Engine shaft question... HELP!

[MNTravis]

Originally Posted by scottyb

Can a machinist broach cut the clutch to fit all the way on?

NOPE... I just took the clutch apart, even had a neighbor getting a machinist reference ready for me. It is technically possible to machine it out as needed, but a portion of the shaft would end up with a wall thickness of only 1/32", which is not acceptable. So I have now ruled out the easy option of machining the clutch, now the only option left is a different new engine (not going to happen) or to cut off the shaft exactly 1 3/8". Problem is that I know there is no way to cut off a perfectly square piece with hand tools.

I am thinking of using a cut off wheel to just nick the shaft at the cutoff location (so the handheld bandsaw won't jog on me) then using my not so sofisticated bandsaw to cut the rest of the way. Guess I could use my handheld grinder as necessary to even it out if it is at an angle?? Why does life have to be so **** complicated????????

[scottyb]

That's the way I would do it ... in the end if you can idle the motor and hold the grinder to the shaft you can clean it up good enough IMHO to work ....

[MNTravis]

Originally Posted by scottyb

That's the way I would do it ... in the end if you can idle the motor and hold the grinder to the shaft you can clean it up good enough IMHO to work ....

DUDE... excellent suggestion on the idling part. Maybe I'll cut it just a little less than needed then grind it down to size using the idling technique! There are some smart inginuitive out there!

[scottyb]

Originally Posted by MNTravis

DUDE... excellent suggestion on the idling part. Maybe I'll cut it just a little less than needed then grind it down to size using the idling technique! There are some smart inginuitive out there!

Good Luck , Keep us posted

[kevinandrew]

i will admit that i get crazy ideas, but i'm not to sure about machining your expensive clutch with a drill press. it might be a little 'sloppy'. i guess it all depends on how well you can secure the clutch while drilling, and how good your drill bit is, and what speed works best. other than that.....i am only willing to guess at the outcome. my money tree isn't very healthy right now so i probably would sit back and watch it being done first. if there was success, i would then later try to duplicate it. what could go wrong. it's only money.

[top-cat]

I cut the shaft down on a 8 hp tecumseh engine with a hack saw and drilled and tapped the hole deeper to mount a comet clutch. No problem at all! Go for it, you will be happy!

[MNTravis]

Originally Posted by top-cat

I cut the shaft down on a 8 hp tecumseh engine with a hack saw and drilled and tapped the hole deeper to mount a comet clutch. No problem at all! Go for it, you will be happy!

I cut it off with a cut off wheel with no problems! It is now the correct length for my application and should work out just perfect. Prior to cutting it off I was nervous that there would not be enough hole and thread left in the tapped part of the shaft, so I drilled it out anout 3/4" and tapped it prior to cutting it so that I could use the full length of the original tapped hole to make sure the extension was made squarely. Worked out great!! Had a local machinist make a nice shoulder for the clutch to tide against since the non tapered comet driver clutches should "bottom" out against a shoulder at their base not the end of the engine shaft. The machined shoulder cost me $10 so it was an easy and cheap fix!!!

[kevinandrew]

picture?