F-D Zernia Posted September 21, 2022 Share Posted September 21, 2022 Patrick, I have been asking around about simple heat treatments that can be done using simple methods at home. With hardening sprockets in mind. It ends up most of the products a person can purchase apply such a thin coat of hardened surface it would not last very long. I was a student in a metallurgy class last year. My professor was kind enough to meet with me to answer questions. In the process we determined the protection was minimal unless it can be done in more of an industrial setting. I also have a message in to my local weld shop concerning Hardfacing. This is welding with a filler metal that will create a harder surface. To my way of thinking this could be a better solution. He will forward my questions to the distributor of this product to find out what they feel would help. I have seen videos on this and it seems like a good product for our needs. If they feel it may help I can bring some filler metal with me to school and try it out under ideal conditions and pass on what I learn. hopefully this will be a sound sprocket repair. Fred 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Tipton Posted September 21, 2022 Author Share Posted September 21, 2022 Fred - that is exactly what I have been thinking of doing - using a "hard facing" rod on the teeth to build them back up and then filing them smooth. The one thing though....sprockets are relatively cheap...tracks not so much...so maybe we just live with the wear and save the tracks. I am also quite sure that tracks that don't skip will be easier on the sprockets than ones that do..... Keep us posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pips_Blaauw Posted October 20, 2022 Share Posted October 20, 2022 Hi all! Another update on our trackpad project... We started with the original size rubber blocks fastened to the tracks with rivnuts. The rubber blocks, as presented earlier turned out to be pretty good. Though they are not as "future-proof" as we had hoped. Some of the blocks were very badly damaged after 0.4 miles (the trip meter works!) of very rough asphalt. The ride was very smooth, and the grip was very good. Turning was kind of hard, but that probably due to me having very little experience in driving the weasel... (asside from unloading the weasel from the trailer, it was my first time driving it...) Looking at the rubber pads we decided that we needed something tougher. From the help of this tread, we came to the conclusion that UHWM (PE-1000, comparable to nylon) was the material for this. in order to increase the stiffness and strength of the block, we upgraded the size. This however did meant that the surface area of the blocks were more than doubled. So after many hours, and an incredible amount of plastic shavings, we produced 112 identical plastic blocks. Since each track had a very slight difference in each mounting hole, we measured and drilled them one at the time using a "custom" mold. This was time consuming but easy work. Once they were all fitted, we started testing our new creation. I was able to push the weasel to the side on smooth garage tiles. And steering on the road was very easy. Once i cornered with about a 8mph speed, i almost lost control, and ended up on the wrong side of the road. (We cleared it before hand ofcourse) We came to the conclusion that we had created a monster, as the trackpads were way to slippery. We also learned to trust the fuel meter, the hard way. BUT, the next plans are already being made ... The next experiment will be to use the same blocks in size, but made from SBR shore 70 rubber in 30mm(1,2 inch) thick. All the rivnuts and bolts had hold, they are proven technology to us... The next update will hopefully come soon! Stay safe! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronny68 Posted October 20, 2022 Share Posted October 20, 2022 Keep up the good work!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Tipton Posted October 21, 2022 Author Share Posted October 21, 2022 Looks great! @Pips_Blaauw Not sure if you are planning to make the new softer pads the same as these test pieces, but I don't think I would use a solid block though....I think you need that opening to let snow/ice/mud etc clear the sprockets. I just got one of my new LAR tracks on the M29....runs beautifully! Cheers, Patrick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reamer Posted November 22, 2022 Share Posted November 22, 2022 So has anyone tried making the main bands with conveyor belt material, What grade would be needed that can handle the stress and shear? How about a process to weld the steel cable into a loop? Ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OZM29C Posted November 23, 2022 Share Posted November 23, 2022 4 hours ago, Reamer said: So has anyone tried making the main bands with conveyor belt material, What grade would be needed that can handle the stress and shear? How about a process to weld the steel cable into a loop? Ron @ReamerYour best bet would be to have a look at how Snake River 4 x 4 constructed his track bands. https://snakeriver4x4.com/weasel-parts There is some good information there. BTW he does not manufacture the track band kits any more. In the drawing below, you can see that the reinforcing cable was not welded in the OEM style track bands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reamer Posted November 23, 2022 Share Posted November 23, 2022 Wow! so the wire rope was wrapped around the band and then anchored at both ends? Cool! What are your thoughts of "sandwiching" this in some conveyor belting? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OZM29C Posted November 24, 2022 Share Posted November 24, 2022 5 hours ago, Reamer said: Wow! so the wire rope was wrapped around the band and then anchored at both ends? Cool! What are your thoughts of "sandwiching" this in some conveyor belting? @Reamer Mate, I am not a learned weasel track scholar in regards to offering technical advice on alternative track repair methods. Many years ago I went through the trials and tribulations on how I should repair my old tracks and after procrastinating about the subject for many years I just decided to just bite the bullet and purchase a set of new LAR tracks. I am not advocating that this is the right decision for you, but in my case it saved me many years of hard work. My time was better spend on the other aspects of my restoration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pips_Blaauw Posted January 20, 2023 Share Posted January 20, 2023 Hi all! A small update on our track progress... Last time I showed the track blocks made out of UHWM plastic, this proved to be too hard and slippery. It even caused an "almost" accident. Thus we changed the material choice to rubber, shore 70A. We kept the same design for our new blocks but added about 5mm in thickness to account for wear, making the thickness 30mm or 1.18 inch. The blocks were all given a bevel with a router to hopefully make it easier to glide over small bumps during turning. During the first meters of the testdrive I immediately noticed the difference compared to the plastic. The turning was a lot harder to do, thus the grip was improved, which was good. I also did not slide in corners. The ride was also a lot smoother, and I was confident enough to shift into 2nd high for the first time on the road. Turning with some momentum was hard, but possible. Granted, since I don't have much experience I cannot say for sure if we are putting too much forces on the tracks and brakes. But, the track blocks were in great shape afterwards! (i admit, i did 4 corners, on VERY rough asphalt though) Even our numbering system writing was still readable on the blocks. Of course no blocks were lost during the drive. As far as we are concerned this is a succes! It was a long and costly process, but it payed of. Quick question about the turning... How hard should i pull on the sticks to get a decent turning rate? I know it depends on speed, roadsurface, weight, etc. Hopefully this blockupdate might help someone... Regards from the Netherlands! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Tipton Posted February 13, 2023 Author Share Posted February 13, 2023 Those look great! As for turning. I have driven Weasels that would turn with fingertip pressure - although this was on grass/dirt. I continue to experiment with mine and have gotten one side that will lock up with almost no effort - the other side takes too much force in my opinion. I think you should be able to tune this so it takes very little to pressures to turn. The tendency is to tighten the brake bands too tight...there is a "camming" action as they are applied....if they are too tight, they won't cam and grab.....play with that top wingnut and see if you can make it turn with less pressure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pips_Blaauw Posted February 13, 2023 Share Posted February 13, 2023 1 hour ago, Patrick Tipton said: Those look great! As for turning. I have driven Weasels that would turn with fingertip pressure - although this was on grass/dirt. I continue to experiment with mine and have gotten one side that will lock up with almost no effort - the other side takes too much force in my opinion. I think you should be able to tune this so it takes very little to pressures to turn. The tendency is to tighten the brake bands too tight...there is a "camming" action as they are applied....if they are too tight, they won't cam and grab.....play with that top wingnut and see if you can make it turn with less pressure. Thanks for the tip! I will be sure to look into that once the weasel is awoken from its winter hybernation... I will let my findings know! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Tipton Posted May 24, 2023 Author Share Posted May 24, 2023 Folks: Spoke with Mike Howard recently who is in the middle of a run of the new track bands for the T15. Reach out to Mike if you are a T15 owner in need - they are well tested and working great. It is a wonderful solution for T15 owners and who knows how many he will make (I did not ask) - best jump on this now. He is considering making bands for the M29/M29C but there is considerable cost involved in getting them set up. Time will tell, although we could start pulling "orders" together and probably convince him to do the work, as long as people were willing to place a deposit to help him with considerable time and cost associated with a project of this magnitude. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob W Posted July 6, 2023 Share Posted July 6, 2023 (edited) Guys, Maybe you've seen Mike's ad on here and some discussion over the years for new track bands for the T15 Weasel and M7 snow tractor... well, the production run is finally here... this is likely the only run. I just wanted to give a shout out to the team "behind the scenes" that made this happen and likely won't get enough credit where it is certainly due! Barrett Deveno and Jason Ball from the old weasel forum stepped up and put a ton of time into this project, to not only make the prototype bands that Mike tested last year, but to crank up for a limited run of parts, (all made in the USA) at a cost effective price. Special thanks goes out to Barrett, he was critical in design, cutting the tooling, and actually building and pressing the crimped band assemblies. Jason's design input and machining of the crimped terminal ends was also critical. Also a shout out to Greg Bilek at Starpoint in Ohio for his willingness to use his shop to vulcanize the bands and see this project through from the begining...without great vendors like Greg, these projects don't happen. By the way, for those interested in new bands for the standard weasel, this same method could be done for the 15" or (more likely) 20" bands, if anyone is motivated the clues and recipe is all there in previous posts.😉 Keep those weasels running! Rob in Idaho Edited July 6, 2023 by Rob W Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Tipton Posted July 6, 2023 Author Share Posted July 6, 2023 Congrats @Rob W and team. Lovely work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pips_Blaauw Posted July 7, 2023 Share Posted July 7, 2023 On 7/6/2023 at 3:22 AM, Rob W said: Guys, Maybe you've seen Mike's ad on here and some discussion over the years for new track bands for the T15 Weasel and M7 snow tractor... well, the production run is finally here... this is likely the only run. I just wanted to give a shout out to the team "behind the scenes" that made this happen and likely won't get enough credit where it is certainly due! Barrett Deveno and Jason Ball from the old weasel forum stepped up and put a ton of time into this project, to not only make the prototype bands that Mike tested last year, but to crank up for a limited run of parts, (all made in the USA) at a cost effective price. Special thanks goes out to Barrett, he was critical in design, cutting the tooling, and actually building and pressing the crimped band assemblies. Jason's design input and machining of the crimped terminal ends was also critical. Also a shout out to Greg Bilek at Starpoint in Ohio for his willingness to use his shop to vulcanize the bands and see this project through from the begining...without great vendors like Greg, these projects don't happen. By the way, for those interested in new bands for the standard weasel, this same method could be done for the 15" or (more likely) 20" bands, if anyone is motivated the clues and recipe is all there in previous posts.😉 Keep those weasels running! Rob in Idaho Amazing work!!! Congrats to all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.R.H. Posted July 12, 2023 Share Posted July 12, 2023 On 11/22/2022 at 12:23 PM, Reamer said: So has anyone tried making the main bands with conveyor belt material, What grade would be needed that can handle the stress and shear? How about a process to weld the steel cable into a loop? Ron I did for My tracks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pips_Blaauw Posted August 25, 2023 Share Posted August 25, 2023 Hi all! With the track bands in mind and taking care of them, we keep our weasel on wooden blocks to keep the tracks from the ground. This was recommended to us by the previous owner. It was said that it would prevent the gradual deformation by the wheels into the main bands... And thus extending the lifetime of the bands and rubber... However is this really a thing to be concerned about? Curious to know what you think about it! For now, we keep the Weasel on the pedestal it deserves... Greetings! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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