DIY spindles (no weld)

[steve lord]

Hi Guys,

These are not original ideas, but rather gathered from different sources (books, friends, etc.). So . . .


These spindles were made by using items bought from most hardware stores.

I can't weld . . . so that was out of the question . . . although, yes, I had someone weld the spindle brackets (made of angle iron) together and then to the kart.

The T-Pipe is 1/2 inch . . . and has pipe nipples that we cut and then screwed into each of the vertical sides to take up the small space that would have been between the T-Pipe and brackets.

The axles were cut from 3/4 inch threaded rod and screwed into the T-pipe. They are "locked" in place by the 3/4 inch hex nut.

I didn't have a large enough drill bit to accept the 3/4 inch axles . . . so I "notched" the angle iron to accept the axles. 3/4 inch hex nuts with a large washer hold it together just fine.

The eye-bolt is fastened to the threaded tie rod by a coupling nut . . . and locked together with a single hex nut. Bending the tie rod at the opposite end enables you to connect to the angle iron spindle.

There is a handy liquid locking chemical called "Loctite" that will lock your threaded rods in place if you choose . . . although I didn't use Loctite for my project.


Hope this helps . . . let me know if there are any questions. Glad to hear from you!

Steve

 

[ironman]

very good info there this should help out alot of people.

 

[Jerryburger]

Slick! I woulda never thought of that! Neat idea, and thanks fopr passing it on! This is definitely "STICKY" material!

 

[kibble]

Great idea Jerry!

 

[RobertD]

now that's just freakin' awesome. What's the performance like?

 

[steve lord]

Thanks for the compliments guys . .

Performance is great . . . especially since you can "fine tune" the tie rod lengths by adjusting the coupling nuts on either side. (I prefer a bit of toe-in myself.)


Thanks again guys . . . but remember, I can't take credit for ALL of this idea. Just most of it!

Thank goodness for this site. Passing along these ideas is very rewarding!

Steve

 

[risto]

awesome! this is why this forum is the best!

 

[ironman]

so going to the local hardware store what would you say the cost is.?

 

[steve lord]

Well, the hardware store will have everything . . . but it's been awhile since I bought the stuff.

I'd guess you'd be under $35.00 for everything.

Steve

 

[sayre315]

actually i'de say it is about 15-20$ but im realy glad he put that on here because i cant weld either and was trying to come up with an idea but now i dont have to

 

[steve lord]

additional pic

I thought I'd add a pic of the whole kart with the no weld spindles.

Thanks again for all of your comments and questions.

Steve

 

[sayre315]

just got on lowes and it would only cost about $7 per spindel

 

[zanegrey]

is the t brass or is it water pipe or cast iron ??

i am curious to know if it holds up under weight and speed ...

 

[ed1380]

definitely not brass. looks cast

 

[steve lord]

Yes . . . these spindles are cast iron with inner threads on all "spout" holes. You can thread iron nipples into both top and bottom of the vertical holes in order to fit your spindles into your particular brackets on your particular kart.

Will hold up to my weight of 160lbs and up to 35 mph on my kart.

These can be found in the threaded pipe section of any hardware store.

Steve

 

[ryf]

you might want to add brass or nylon bushings to give you a wear zone, the ID of 1/2" pipe is somewhere very close to 3/4 (might need to ream it a little because of the weld bead, or notch the bushing) the bushings might make steering a little smoother, but they look great as is!

 

[sayre315]

1/2 pipe is EXTREEMLY close to 5/8"
i usally take a dremel with the sanding drum thing and slightly grnd a tiny bit out and 5/8" fit in there GREAT!

 

[ryf]

that depends on which company made it, the stuff I get you can almost get 3/4 bolts in. unfortunately the only thing it has to do is meet pressure specs and thread size OD, so its pretty wide open, I should say though, I'm not using the black pipe from lowes, I'm using 1/2" schedule 40 handrail, so the ends have not been crushed into a threading machine either!

 

[benmagga]

I'm new here........ Could anyone please provide a photo of how the steering column attaches to the control rods/arms? Thanks

 

[jr dragster T]

Here you go.