!914 Twin HD Cannon ball request

[silentgreyfello]

way cool! everyone should have a cnc!

[Barry Brown]

why no coolant?

[Slojo]

Barry
Coolant is messy and smelly after time. Since I don’t run production, coolant is not put in the tank until necessary. With modern tooling coolant is not mandatory. The coated carbide ball nose end mill being used is of good quality although just a little dull from previous usage, it is still a willing soldier to do the job. Coolant has basically two purposes one is lubrication and the other for preventing heat buildup which causes size discrepancy and tool breakdown. I am not holding close tolerances on this application and the cutting tool has its own coating that aids in free cutting like a lubricant. For the type of work I do if coolant is required I will put it in a pump bottle and manually squirt it on the work piece.
Joe

[Slojo]

way cool! everyone should have a cnc!

And ten Silent Gray Fellows also.
Joe

[Barry Brown]

From The Oxford Dictionary "gray" - U.s. Spelling Of Grey

[Ohio-Rider]

Not bad for a guy without a cad/cam system. You sure you never lived in Ohio?
-Steve

[Slojo]

From The Oxford Dictionary "gray" - U.s. Spelling Of Grey

Danny Webster the American allows either but uses Gray for all examples.
Joe

[Slojo]

Not bad for a guy without a cad/cam system. You sure you never lived in Ohio?
-Steve

I pass through Ohio to go most every where except Davenport and beyond does that count?
Joe

[Slojo]

Frame adjustments

We left off yesterday fitting the frame rear section onto the main front section. There is a misalignment and centering issue to resolve with this attachment.
Since the frame rails were made symmetrical and the frame requires an offset, tonight tooling was made for the purpose of adjusting the rails independently. Following photos demonstrate how the frame rail is held, adjusted and measured all in one operation (the measurement if taken from the straight rail inserted in the steel block).
A long piece of chrome molly tubing with a close telescopic slip fit over the 7/8 frame rail is used to torque the frame rail narrow or wide depending on left or right side. The adjustment is made exclusively in the “S” bend area and not in the straight section. This simple process works extremely well.
Once assembled on the main frame the top seat post pinch bolt section did not align. It would appear as all other factory joints on this chassis, the upper fender support is improperly aligned and brazed to the two frame rails. I will study this issue and correct it after a satisfactory resolution is decided upon.
Joe

[c.o.]

[Slojo]

Alignments

It is time to solve the alignment of the rear frame stays. Several checks turned up several problems. One is something I must take blame for. Knowing that both frame rails were manufactured identical and afterwards adjusted for offset I decided to disregard the change of length projected from the main frame section caused by the different offset. My thought was it would not be enough to be concerned with. Wrong an 1/8” change was found after calculations verified suspicions and inspections were made for proof. Furthermore the overall length of the rails were 1/4” to long right side 1/8” to long left side (greater offset side).
The rails were cut for the newly determined length. Next the original frame rails that link the axle plates to the seat post pinch point were reviewed and peculiar shapes found. Some of the shapes are obviously bends from abuse and corrected using a C clamp on the frame table. These tubes bend very easy and caution is a necessity or you will end up with more spaghetti and less original frame rails.
Additional errors found in the factory assembly of the rear stays to the upper rails. This inaccuracy caused a great deal of deliberation prior to acting on a solution. A set up was made to attempt to adjust the assembly on the press. Upon completion of the press operation the frame rear section fit to the rest of the frame perfectly. Assembled components must not have any stresses incorporated in the assembly if they do have misalignment and stress eventually some point will break.
Once assembled a slightly arched upper frame rails near the axle plates became evident. These arches are curved up and are noticeable if a straight edge is placed against them. Without a straight edge it is not as easy to identify the error but is possible to see. Perhaps a cut into the axle plate will allow me to pull the V angle tighter between the upper and lower frame rails, something to ponder. Another alternative is to make new upper rails and possibly reuse the axle plates or use reproduction axle plates.
Sleeping on this issue is a good way of avoiding wrong decisions. So instead of rushing into a mistake I turned to the axle slots. The slots are for a 1913 axle and were bent open. Bolts were installed into the holes on the axle plate to prohibit them from compressing during the squeezing of the axle plate back together in a vise. Afterwards the slots required to be machined open 1/16” to accept the larger 1/2” flats on the 1914 axle. For those of you astute readers who have followed this build all along you may recognize the setup in the mill as the same setup that allowed me to fixture and machine the steering head. Photos to follow will demonstrate this operation.
Joe 1-20-2010

[c.o.]

Finding factory errors are ya? This bike is gonna be better than new!

[petri]

Frame thoughts

The CNC machining and alignment procedures are quite interesting. Thanks for taking the time to document this so well. And it does take time and effort.

These problems make me wonder how frame building went at the factory? I assume they had jigs to try and facilitate this task but it appears to me, given the frame errors that you are finding, that reproducibility may have been difficult to attain and that perhaps each frame had to be more or less "hand built" and "driven" into alignment on the assembly line. Perhaps Herb has some historical insight on what actually happened during this process on the factory floor.

Howard

[Slojo]

Passing time

Howard
I have seen in Harley Davidson’s own Enthusiast Magazine frame brazing taken place in the most unusual positions with several torches blazing. It is my opinion that the frames were assembled and pinned in some type of fixture then moved to a welding station for final welding. Perhaps during the move they were knocked out of alignment? They used a nail like devise through all attachments.
Yesterday was a long and productive day therefore an update was not in the cards (burned both ends). Tonight I will bring this article up to date with some fresh news. Otherwise have a good day while I dive back in.
Joe 1-22-2010

[Slojo]

Bits and Pieces

Yesterday a trip to the post office yielded a Schebler carburetor manual and a sample Panhead t-shirt size large perfect. Thank you Richard Duda. The art work for Gray Ghost t-shirts is slow in coming as the frame for the Gray Ghost itself. Chris Border sent my new oversize gas-tanks, they look fantastic can’t wait to fit them to the frame. I also received some newly casted aluminum floor boards. Does anyone have information on aluminum floor boards used on 1914’s? Personally I have knowledge of two 1914’s that have these unusual items.
The 1913 tail section of the frame received cutouts and loops installed for mounting a luggage rack. In order to have proper alignment the cutouts were performed on the machining center. The axle slots were used for location of the cutouts allowing the loops to be laid into a saddle like position. To provide for alignment of the loops I machined a bar on each end to resemble the original frame loops and then laid the bar into the two saddle cutouts for welding. These loops were first used in 1914.
Next was to finish the rear frame assembly alignments and prepare for welding. With some creativity all alignments fell into place. A trip to my favorite welder yielded some excellent work once again. Chris is an amazing welder to watch. Typically when I weld everything must be just right for simple horizontal welds. Chris welds from any angle or position including inverted his skill is remarkable. I have watched him weld an aluminum casting in an impossible cavity where you cannot see, a dental mirror is required after the weld is performed just to inspect the weld.
There was plenty of welding to perform for Chris including welding an axle adjuster hole shut, it was striped out, attaching the new frame rails to the axle plates, a little fender work, a crack in the spring fork slot, a hole in the muffler where it was thin from machining and cracks on the lower motor-mount not to mentions a few other miscellaneous items. Chris has told me he is working on holding the world together one weld at a time, I agree.
Following the welding is always machine work and metal finishing. The axle adjuster hole was a little challenging. A set up sufficient to hold the awkward devise in the machine turned out be simple. Once fixture and located with a dial indicator drilling the hole was no problem, coming up with a 1/4X26 tap was not possible today.
Now was a good time to finish the muffler project. The rear casting was set up in the Bridgeport and machined to accept the muffler can and the threaded support hole. Next was to make the inner baffle tube. This required a little machining, a press fit and welded sleeve on one end to allow for internal alignments with cast in bosses. Once these processes were complete the muffler cut out was fitted drilled and pinned to the front casting. Also a 5/16 shaft was threaded 24TPI on each end for holding the muffler end caps together and securing the muffler to the bike chassis. Tomorrow a spring clip will be fabricated to hold the cutout shut, finishing the muffler.
Joe 1-22-2010