ought to have a sill that projects out from the bottom of the gooseneck, running down the angle, and along the bottom of the trailer sides. Providentially, I passed a very similar Trail-Eze unit yesterday afternoon and estimate that sill to be as much as two inches wide. If my trailer is to stay at factory width, I've got more sanding to do. This is where that gets tricky, since I can't use my True Sander on anything remotely this large. I just have to sand it and keep measuring with calipers and adjust as I go along. If I can get it within about .003" along the whole length that should be good enough. Here's a tease for the shape of things to come:  Yes, that is the Madill 071 mobile tower yarder mocked up there on the trailer. No, it isn't two shades of orange...some parts are shiny and still curing (I can still whiff the paint after a week of drying) and others have had a protective flat coat applied. Looks pretty darn fine on there, doesn't it? If nothing else, the sheer size of this combination will be impressive when I'm done. It's something over two and a half feet long... |
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Post by BUCKY on May 10, 2019 12:11:01 GMT -6
Shaping up very nicely, I must say!
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Post by ogrejohn on May 10, 2019 13:09:58 GMT -6
Looks amazing!
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Post by JED on May 10, 2019 13:58:54 GMT -6
Looks great
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Post by JCON on May 10, 2019 14:37:24 GMT -6
Its a monster but I like it!!!  |
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Post by dogfish7 (R.I.P.) on May 11, 2019 7:13:51 GMT -6
WOW!
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Post by Dukemaddog on May 13, 2019 12:04:04 GMT -6
That is stunning all mocked up like that! Way to go! Just be sure to add a red flag on the boom since it overhangs the end of the trailer more than a foot. LOL!
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