TUTORIAL: Steerable I-Beam (and tubular) Front Axles, part one

[Ace-Garageguy]

This will work for just about any styrene I-beam or tubular front axle you may wish to convert to pose-able steering...for hot-rods, gassers, trucks, antique and classic cars, etc. The work shown here is a little on the Q&D side, but take your time, work carefully, and it can be very very nice indeed.

The axle in the photo has had everything but the actual ends where the kingpins would go carefully filed off, and squared up.

I drill the ends with a .020" drill in a pin vise, because I use straight-pins (which usually have a .020" shaft) for the kingpin material. It's plenty strong. When I drill, I drill a little from each side, a little at a time, being VERY careful to keep the drill bit square with the axle. The holes will meet eventually, and this keeps the drill from going too far off center (as it could if you try to drill all the way through from only one side).

There's a semi-completed spindle on the left hand, made up of the parts on the right. 

The spindle is made of a section of styrene channel that's the right inside height to fit over the axle ends, a dot of styrene sheet popped out with a paper punch, and a short length of 1/16 styrene rod for the stub-axle (inserted and glued into a hole carefully drilled in the rest of the assembled spindle).

Once everything is glued and set-up square, you fit the angle parts of the spindles over the axle ends and mark where the centers of the kingpin holes need to go and drill them with the .020" bit.

If everything goes right, you can then insert pins in the kingpin holes and cut them to length.

Last part is to trim and round the ears of the angle part of the spindles, and glue on the brake backing plate of choice.

Edited December 14, 2016 by Ace-Garageguy

[TooOld]

Great pics and very easy to understand Bill .  I've actually been doing this for years and have never been able to explain it simply enough when asked "How To ?" .  Now I can just refer them to your post , Thanks !

[Len Woodruff]

Good article Bill.

[Intmd8r]

Awesome - thanks for sharing.

Enter one of these:

[talon63]

I've also located these eye-loop pins at hobby/craft stores that make good tie rods and links for drag arms. 

[Oldmodelmaker]

Thanks for your tutorial. I have been wanting to learn how to do this for a very long time now.

[BigTallDad]

I too am waiting for the next episode, but I'm also curious about "steerable" vs "poseable"...can you shed some light on this?

 

[Ace-Garageguy]

  On 1/3/2017 at 11:53 PM, BigTallDad said:

I too am waiting for the next episode, but I'm also curious about "steerable" vs "poseable"...can you shed some light on this?

 

  I suppose I should have called it "poseable" rather than "steerable", because I'm not going to get in to making a geared steering box.

Mayhap I'll change the title for enhanced word-sense disambiguation. Then again, mayhap not. 

With the dearth of 1/25 scale threaded fasteners small enough to represent tie-rod-ends, making a suitable steering linkage that looks good and functions presents some interesting problems to solve.

As soon as I find what I consider to be an optimum solution or three, I'll post part deux.   

[Flat32]

Did functional tie rod ends ever get made for this??

[Ace-Garageguy]

  On 3/3/2019 at 7:39 AM, Flat32 said:

Did functional tie rod ends ever get made for this??

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Not yet by me, but STYRENE-SURFER sent me this info, which I'd meant to post here earlier...

"This is how I am experimenting making tie-rod ends for my mustang drag car.

Using .040" Evergreen rod, pinched in the smooth part of a needle nose pliers or vice would work better.

then drilled (I used a .029 drill) then finally shaped with sanding block."

 "I managed to use the same technique using soft jewelry making wire.

This is just a test so I didn't take allot of care making it neat.

However I was able to make a WORKING joint that I think would be robust enough for a steerable front axle.

Drawback is this wire is sold in a roll and soft as it is could not get it very straight. "

Edited March 3, 2019 by Ace-Garageguy

[bobthehobbyguy]

Great information.  Thanks for passing it along Bill. A valuable tutorial. What channel are you using for the spindle.

[NOBLNG]

  On 3/3/2019 at 4:23 PM, Ace-Garageguy said:

Not yet by me, but STYRENE-SURFER sent me this info, which I'd meant to post here earlier...

"...Using .040" Evergreen rod, pinched in the smooth part of a needle nose pliers or vice would work better."

 "I managed to use the same technique using soft jewelry making wire.

Drawback is this wire is sold in a roll and soft as it is could not get it very straight. "

 

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should be able to get the same results with brass rod? or aluminum tig rod maybe?

[Ace-Garageguy]

  On 3/5/2019 at 1:19 AM, NOBLNG said:

should be able to get the same results with brass rod? or aluminum tig rod maybe?

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Yup. Just remember that hammering either of those materials flat will result in considerable work-hardening, and you may find you need carbide drill bits afterwards.

[Flat32]

I just did an experiment flattening the end of fairly stiff 0.032" steel wire using pliers, a new pair with nice flat surfaces right down to the pivot joint. Did two squeezes, but annealed the end first in my little butane torch flame before each squeeze. Worked fine.

Drilling holes is looking like another project.  Need to build the drill press.

 

[bobthehobbyguy]

Bill are you using evergreen for the channel for the spindles? If so what is the nimber? Thanks in advance.

[Ace-Garageguy]

  On 3/8/2019 at 3:35 PM, bobthehobbyguy said:

Bill are you using evergreen for the channel for the spindles? If so what is the nimber? Thanks in advance.

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Good question, Bob. It depends on what the final vertical dimension of the kingpin boss of the particular axle I'm using turns out to be.

What I'll usually do is work one end down to a semi-finished configuration, and measure the vertical dimension with calipers.

Then compare that dimension with the inside dimensions of channel I have in stock, pick the one that will work, and go from there.

The kingpin boss gets finished to the nominal dimension of the chosen channel.

Naturally, the finished dimension of the kingpin bosses will be different on various axles.

Immediately below is the dropped axle from the OLD Revell 1/25 '28-'31 Ford kits. In this case, backing plates with integral spindles may be used.

Below is a dropped axle from an early AMT hot-rod kit. These are found in the '32, '36, and '40, and with some work, can be made into acceptable high-detail parts.

Edited March 8, 2019 by Ace-Garageguy

[NOBLNG]

One trick  I use on our Go-Kart builds is to use two pieces of angle leg to leg, welded to the cross member in his case. One could easily glue two pieces of angle to the models brake backing plate to make a "C" channel of any I.D. 

[Ace-Garageguy]

Bump

[ColonelKrypton]

I am a fan of many of Bill's @Ace-Garageguy postings, particularly all of the many containing how-to's. It is always good to be able to see how someone else has done something as there is always something more to learn or how to improve upon something that you already do.

I recently started a topic on wire gauge number drills and commented that I like to use brass in my builds. My current build is a Revell '29 Ford roadster for which I have made a poseable front using some of Bill's ideas but made primarily from brass. The dropped forged I beam axles is the one from from the kit were the spindles, steering arms, tie rod, king pins - just to name a few of the bits - have been rendered in brass. The steering arms still need to be bent to shape, trimmed to size, and have their ends soldered in place plus there is still a bit of clean up to do before paint; all in good time. 

I thought I would share a few pictures:

 

Made using 1mm and 1/16 brass tube, 0.020" and 1/32 brass rod, soft soldered with Stay Brite silver bearing solder. 

Something I have found very useful for making small bits is my make do watchmakers lathe. Nothing more than a Foredom #30 handpiece mounted in rifle hardware to mount a tactical flashlight holder which coincidentally had a diameter of 1" ( same as the Foredom ) mounted on a chunk of ( 3/4" ? ) aluminum. I use hand gravers and a number of small blocks of wood as tool rests to turn brass, plastic, and aluminum.

I will leave it there for fear of hi-jacking Bill's topic and skewing it off in another direction.

Was there ever a part 2 ( or 3 or ? )?

cheers, Graham

 

[Ace-Garageguy]

  On 2/18/2024 at 5:16 PM, ColonelKrypton said:

I will leave it there for fear of hi-jacking Bill's topic and skewing it off in another direction.

Was there ever a part 2 ( or 3 or ? )?

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Please sir, feel free to add as much additional info as you'd like.

Every contribution to any how-to thread is valuable.

And no, I don't think I ever did any follow ups. I was intending to show a built-up styrene I-beam axle, and a brass "tubular" axle made from rod for ease of bending without kinks, but I never got back to it.

Not finishing things is probably my worst character flaw.  

 

[R. Thorne]

Procrastination is the mark of superior intelligence.  At least, that’s what I keep telling myself (and my wife).

[Jiml0001]

Found some interesting stuff in the jewelry world.  All kinds of shapes and sizes

 

[Straightliner59]

For tie rod ends and heim joints, I almost exclusively use HO scale handrail stanchions. When I built the steering for my Nostalgia Top Fuel dragster, I milled them, for the first time. That can easily be accomplished with a file, as well. I use 3/64" brass tube for the tie rods. For the longer shafts/rods on the NTF car, I used .040" aluminum armature wire that I bored on the lathe, to accept the stanchions.

[bobss396]

I'm digging this big time. I use a lot of brass in my work, a lot of 1/32" and 3/64" rod. I have also come across lengths of .020" brass wire. I had been using little brass nails that are .020". sometimes I use the heads. I found some that are a .050" diameter in a craft store.

McMaster Carr used to carry a line of brass dowel pins, I can get stainless steel ones in 1/32" and smaller too.

I need to get into soldering brass. I used to do it at work, mainly with a Prestolite torch and a hot plate. 

[ColonelKrypton]

  On 2/22/2024 at 6:25 AM, Straightliner59 said:

HO scale handrail stanchions

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I will have to look more closely at the train bits and pieces. Train stores around here ( Canada in general ) are not as well stocked of such detailing parts as they once were.

I use K&S brass and Albion Alloys in thick and thin wall types and in imperial and metric sizes.. Albion Alloys is UK based and not as common in North America but if you look you can find a few suppliers, for example https://flex-i-file.com/en-ca/products/brass-rod

I see the imperial and metric sizes as complimentary. 1mm, 1.5mm, 1/16" ( 1.6mm ), 2.0mm, 3/32" (2.38mm), 2.5mm, 3mm, 1/8 (3.12mm) and so on. You can mix and match so you don't end up with everything the same size and you can get some subtle differences.

Tie rod ends I have been making from a 1mm slice of 1/16" or 1.5mm tube soldered on the end of a suitable size tie tube ( i.e. 1mm for approx a 1" tie rod ). I drill a 0.020" hole in the side of the 1mm slice of tube and use a 0.020" rod in the tube and into that hole to align and hold together for soldering. The slice of tube is then cleaned out for a rod end needing a hole or I will have already soldered a short length of rod in hole ( if you follow my ramblings ).

King pins are made in a similar manner with a short length of rod having a slice of tube soldered on the end and then filed to size.  There are examples in the photos I posted earlier. 

Lots of different ways to make similar items. 

Lots of interesting and suitable bits and pieces to found in jewellery findings as has already been suggested.