0t--------battle short lathe---aka driveline lathe

so I attempted powering the J&L turret lathe with 25 hp vfd--breakers popped,
displays flashed and nothing moved--lathe is powered by 15 hp motor wired 220 vac

only other option was trial of gen set which I had never run under load
I clipped a handful of wires routed beneath the gen set in process of removing from
trailer---the unit functioned only in battle short mode--all safety interlocks bypassed---but hey--the lathe came to life

so I amputated fixed yoke which is too wide for existing components and am preparing shortened tube for insertion of oem red yoke which will require weld attachment

pics illustrate size difference in fixed yokes
also note cardboard tube insert in 4 inch id drive shaft--this I recently learned is a trick the pros use to minimize resonance with attendant noise reduction


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The yoke end is a hard one to get straight for welding ,and check for runout....Large balance weight ,too ...i suppose you could pay to have it balanced at the local tailshaft shop.....My father used to do tailshafts using two wood V blocks ,and a home made stick welder.....At least mine were done on a lathe. If the spline is a bit loose ,there is a plastic dip that replaces worn metal.

Hope it runs true. I've made a lot of drivelines and never once was a 3 jaw involved.

I've seen driveline shops do a lot worse so you'll probably be close enough.

Make a ground pin with small flats in the maddle that fits where the joint did. Then you can hold any yoke end in a 4 jaw and dial it in. Make all your cuts in one setup with decent tooling. You need tube and end fitting to seat against one another plus weld prep.

Accurately time yokes somehow. With driveline and loose end supported, heat tube evenly to 400 degrees and slip together. Put it back between centers immediately, while still hot and check runout. adjust before it cools. Weld.

30 minutes after you've done a few.

If you get it crooked good luck. You need a hell of a rosebud to get it apart or just start over with new tube.

phasing the driveline

driveshaft tube was cut to final length and internally chamfered
videos of professional assembly usually demonstrate proper driveline lathe with 10 ton pusher hydraulic tailstock ram which maintains compression of fixed yoke in tube
followed immediately with automatic mig weld of joint between yoke and tube

typical tube thickness == 0.180 inch wall thickness of this tube--rated input torque of up to 14,000 lb ft

because my setup is lacking ram compression I utilized a draw plate of 1/2 in thickness and 3.7 in diameter --this assembly was welded 4 in deep in tube

the fixed yoke to be welded was then drilled 5/8 in allowing bolt passage
mating with draw plate which has 5/8 coupling nut installed

this construct functioned nicely allowing phasing with splined end yoke

shaft was again placed into lathe and chamfer relief machined thru tube to
yoke forging---bolt compression of estimated 4000 lbs clamping force maintained
during chamfer

welding was not as precise as automatic but this driveshaft is not suitable for highway use--only truck movement in yard

in recent weeks more machinery has been acquired and truck will be sold--
CDL and insurance are main disincentives against truck ownership

neighbors are scaling up to 40,000 lb with hot shot rigs--no cdl


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Shops dont worry about a bit of yoke runout...they just balance it out......You get a lot worse runout with worn uni s ....Anyone can feel out of balance in a big truck is dreaming.....I caught a guy driving with crank damper doing a hoola hoop act .I dont comprehend US rules about towing giant weights with pickups ...here ,any trailer over 3 ton gross is commercial ,pays commercial license fees ,needs relevant truck licence to tow it ....Seems in US ,you can move a D6D on trailer towed by a pickup driven by a little old lady who ,s never backed up a vehicle in her life.

john.k said:

Shops dont worry about a bit of yoke runout...they just balance it out......You get a lot worse runout with worn uni s ....Anyone can feel out of balance in a big truck is dreaming.....I caught a guy driving with crank damper doing a hoola hoop act .I dont comprehend US rules about towing giant weights with pickups ...here ,any trailer over 3 ton gross is commercial ,pays commercial license fees ,needs relevant truck licence to tow it ....Seems in US ,you can move a D6D on trailer towed by a pickup driven by a little old lady who ,s never backed up a vehicle in her life.

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Sure, a shitty driveline will work, but you will feel it if it's not straight or it's out of phase.

I have the nearest machine shop to about 10 active rock quarries. I have done a lot of 1710 drivelines for dumptrucks and when they bring me one that looks like the one in this thread and I put it back together I always get a thank you call that the truck is infinitely smoother on the highway.

I spent 2 weeks in a small town in NW Australia 15 years ago. Absolutely loved it, had a blast. My best friend very nearly got married and stayed. I also export a fair bit of my products to your country. The primary subject of conversation I have with Australians is what will it take to make 1000 Horsepower (or some other ridiculous amount) and will that power be enough to do the most insane burnouts anyone has ever seen.

When I was there I noticed 90% of vehicles driving around were either a crewcab diesel Hilux or a Holden which at that time was essentially a RWD Honda Civic with a huge LS V8 crammed under the hood. The others were beater Ute's. I think the equivalent of the Falcon based Rancheros we got here in the 60's, but with big cleveland based V8's stuffed in them.

So while some Americans do tow semi loads with overpowered diesel pickup trucks you Australians have your own appetite for ridiculous things to do with vehicles.

You do your things. We do ours. I respect that. You should too.

Gotta love the overload capabilities of military generators. And when that still isn't enough, you can go battleshort. They still even have battleshort mode in the latest and greatest computer controlled generators. I was doing some development work with one of the AMMPS generators and had a load bank hooked up to it. It was a little 6kW generator. I accidentally had over 12kW of load. After a few minutes the generator popped up a suggestion on screen that I perhaps lower my continuous load.