I decided to have a break from all the filling and sanding on the hull and to start making the prop shafts and tubes. Firstly I bought two 400mm long M4 thread prop shafts to use the stainless steel shafts. I also purchased two 300mm long 6mm OD brass tubes and a length of 6mm OD brass bar to make my own tubes to the correct length. The first stage was to make the four bearings for either end of the two tubes using the 6mm OD brass bar and turning it down 5mm in length to 5mm OD so each one would slot in to the end of the 6mm OD tube. Then I centre drilled the end and drilled a 3.8mm OD hole down the centre. The 3.8mm OD hole was then reamed with a 4mm OD reamer to ensure the hole was perfectly round and a good fit for the 4mm OD shaft.
With the bearings made I then made the oil tube mount using some hexagonal brass I had in my scrap box. I used this because it would be easier to drill the hole for the vertical oil tube on a flat face. The hexagonal brass was placed in the lathe and the end faced off, centre drilled and a 6mm OD hole drilled down the centre. I cut a piece just over 10mm long off the end of the brass and placed that in the lathe to face off the rough cut end. I repeated everything to make a second. I now had what looked like two brass nuts with no threads. I placed each one in turn in to a drill vice and vertically drilled a 6mm OD hole in to one of the flat faces. Now I cut two lengths of 6mm OD brass tube and pushed each one in to the hole in the hexagonal brass section.
This assembly was then slipped over the 6mm OD brass tube and positioned 10mm from the end and one of the brass bearing slotted in the end of the tube. The whole assembly was then soldered together with the help of a gas torch to provide enough heat. The two tubes where placed in the hull in the position where they would are located and the length of each marked so they could be cut to the right length at the point where they exit the hull. Each tube was cut and the other bearing was soldered in place ensuring it was square so the shaft would turn smoothly.
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With the tubes complete I turned my attention to the two A Frame shaft support bosses. Using a piece of 9mm OD brass bar I turned down a length of 50mm to a diameter of 8mm to give me enough to make two. The end was faced off, centre drilled and a 3.8mm hole drilled down the centre approximately 25mm into the bar. Next I calculated the angle needed to cut the chamfer and set the head sock to an angle of 14 degrees. Once the chamfer was turned I cut off the boss at a length of 22mm and put that into the chuck to ream it out to 4mm and face off the other end to a length of 20mm. I repeated the whole process to make the second boss.
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I purchased two 45mm diameter brass props to fit the M4 threaded shafts.