"Clare Snyder" wrote in message
news
I'm using brass. I found a couple brass fittings that will fit on a
15mm or 5/8" shaft whichever I can find. I'll see what our local
Metals Supermarket has available. We are under lockdown up here and
getting ANYTHING is a long drawn out affair. The Myford Super 7 can
help me make what I need out of what I have or can scrounge. I have
HMWPe that I could make the bushings out of too but I think it would
be more likely to deform under the load when opened.
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The nominal ID of 1/2" pipe is 0.622".

I made the pivots for the hydraulic bucket loader for my garden tractor from
3/8" brass pipe nipples (ID 0.493") and 0.500" O1 drill rod. When I
disassembled it several years later one pin was measurably but not visibly
bent from hitting a stone step under the snow but the well-greased brass
bearings were like new.

Cut off ends of brass nipples are valuable as mandrels with pipe threads
that run true to the chucked OD.

TIG welding retaining plates onto one end of the drill rod created a brittle
zone beside the weld that I had to anneal. Replacements for pins that broke
were cross-drilled for retainers instead. The problem is that the pivot pin
has to be rigidly attached to the thinner outer members of the fork joint so
only the larger steel/brass surface rotates.

Parts diagrams for front end loaders show how manufacturers have designed
the pivot components. Bucket loaders are cut and assembled from stock shapes
of plate and rectangular tubing in ways applicable to hobby construction.
The hardest problem I faced was keeping widely separated bearing bores
sufficiently parallel.

I'd consider oilite sleeves for the bicycle carrier, because plastic can be
difficult to machine to size. The design bearing pressure in my loader
exceeded oilite's rating.

I stopped using the loader and bought snow blowers because I had repaved the
driveway. The bucket chewed up soil and the edges of asphalt when snow fell
on mushy thawed ground that didn't support the skid plates.