i've searched but can't really find any posts addressing this topic. what i'm trying to determine is if i try to shorten the long side of the 44 I got from a J-20 by removing the knuckle and cutting the housing will i have a problem getting the knuckle back on the tube after i cut it ?

i've heard conflicting information about the axle tube being turned down a bit to fit in the knuckle ... any truth to this ?

any help appreciated. thanks ...

- jack

The tubes are not turned down. Use a BFH to put the knuckles back on.

I heat them a bit before welding to alleviate the thermal shock of welding on the cast iron.

Andy

thanks man ... any tips on getting the knuckles off ? i've ground and ground and beat the stupid things to where i'm concerned about deforming them. should i grind the welded area some more ... there is no tube or weld left. i've ground the weld flush with the knuckle face and have cut "down" into the tube at the spot quite a bit ...

- jack

I cut the tube right where the weld is, and ground the knuckle flat, then i put the knucle outer side up on two pieces of steel so that the tube could be knocked out. To knock it out i used a little bit of heat, a 1/2 inch thick metal hockey puck like thing and a really big hammer.

To put them back together after yoiu cut the housing where you want it, polish up the surface. mark a line on eachso that it is quick to line them up for correct caster, then i put the tube on dry ice and the knuckle in the oven at 500plus degrees, and lined the two up and smacked them with a hamer, it went on pretty easily. Wait for the heat to transfer before welding.

It was fun. So enjoy.

Ian-

Follow this link, this is how us binder owners cut and twist the axles. Might give you some insight as to what to look for.

http://www.off-road.com/~jweed/twistaxl.htm

Joe

When I cut my waggy down 4 inches I simply cut the tube right at the knuckle on the weld. I thne ground it flat and made 4 relief cuts into the tube inside the knuckle and I thne simply place a punce onto each section and hammered it right out. then just slide the knuckle on to the tube and hammer it back on.

When I did my Waggy 44 knuckles I used a thin cutoff blade in my 4-1/2" grinder and cut as close to the knuckle as possible, perpendicular to the axle tube, all the way around until I was into the axle tube a hair all around. Then hit the knuckle with a BFH parallel to the axle tube, alternating sides, until it slides all the way off the tube. I was only interested in rotating the knuckles but I couldn't get them to budge that way. Knocking them off was easy. Then I cleaned up the axle tube removing what remained of the knuckle, and filled in where I had ground into the tube with weld. Meanwhile the knuckles were in the oven at 400 degrees F (did both sides at the same time). When the tubes were good to go and the axle was positioned where I wanted it (pinion angle), I brought out the knuckles one at a time, slid them on the tube, and tapped them into position (caster) with a hammer. Easy to adjust while hot but you don't have much time... as soon as they cooled they were set. Reweld em' and done. First side was a royal biatch and I nearly gave up, but after explaining my dilemma on this BB I learned that I hadn't ground all the way thru the weld. After I learned how to do it I had the other side off in about 20 minutes.

Take your hacksaw apart and re-assemble with the blade inside the stub left in the knuckle. Make about 4 cuts through the axle tube all the way to the knuckle material, then pound each piece out with a punch and BFH.

ANDY

Here is a trick I use when trying to get a bearing race, like a Timken cup out of a blind hole.
Weld a bead all the way around on the race and let it cool.
It usually shrinks it enough to make it come out with a little persasion.
You might try it after cutting the knuckle off flush.
It did not seem to help with mine, but my tube is half inch wall.
Still had to beat it with the GDBMFH.
Good lucK

:usa:

When I did it I used an angle grinder w/ a cutoff wheel, ground the entire weld away, and then kept going into the knuckle about 1/8-3/16". Kind of an undercut I guess you might say... right where the knuckle and axle meet. You've got to get rid of where the weld penetrated...

Then I was able to knock the knuckles loose to take them off and/or turn them.

thanks Erik ... i'm probably only about 1/8" into the face of the knuckle at the point of weld. didn't realize i'd have to cut into that much.

- jack