Axle Plates for any Cart or Sulky Plan

Here's some more detail on the axle plates used on the Freighter or Dog Sulky ...

 This shows the type of electrical box covers to buy ... the top right one.

 Drill then hacksaw the slot

 Forming them to the tubing so you can weld or bolt them ...

Using a straight edge to line them up before welding or marking to drill

Freighter Cart 2

 

 The materials list and information here is nice to have.

 

This is the really important part ...

making the bends. 

Using this information from page 150 you can make any number of different carts.  The axle plates are made with plain electrical box covers that have no punch-outs, and have corner slots for screws (which in the diagram have been cut off). If you need more information about the axle plates, click on the link to axles or freighter cart plans and it will take you to that blog entry.

Decision Finally Made

My hubs have these protrusions that looked like it would keep the headtube unit well away from where the disk brakes needed to go. SO, I decided to trim down the hubs a bit. Which meant that the 160mm axle bolt would be too long. The next size I could acquire was 140mm.

So I had to hope that would work.

I cut sections like this off of both sides of the hubs.

Here's a top down view with the brake rotor mounted.

This is a side view ...

You'll jave to scroll down the page to find a previous side view to compare it to.

Another top angle view with the axle bolt and other parts.

Now I can start progressing again ...

Axle Mounting Tabs filed Out

This is what they look like now with the holes filed out.

Ok. It's on the axle ... Do you see a problem here?

What about how far away the disc brake rotor is going to be from where you attach everything to that tab?

Maybe I can remove 3/8" from this side and 1/4" from the other side ... then look for a die to thread the bolt more ... or just start looking for shorter bolts ... or different bolts ... or ...

I guess I have to sort that out before I start welding onto the tabs and creating that un-changeable angle running down to the center bottom of the wheel.

Filing out holes ...

Here you see two 5/8" holes ...

but I need 20mm holes ...

Having finally filed the top hole out large enough to fit the 20mm bolt ... I am pondering the effort required to file out the other one. I WILL do it ... eventually. But I think I'd rather go get a haircut right now ...

If the option was to go to the dentist ... I'd start filing again. It really takes time to do this, my T-shirt soaked in sweat, I come home all filthy and my wife wants to know what I've been doing ... just filing ...

Axle Mounting Tabs

12" x 2" x 0.5" steel plate

Cost me $3 at the local scrap yard.

You don't see both at the moment ...

but I drilled two 5/8" dia. holes ...

after I laid out the two mounting tabs across the steel.

BEFORE I cut the tabs off ... because my little fingers wouldn't be able to hold that little tab when it wanted to start spinning ... and I am allergic to messy blood and missing finger parts.

(Been there ... Done that!)

Why 5/8" (15.875mm) and not 20mm?

I don't have a drill bit that big.

The large rattail file and I will have to enlarge the hole slightly to accommodate the 20mm axle bolt. (sigh) Jack tried to teach me better than to do all that manual labor ... but sometimes you just don't have the appropriate tool ... :-)

The Wheels Came!

This is a 20mm diameter bolt that will be the axle.

IT IS HUGE!!

That is a 1/4" diameter bolt below it.

I purchased it at my local Industrial Fastener store.

Big-Box and TSC don't carry something like this.

I'm thinking of getting the center turned down a little bit.

The Mickey Mouse ears just arrived today.

The top one has the 20mm axle bolt in it.

The ring on the rear drive wheel is for my GEBE engine.

I've got it leaning up against the tree so you can see the 20mm axle bolt in place. I'm sure the two of them will handle A LOT MORE than 300 lbs. (which is more than I weigh) ... just a little engineering overkill. Next time I'll use 15mm axle bolts and hubs.