Being the cheapskate that I am , I have decided to rework original rather
than replace some of the parts on the 1939 H-D I'm rebuilding (not
"restoring" !) . Some of the parts I have decided to rework are the lower
rockers on the springer front end (where the wheel mounts ...). More to the
point , I need to decide what to make the rocker bushings from . The
originals are steel , and just a bit softer than a knife blade . A file will
mark it , but not deeply . The rocker studs seem to be mild steel , at least
they machined easily . I am considering case hardening the wear surfaces ...
bushings are cheaper than studs .
The bushings will be about 1" OD X .875" long , with a wall thickness of
either .150" or .165" , depending on which location they're in .
I have very limited experience with material selection (unless you want
to build some cabinets or a receptionist's desk ---) and have no idea what
alloy would be best for these bushings . Anybody care to venture an opinion
?
I will be making some bearing cups to replace the ball bearings in the
steering neck with a tapered roller , and need some suggestions there also .
Thanks !
--
Snag aka OSG #1
'76 FLH "Bag Lady"
none to one to reply

I'm sorry, but I really don't know much about the names of stuff on old
tractors. Is it a wide front end, or narrow? Is this the part the wide
front end pivots on, or is it the part teh narrow front end rotates
around to turn the tractor????

in any case, brass is a common bushing material. It is soft, and
functions well for places that are greased regularly, turn, but are not
pounded on. So brass is good for bushings for the steering wheel shaft,
but not so good for wheel bearings.

UHMW is used for bushings, but it is not as tough as brass.

Steel is used. Again, you need to grease it. Harder obviously. I'd use
mild steel. The goal is the bushing material should be the softest
material around so it wears out the fastest, instead of your shaft.

Snag wrote:

A file will mark it , but not deeply . The rocker studs seem to be mild
steel , at least they machined easily . I am considering case hardening
the wear surfaces ... bushings are cheaper than studs .

Bronce (not brass!) is always a good bearing material. But the stud
running in it has to be hard. Case hardening is a good solution, because
the hard skin doesn't have to be deep at all.


I will be making some bearing cups to replace the ball bearings in the
steering neck with a tapered roller , and need some suggestions there also .
Thanks !

Free machining steel will do the job and help you in machining it.


HTH,
Nick
--
Motor Modelle // Engine Models
http://www.motor-manufaktur.de
DIY-DRO - YADRO - Eigenbau-Digitalanzeige

Doug wrote:
I'm sorry, but I really don't know much about the names of stuff on
old tractors. Is it a wide front end, or narrow? Is this the part the
wide front end pivots on, or is it the part teh narrow front end
rotates around to turn the tractor????

in any case, brass is a common bushing material. It is soft, and
functions well for places that are greased regularly, turn, but are
not pounded on. So brass is good for bushings for the steering wheel
shaft, but not so good for wheel bearings.

UHMW is used for bushings, but it is not as tough as brass.

Steel is used. Again, you need to grease it. Harder obviously. I'd use
mild steel. The goal is the bushing material should be the softest
material around so it wears out the fastest, instead of your shaft.

Uhh , I think we missed a connection here . The bushings I'm making are for
a motorcycle springer front end at the bottom of the forks . There are 3
holes in the rocker , 2 of them need to rotate a few degrees as the springs
compress and extend . The 3rd is the hole the axle goes thru . I'm inclined
after talking to a couple of folks to use 4130 steel , I can get it
pre-hardened to 28-32 c (I think that's what he said) . With a case hardened
pivot pin (or stud as Harley calls it) the bushing should wear and leave
the studs intact ... which sounds good to me , cuz the studs are expensive ,
relatively speaking .

--
Snag aka OSG #1
'76 FLH "Bag Lady"
BS132 SENS NEWT
"A hand shift is a manly shift ."
shamelessly stolen
none to one to reply

I'm glad your rebuilding not restoring. While restorations are beautiful
it's better to ride them.
Karl

"Snag" wrote in message
news
Being the cheapskate that I am , I have decided to rework original
rather
than replace some of the parts on the 1939 H-D I'm rebuilding (not
"restoring" !) . Some of the parts I have decided to rework are the lower
rockers on the springer front end (where the wheel mounts ...). More to
the
point , I need to decide what to make the rocker bushings from . The
originals are steel , and just a bit softer than a knife blade . A file
will
mark it , but not deeply . The rocker studs seem to be mild steel , at
least
they machined easily . I am considering case hardening the wear surfaces
....
bushings are cheaper than studs .
The bushings will be about 1" OD X .875" long , with a wall thickness
of
either .150" or .165" , depending on which location they're in .
I have very limited experience with material selection (unless you want
to build some cabinets or a receptionist's desk ---) and have no idea what
alloy would be best for these bushings . Anybody care to venture an
opinion
?
I will be making some bearing cups to replace the ball bearings in the
steering neck with a tapered roller , and need some suggestions there also
..
Thanks !
--
Snag aka OSG #1
'76 FLH "Bag Lady"
none to one to reply

"Nick Müller" wrote:
Snag wrote:

A file will mark it , but not deeply . The rocker studs seem to be
mild steel , at least they machined easily . I am considering case
hardening
the wear surfaces ... bushings are cheaper than studs .

Bronce (not brass!) is always a good bearing material. But the stud
running in it has to be hard. Case hardening is a good solution,
because the hard skin doesn't have to be deep at all.

The problem with bronze here is that these bushings get a lot of shock
loads as the wheel rides over the road . I went to the only supplier in the
area that services small accounts and got some 4140 bar stock . As supplied
it's at about 28-32 c hardness , which should work OK in my application .
Gotta find a local source for case hardening stuff for the studs , or order
some from enco or somewhere .

I will be making some bearing cups to replace the ball bearings in
the steering neck with a tapered roller , and need some suggestions
there also . Thanks !

Free machining steel will do the job and help you in machining it.

I think I'll ask my buddy the machinist if he's got any of that hidden in
his supply ...

HTH,
Nick

I've learned a lot from lurking here , thanks so much for your advice !

--
Snag aka OSG #1
'76 FLH "Bag Lady"
BS132 SENS NEWT
"A hand shift is a manly shift ."
shamelessly stolen
none to one to reply

Karl Vorwerk wrote:
I'm glad your rebuilding not restoring. While restorations are
beautiful it's better to ride them.
Karl

"Snag" wrote in message
news
Being the cheapskate that I am , I have decided to rework original
rather than replace some of the parts on the 1939 H-D I'm rebuilding
(not "restoring" !) .
--

Too much of the original is gone , the AMCA calls my bike "a collection of
parts , not a motorcycle" . Fine with me , I can have every bit as much fun
on a collection of parts as I could on a "motorcycle" .
My main problem has been that many parts , especially for the tranny , are
no longer available .
I bought my lathe to make them ... as I'm doing with the springer bushings
.. And it's so much fun , to boot !
--
Snag aka OSG #1
'76 FLH "Bag Lady"
BS132 SENS NEWT
"A hand shift is a manly shift ."
shamelessly stolen
none to one to reply

Snag wrote:

The problem with bronze here is that these bushings get a lot of shock
loads as the wheel rides over the road .

It's not the bushing that has to resist elastic deformation, it's the
material _behind_ it.
Look how thin crank shaft bearings are.


Nick
--
Motor Modelle // Engine Models
http://www.motor-manufaktur.de
DIY-DRO - YADRO - Eigenbau-Digitalanzeige

"Nick Müller" wrote:
Snag wrote:

The problem with bronze here is that these bushings get a lot of
shock loads as the wheel rides over the road .

It's not the bushing that has to resist elastic deformation, it's the
material _behind_ it.
Look how thin crank shaft bearings are.


Nick

Sure thing , and you're right . My cue was that the originals were steel
alloy . H-D had a reason for that ... so I'm doing it the way they did .
BTW , crank bearings are usually at least 2" diameter , and run with an
oil film . These are .674 and .699 diameter , and are greased . They also
only rotate about 10 degrees max , so the load is very concentrated .
I'll be posting some pics at alt.binaries.pictures.motorcycles.harley
later today of the old and the new .

--
Snag aka OSG #1
'76 FLH "Bag Lady"
BS132 SENS NEWT
"A hand shift is a manly shift ."
shamelessly stolen
none to one to reply

oops. i was thinking tractor, you were thinking motorcycle!!!!!!!!!!!

hehe

Snag wrote:

Just to be pedantic: ;-)

My cue was that the originals were steel alloy . H-D had a reason
for that ...

There was a reason. Maybe without reason.


BTW , crank bearings are usually at least 2" diameter , and run with an
oil film .

My example was only to show, that the bearing material itself doesn't
have to be thick-walled.

These are .674 and .699 diameter , and are greased . They also
only rotate about 10 degrees max , so the load is very concentrated .

The same is valid for bronce and steel bushings. :-)
Generaly, steel (gliding) on steel without _pressurized_ oiling is
deemed to fail. One exception coming to my mind is a CI-bushing.

Nick
--
Motor Modelle // Engine Models
http://www.motor-manufaktur.de
DIY-DRO - YADRO - Eigenbau-Digitalanzeige

On Thu, 17 Nov 2005 18:57:28 -0600, "Snag"
wrote:

Being the cheapskate that I am , I have decided to rework original rather
than replace some of the parts on the 1939 H-D I'm rebuilding (not
"restoring" !) . Some of the parts I have decided to rework are the lower
rockers on the springer front end (where the wheel mounts ...). More to the
point , I need to decide what to make the rocker bushings from . The
originals are steel , and just a bit softer than a knife blade . A file will
mark it , but not deeply . The rocker studs seem to be mild steel , at least
they machined easily . I am considering case hardening the wear surfaces ...
bushings are cheaper than studs .
The bushings will be about 1" OD X .875" long , with a wall thickness of
either .150" or .165" , depending on which location they're in .
I have very limited experience with material selection (unless you want
to build some cabinets or a receptionist's desk ---) and have no idea what
alloy would be best for these bushings . Anybody care to venture an opinion
?

Well **** Snag, if yer really a cheapskate, buy these (scroll down a
ways): http://www.aaok.com/partsections/frontend.html According to
my math, that's only $9.00 per for all four. I sure as hell couldn't
make 'em for less than that.

I will be making some bearing cups to replace the ball bearings in the
steering neck with a tapered roller , and need some suggestions there also .
Thanks !

And why do ya want to do that? Those old ball bearings last for 100's
of thousands of miles. I switched to tapered rollers in my '37 Knuck
once and went back to ball bearings after about 30k miles. If yer
bound and determined to go with tapered anyway, they're (cups)
available from Ted's V-Twin for *way* less than you could make 'em
too.

Snarl

"Nick Müller" wrote in message
...
Snag wrote:


snip


Bronce (not brass!) is always a good bearing material. But the stud
running in it has to be hard. Case hardening is a good solution, because
the hard skin doesn't have to be deep at all.


snip


HTH,
Nick
--
Motor Modelle // Engine Models
http://www.motor-manufaktur.de
DIY-DRO - YADRO - Eigenbau-Digitalanzeige

You can't just use any bronze for making a bushing, right? I thought it had
to be Aluminum-Nickel-Bronze or similar. I thought some types of bronze
were too soft for bushings. I made a bushing for a friend once for his
tractor and the stock he brought me was used to machine knuckle bushings for
Boeing landing gear. Very hard stuff and was Aluminum-Nickel-Bronze. I
also made some bushings out of brass for another friend for the hinge pins
on the driver's side door on an old Camaro. He said they didn't last a year
before they wore through. So you're right that Brass is no good.

wrote:
On Thu, 17 Nov 2005 18:57:28 -0600, "Snag"
wrote:

Being the cheapskate that I am , I have decided to rework original
rather than replace some of the parts on the 1939 H-D I'm rebuilding
(not "restoring" !) . Some of the parts I have decided to rework are
the lower rockers on the springer front end (where the wheel mounts
...). More to the point , I need to decide what to make the rocker
bushings from . The originals are steel , and just a bit softer than
a knife blade . A file will mark it , but not deeply . The rocker
studs seem to be mild steel , at least they machined easily . I am
considering case hardening the wear surfaces ... bushings are
cheaper than studs . The bushings will be about 1" OD X .875" long
, with a wall thickness of either .150" or .165" , depending on
which location they're in . I have very limited experience with
material selection (unless you want
to build some cabinets or a receptionist's desk ---) and have no
idea what alloy would be best for these bushings . Anybody care to
venture an opinion ?

Well **** Snag, if yer really a cheapskate, buy these (scroll down a
ways): http://www.aaok.com/partsections/frontend.html According to
my math, that's only $9.00 per for all four. I sure as hell couldn't
make 'em for less than that.

I will be making some bearing cups to replace the ball bearings in
the steering neck with a tapered roller , and need some suggestions
there also . Thanks !

And why do ya want to do that? Those old ball bearings last for 100's
of thousands of miles. I switched to tapered rollers in my '37 Knuck
once and went back to ball bearings after about 30k miles. If yer
bound and determined to go with tapered anyway, they're (cups)
available from Ted's V-Twin for *way* less than you could make 'em
too.

Snarl

That'll be 2 Coors twice and eight bucks for Snarl . The link itself is
worth more than that !!
Actually , two feet of 4140 (1" and inch a quarter) and a foot of 1" ampco
18 cost me less than the bushing set . Part of the reason I'm making them is
because the studs were worn , and I turned them down just to clean-up ,
rears at .699" and fronts are .674" now . The other part is the personal
satisfaction of saying I did it myself ...
Got the set for the sprung leg almost made already , just gotta turn a few
thou offa the outside to get a .001" tight press fit . I'll hone them a bit
after they're pressed in for final fit . Got the others roughed on the same
piece of stock , just a few passes with a boring bar and finish size the
outside . Do you know if the studs were originally case-hardened ? These
seemed pretty soft , machined easily , but they were worn .
Got a new top race coming , I think that'll be everything but the balls -
I'm taking your advice on that one . My goal for this winter is to get that
chassis rollin' - maybe then I'll be more motivated to get it finished .
Been sitting out there since '98 , way too long .

--
Snag aka OSG #1
'76 FLH "Bag Lady"
BS132 SENS NEWT
"A hand shift is a manly shift ."
shamelessly stolen
none to one to reply

Some people get confused about the difference of a HD and JD.

On Sat, 19 Nov 2005 17:56:55 -0600, "Snag"
wrote:

schnipp

That'll be 2 Coors twice and eight bucks for Snarl . The link itself is
worth more than that !!

A bargain at twice th' price, eh g.

Actually , two feet of 4140 (1" and inch a quarter) and a foot of 1" ampco
18 cost me less than the bushing set . Part of the reason I'm making them is
because the studs were worn , and I turned them down just to clean-up ,
rears at .699" and fronts are .674" now . The other part is the personal
satisfaction of saying I did it myself ...

Ok, that I'll buy. Looks like they were pretty hammered. Any sign of
grease in/on them when ya disassembled it?

Got the set for the sprung leg almost made already , just gotta turn a few
thou offa the outside to get a .001" tight press fit . I'll hone them a bit
after they're pressed in for final fit . Got the others roughed on the same
piece of stock , just a few passes with a boring bar and finish size the
outside . Do you know if the studs were originally case-hardened ? These
seemed pretty soft , machined easily , but they were worn .

I can't say with 100% accuracy, but I'd bet they were. In any event,
you definately want th' studs harder than th' bushings. And they
should be hit with a grease gun every 1,000 miles. I check clearances
on my rocker studs every winter just to be sure.

Got a new top race coming , I think that'll be everything but the balls -
I'm taking your advice on that one.

A good way to prolong steering neck bearing life is to not always park
with th' front end flopped over in th' same position... usually
pointed left. Alternate how you angle th' front wheel when parked,
there's a lot of static weight and wear if it's always th' same.

My goal for this winter is to get that
chassis rollin' - maybe then I'll be more motivated to get it finished .
Been sitting out there since '98 , way too long .

Hey, at least yer still playin' with it and having some fun... nothing
wrong there.

Snarl... thanks for th' coldbeers g

"Nick Müller" wrote in message
...
Snag wrote:

Just to be pedantic: ;-)

My cue was that the originals were steel alloy . H-D had a reason
for that ...

There was a reason. Maybe without reason.


BTW , crank bearings are usually at least 2" diameter , and run with
an
oil film .

My example was only to show, that the bearing material itself doesn't
have to be thick-walled.

These are .674 and .699 diameter , and are greased . They also
only rotate about 10 degrees max , so the load is very concentrated .

The same is valid for bronce and steel bushings. :-)
Generaly, steel (gliding) on steel without _pressurized_ oiling is
deemed to fail. One exception coming to my mind is a CI-bushing.

Nick

There are tribology tables available that will show you which journal
materials work with which bearings, at which loads and which speeds; wear
ratios; performance with and without lubrication, etc.

From my diminishing memory, what I learned when I was reporting on this
subject is this: Mild steel on mild steel is one of the worst bearings
imaginable, at all but the lowest loads and speeds. OTOH, hardened steel on
hardened steel is one of the best. Before rolling bearings were available
for reasonable prices, hardened steel on hardened steel was used for the
most demanding instrument and machinery applications, including
ultra-precision grinders, at the highest speeds (then around 10,000 rpm for
an internal grinder, for example).

The bronzes are next, and work-hardening bronzes that get really hard from
work are the best of the bronzes. Aluminum bronzes and phosphor bronzes are
tops; phosphor bronzes being the older ones. Manganese bronze is next.

Aluminum and brass are actually quite good at low loads. Cast iron is an
excellent general-purpose bearing (bushing) material, handling quite high
loads, but all bearing manuals I remember reading say that it requires twice
the clearance of bronze. In applications where lubrication may fail, it is
the preferred material.

Where dirt is a problem or where the bearing may have to comply with a
less-that-rigid shaft, babbitt is the traditional favorite. It embeds dirt
and, given a thick film of lubrication, it has little tendency to gall (it
smears, but rather smoothly). Its specific wear ratio is poor, but that's
the tradeoff.

Galling is what kills mild steel and yellow brass. Hardened steel journals
running in mild steel bushings actually aren't bad if the loads are light
and the lubrication is good. The best hardened steel on hardened steel
bearings used no lubrication -- or, more accurately, they ran with dynamic
air bearings, with about a 0.001" clearance or less, down to 0.0002", and
had to run at high speeds because they dragged with air film around with
them ("dynamic" and "static" lubrication mean the opposite of what we
usually think).

Big breakthroughs occurred in bearings with, first, the Thinwall automotive
bearings introduced by a British company in the early '50s; then with
tri-layer bearings in the late '50s, and then with Honda's refinement of
tri-layer tribology, which they introduced on their 4-cyl. 750. It actually
had less friction than their earlier roller bearings.

It ain't sexy, but tribology can be really interesting. A lot of the
information about plain bearings that was gained at great expense,
empirically, is lost in the general literature and has to be dug up from old
engineering texts. But automotive bearing technology is very refined and
makes a good jumping-off point for understanding these bearings, and it is
the subject of continuing research and reporting.

--
Ed Huntress

Ed Huntress wrote:
"Nick Müller" wrote in message
...
Snag wrote:

Just to be pedantic: ;-)

My cue was that the originals were steel alloy . H-D had a reason
for that ...

There was a reason. Maybe without reason.


BTW , crank bearings are usually at least 2" diameter , and run
with an oil film .

My example was only to show, that the bearing material itself doesn't
have to be thick-walled.

These are .674 and .699 diameter , and are greased . They also
only rotate about 10 degrees max , so the load is very concentrated
.

The same is valid for bronce and steel bushings. :-)
Generaly, steel (gliding) on steel without _pressurized_ oiling is
deemed to fail. One exception coming to my mind is a CI-bushing.

Nick

There are tribology tables available that will show you which journal
materials work with which bearings, at which loads and which speeds;
wear ratios; performance with and without lubrication, etc.

From my diminishing memory, what I learned when I was reporting on
this subject is this: Mild steel on mild steel is one of the worst
bearings imaginable, at all but the lowest loads and speeds. OTOH,
hardened steel on hardened steel is one of the best. Before rolling
bearings were available for reasonable prices, hardened steel on
hardened steel was used for the most demanding instrument and
machinery applications, including ultra-precision grinders, at the
highest speeds (then around 10,000 rpm for an internal grinder, for
example).
And that , sir , is *just* what I needed to know . Ya gotta remember , we're
talking 30's technology here . Which means that the ones I pressed in today
gotta come back out for heat-treat .
What a great excuse to build a small gas fired forge ! Been doing some
research , and there are some very simple and relatively cheap designs out
there . Already got the wife convinced ...
--
Snag aka OSG #1
'76 FLH "Bag Lady"
BS132 SENS NEWT
"A hand shift is a manly shift ."
shamelessly stolen
none to one to reply

wrote:
On Sat, 19 Nov 2005 17:56:55 -0600, "Snag"
wrote:

schnipp

That'll be 2 Coors twice and eight bucks for Snarl . The link itself
is worth more than that !!

A bargain at twice th' price, eh g.

Actually , two feet of 4140 (1" and inch a quarter) and a foot of
1" ampco 18 cost me less than the bushing set . Part of the reason
I'm making them is because the studs were worn , and I turned them
down just to clean-up , rears at .699" and fronts are .674" now .
The other part is the personal satisfaction of saying I did it
myself ...

Ok, that I'll buy. Looks like they were pretty hammered. Any sign of
grease in/on them when ya disassembled it?

There was some crusty black stuff on the outside that might have been
grease once ... The bushings had worn to the grooved shape of the studs ,
almost thru in one case . Whoever the last guy to run this machine was , I
don't like him . Dad got it in '52 , with a broken tranny countershaft .
Never got it runnin' , never rode it .



Snarl... thanks for th' coldbeers g


Anytime .
--
Snag aka OSG #1
'76 FLH "Bag Lady"
BS132 SENS NEWT
"A hand shift is a manly shift ."
shamelessly stolen
none to one to reply

Ed Huntress wrote:

Hardened steel journals running in mild steel bushings actually aren't bad
if the loads are light and the lubrication is good. The best hardened
steel on hardened steel bearings used no lubrication -- or, more
accurately, they ran with dynamic air bearings, with about a 0.001"
clearance or less, down to 0.0002", and had to run at high speeds because
they dragged with air film around with them ("dynamic" and "static"
lubrication mean the opposite of what we usually think).

OK. Hard steel on hard steel works. But, as you said, with little load
and high rpm. Not what you find in the fork described. I still would not
do it _now_, even if H.D. did it _then_.
It was in the 40's when bearing bronces made a big evolutionary step.
So, it was _past_ H.D.'s decision for steel on steel.


Nick
--
Motor Modelle // Engine Models
http://www.motor-manufaktur.de
DIY-DRO - YADRO - Eigenbau-Digitalanzeige

"Nick Müller" wrote in message
...
Ed Huntress wrote:

Hardened steel journals running in mild steel bushings actually aren't
bad
if the loads are light and the lubrication is good. The best hardened
steel on hardened steel bearings used no lubrication -- or, more
accurately, they ran with dynamic air bearings, with about a 0.001"
clearance or less, down to 0.0002", and had to run at high speeds
because
they dragged with air film around with them ("dynamic" and "static"
lubrication mean the opposite of what we usually think).

OK. Hard steel on hard steel works. But, as you said, with little load
and high rpm. Not what you find in the fork described. I still would not
do it _now_, even if H.D. did it _then_.
It was in the 40's when bearing bronces made a big evolutionary step.
So, it was _past_ H.D.'s decision for steel on steel.

I have no idea what the "fork described" is, nor who made a steel-on-steel
decision. I just saw that thread drawn out much longer than it should have
taken, with no apparent resolution, so I dumped a load of bushing-material
data the way you might dump powdered lime on a magnesium fire. g

Yes about the '40s. Implementation mostly in the '50s.

--
Ed Huntress

Ed Huntress wrote:
"Nick Müller" wrote in message
...
Ed Huntress wrote:

Hardened steel journals running in mild steel bushings actually
aren't bad if the loads are light and the lubrication is good. The
best hardened steel on hardened steel bearings used no lubrication
-- or, more accurately, they ran with dynamic air bearings, with
about a 0.001" clearance or less, down to 0.0002", and had to run
at high speeds because they dragged with air film around with them
("dynamic" and "static" lubrication mean the opposite of what we
usually think).

OK. Hard steel on hard steel works. But, as you said, with little
load and high rpm. Not what you find in the fork described. I still
would not do it _now_, even if H.D. did it _then_.
It was in the 40's when bearing bronces made a big evolutionary step.
So, it was _past_ H.D.'s decision for steel on steel.

I have no idea what the "fork described" is, nor who made a
steel-on-steel decision. I just saw that thread drawn out much longer
than it should have taken, with no apparent resolution, so I dumped a
load of bushing-material data the way you might dump powdered lime on
a magnesium fire. g

Yes about the '40s. Implementation mostly in the '50s.

It was about the springer forks on my '39 Harley WL . I'm reworking the
rocker links at the bottom , they were bushed with steel , and use steel
pivot studs . Hey , even aftermarket replacements are steel ...

--
Snag aka OSG #1
'76 FLH "Bag Lady"
BS132 SENS NEWT
"A hand shift is a manly shift ."
shamelessly stolen
none to one to reply

"Snag" wrote in message
.. .

snip

It was about the springer forks on my '39 Harley WL . I'm reworking the
rocker links at the bottom , they were bushed with steel , and use steel
pivot studs . Hey , even aftermarket replacements are steel ...

Aha. Well, without looking it over, I dunno. They're probably steel because
steel is cheap. Whether steel is the right material for the job is another
question.

It sounds like strength, and the ability to handle high specific loads, is
more important than actual bearing properties. Steel may be the right
material but I wouldn't venture a guess without looking at it up close and
getting a sense of the loads involved. I haven't seen a suspension like that
for a lot of years. g

--
Ed Huntress

"Snag" wrote in message
...

snip

And that , sir , is *just* what I needed to know . Ya gotta remember ,
we're
talking 30's technology here . Which means that the ones I pressed in
today
gotta come back out for heat-treat .

It probably will help.

What a great excuse to build a small gas fired forge ! Been doing some
research , and there are some very simple and relatively cheap designs out
there . Already got the wife convinced ...

We're all very creative at coming up with such excuses. It seems to be one
of our greater collective talents.

'Sounds good to me, but my wife recognizes transparent ploys at 50 paces...

--
Ed Huntress