I brought a Chevy D44 flat top outer knuckle to the local 4x4 shop to be milled and drilled so I can set up my Heep with highsteer about a week ago. I stopped in today to see if they were ready yet and found the owner and an assistant "milling" my knuckle on an industrial belt sander. When asked why they were using the sander instead of the milling machine which was about 20 feet away, he said that it would take too long to chuck it up properly in the mill.

I was in a little bit of disbelief at what I saw and am now very leary at what my end product will be. Will the end product be usable? Should I hurry up and go get it, before he fubars it, and send it to a reputable shop?

Opinions please...

I would go get it, how is he gonna drill the holes without putting it in a mill? You can't do that shiat by hand. Well you can, but my guess is it wouldn't be to good. Sounds like a hack to me.

I think I'd go get it, I don't see how he could ensure that the new flat top surface is at the correct angle using a hand held sander. Be careful though, this might cause some ill feelings (if this is a place you frequent) and he might want you to pay for the amount of work he has already done.

The fact that he said it will take too long to chuck up in the mill might be a bad sign. Just my .02....

Sounds like GHETTO FAB to me.

If they know what they are doing with milling knuckles, they should have a fixture that bolts onto the knuckle at the spindle bolts. "Chucking" it up on the lathe should not be a very lengthy process.:rolleyes:
Don't worry about stepping on toes. Get your sh!t out of there.

Get your chit outta there. IF they get an attitude, fawk em, you don;t need to go there anymore. You brought the knuckle there to be milled, not sanded.

BOOOTIE FAB!!!!!

Get your shit and run. Take to long to chuck it up. I would rather spend the 15 minutes getting the maching ready then the 45 minutes on the god damn belt sander. idiots.

If they were working on it already I would want a new knuckle. Period. Belt sander :shaking: :laughing:

Totally HACK:flipoff2:

fyi..should cost around $50 to have this done

Eric

I would go get my shit from them! If thats the way they flatten the top what are they gonna drill it with a hand drill in a vise.
when i did my knuckle it took less then 20 minsto do and that icludes drilling and tapping the holes.

I stopped back over to the shop later this afternoon, no one was there. I'll stop back tomarrow.

The other question that's been eating at me is whether or not he would have tried to pawn it off as being milled if we hadn't of see them working on it. That's what I get for trying to support the local shop.

Any suggestions on places to send it, if it isn't hacked yet?

There is a local machine shop that does good work here but they are sorta cranky to deal with. How much typically gets taken off the top, just till it's smooth, 1/64", 1/32"....?

Without a fixture, a good machinist could set one up in about 5-8 minutes. With one, figure about 40 seconds. The top should be "minimum cleanup" IE, the min. to completely clean the surface. (FYI, typically 1/32" or less) Do not let them hack your stuff anymore!!! I would not frequent that shop for ANYTHING again...:rolleyes:

[i] You brought the knuckle there to be milled, not sanded. [/B]



Exactly.....I do not think you should even have to pay for the sand job....not even close to a machine mill job!...get it out now.

and post up the name of the shop so none of us wanders in there.... though being in Fargo, I can't imagine it's very likely.

Sanding versus milling is easy to see as one is cut and the other is ripped...at the grain level of the metal....I say let them try, while its not a mill its going to be cheaper for sure...a sanding tech earns $5 HOUR while a machist earns alot more....

I called this morning. He wasn't happy being called on the sanding vs milling precision.

It was a "Leveling" sander w/80 grit paper. He swears that they use it after milling heads, not knowing much about machine work I can't valide this. Anyone know anything about this piece of equiment?

The name of the shop is GMOnly.

He is now redoing it with the milling machine.

I was on the way out the door to pickup mine when I read your first post. Glad to see my guy has a few mills and isn't afraid to use them! :flipoff2:

He swears that they use it after milling heads,

The key is the word AFTER. He may not have understood your instructions, or you may not have explained it well enough. The belt sander is indeed commonly used to smooth things. But you didn't want your knuckle smoothed - you wanted it milled flat (or whatever angle you wanted) and the holes drilled and tapped at 90* to the face....that you cannot do with a belt sander.

But yes, belt sanders are often used on heads.

He is pulling your leg. Like they said it is just a belt sander. It will only be as flat as the person holding it. I'd grab it back to him and tell him to take a flying leap.
I run a machine shop here in CA, too bad your so far away. It doesn't take long to mill, drill and tap a knuckle. It should be in and out of the shop in no time.

Good luck:beer:

Not to resurrect a dead thread but I spoke with my brother who stopped by the shop to pick something up, not related to my knuckles.

Matt (my brother) noticed that the knuckle was milled and drilled and the arm fit like it should. He inquired as to what he was going to charge me for it. The shop owner said $75 before I had him redo it (mill like I requested). $75 for a fawking sanding!!! He said he was offended when I questioned his workmanship. He didn't know what he was going to charge me now that he had to mill it, which he said it took him 7 hours...

Anyone know a place that I can get a passenger side outer Chevy knuckle that has been PROFESSIONALLY milled, drilled and tapped? I'll probably be leaving my knuckle there if I can find something quick.

Thanks
Mike

Avalanche (http://www.avalancheengr.com) (specify 9/16"), SRC (http://www.jeepxtremes.com/), Roggy (http://www.roggyenterprises.com/), Shaker (http://www.shakerbuilt.com), Grady (http://www.gradysoffroad.com/)...

I had mine done at SRC for $75, he's local.

Bryan

if it fits like it should go in there nice, and say "nice you guys obviously did know what you were doing looks good" and hand him 75 $ then ask what the tax is...if he goes for it then fine..

if not leave and tell him you gotta get more cash from you're Sander...I mean atm..and see ya!