The half track build

[Dalboy]

Some have requested a WIP on my half track build. Luckily I take photo's of my projects from the beginning.

I did start this one quite a while ago but just as I started the Woodworker magazine wanted one on the Australian Prime Mover if they had the plans sent to me so that took front stage and now I am on this project.

Like all of my toy/model builds I try to prepare as much of the wood as possible but since I had started this one I thought I had all the wood done but as you can see as I progress I had to stop and sort some more out so hopefully I now have everything except those very small pieces which I make as I go.

The first photo shows what I started with(forget the pen blanks and the bits on the right)

After marking up and cutting out all of the chassis parts a quick glue up this will be the main starting point for all the tracks and wheels to be mounted to. I did not realise at this point how many parts there are to the complete chassis assembly

The front springs are made from one piece as per the plans, I think that if I was to do something similar again I would make the springs up from separate pieces and steam bend them. Once these and the hangers are complete they are glued to the front of the chassis. I left the cut outs slightly under size as when I come to fit the cross member I will file across the two assemblies which will make sure everything lines up nicely.

I will try to keep each post short until I catch up to where I am at

 

[Dalboy]

On to some of the detail work on the chassis.

I selected some Oak from the wood pile I want to use these to add some contrast to the build like I try to do with many of those that I have made in the past.

I set to on the lathe and turned the diffs and prop shafts and while I was there the two drive wheels and main Idle wheel which for the time being will go into a bag for later.

I also cut two pieces of tulip wood the first is for the fron cross member and the second takes a drive shaft both of these needed a 1/$" hole drilled, blind holes for the front and a through hole for the rear one which I drilled from both ends to help keep it central all the way through.

As I stated earlier I needed to file the front springs to get a nice fit for the front wheel cross member. To aid lining up the hole in the rear member I used a drill in one end and a piece of dowel in the other once lined up and a clamp applied they are removed. Who want a dowel stuck in a hole where a dowel should not be

 

[Dalboy]

Needed to drill some holes for the prop shafts so did these while the wood was long enough still to hold, once done I had enough parts for the drive chain this now can be assembled and glued in place the plans are not very clear whether some of the parts are on the centre line or off to the left or right but I think they look OK where I put them

Front bumper was straight forward enough to cut and fit

The front needed a brake drum and as this needs a hole for the front wheel shaft was easy enough to just use the sander and rotate the pieces until the correct diameter was achieved again these went into the assemble later bag which you will see again but a lot fuller

A torsion bar was also needed for the front axle the bar was a piece of walnut dowel as are the two brackets which are quite small so these are made using hand tools

 

[Dalboy]

Cut some more pieces this time the main support brackets for the pairs of road rollers

It was at this point that I realised I would not have enough wood for the project so took the opportunity to prepare some more this time it should cover a good 90% of the build. the darker wood mahogany is for the track links later in the build this will need to be cut into 62 individual links.

As can be seen the bit bag is starting to fill up with odd bits and pieces. In the picture you can see the track roller assembly main support bracket and the main frame support that is the ones from tulip wood below them are the components for the rear roller shock absorber

Shock absorber and main bracket for the roler assembly glued and clamped in place

The next three photo's are of the rest of the parts for the lower roller assemblies the top one being the set up for drilling the roller brackets. Sure are a few rollers on this build

Sorry for the very brief run through as there are a lot of bits to make and fit and it would take ages to go through every piece being made

 

[Dalboy]

The main drive roller spacer and large idle roller spacer now fitted in place.

These roller side support brackets were fiddly to make as they are quite small and needed a rebate along one edge as well as to remember to make 4 left and 4 right hand ones

This group of parts are now all that is left of the roller assembly which you will see in the following photo's to this one

It was Ok turning most of the rollers as there were only two of each to make but these there are 8 and each had to be exactly the same I am no means a production turner and am glad they are not that big. but got them done and ready to be installed onto the assembly

The roller assemblies now all complete and glued in place either side of the chassis

 

[deema]

Awesome, thanks for taking the time to share. Looking forward to the next installment.

 

[Dalboy]

Awesome, thanks for taking the time to share. Looking forward to the next installment.

Nearly caught up to where I am at in the build

 

[Dalboy]

Now to start the wheels first to make are the centres which are easier than they look drill a hole on the wood place this on to a dowel stuck into a board and clamp this to the drill press drill the outer holes and turn away the unwanted part

I turned most of the parts on the lathe in this photo the parts are not yet glued together, the two tyres are first glued and then this is trued up on the lathe this part assembly is mounted in my tyre cutting jib

The completed wheel all glued and sander sealer applied

The wheels fitted to the chassis and up to this point there are 115 parts that is if I did not lose count

This is where I am up to as of yesterday evening today's work I still need to download my pictures so will either do that later or tomorrow. So from now on I will add as i progress through the build.

Hope you join me for the rest of the build

 

[SteveF]

I will definitely be following this
not that I have the time or patience
I just appreciate how much work and skill goes into this
keep posting Derek

Steve

 

[Dalboy]

I will definitely be following this
not that I have the time or patience
I just appreciate how much work and skill goes into this
keep posting Derek

Steve

Thank you Steve.
I need something to keep me busy Steve oterwise I will end up with piles of shavings from wood turning and I don't have enough room for many more bowls :lol:

 

[Dalboy]

Yesterday I managed to do quite a bit of marking out for the second time because I had done it once before but on double checking I was 1/16" out on three pieces, it is surprising how long that can take.

When I finished with the ruler and pencil which is much shorter now through constant sharpening otherwise the tip gets too wide( note to self must buy some harder pencils HB ones are a little to soft) Decided to cut out the lines in the floor and also cut out the seat uprights and supports.
The seat support needed a 1/32 rebate along one edge, which at first did cause me a little head scratching as I did not want to get the router table out for such a small piece so used a bladed marking gauge and run this along the edge set at the size a few times so that it cut just deep enough on both edges to form the rebate.

 

[Dalboy]

On most of the body panels there are some lines that need a 1/16" rebate run along in various places which represent panel joins or the door outlines After setting up and cutting these then another set up and so on for all of the lines this took a good part of the day.

I was not happy with the lines I cut in the floor yesterday so decided to remake this piece and re-cut the lines and after going on about double checking managed to get the one that runs down the centre between the wrong set of those that run across the floor .
These look tidier than the first set and when looked at will not be noticed in the complete model so will keep that one

So to finish the day in the shed I took some time to cut out the parts. So now have enough to assemble the rear area but the front cab still needs other parts.

 

[deema]

Wow, how did you do the 1/16 line for the outline?

 

[Dalboy]

Wow, how did you do the 1/16 cyst for the outline?

All of the panel lines were routed using a hand router and a fence so that i could see where to stop on those that needed to end at one that was at right angles to the one being routed.

 

[memzey]

Awesome work Derek. Exceptional precision and attention to detail. Can't wait to see the finished piece.

 

[Dalboy]

Thank you memzey.

Very little done today as I went out and collected a tilting artists table which I want to help with my decorating of the bowls I turn which some have seen before.
Also a little shopping for the workshop as my abrasives are getting a little low and needed topping up.

When I did manage to get into the workshop I started to glue up the floor and seating area of the half track. The dark wood in the last picture will become the seats.

I was not going to get all the heavy machines out to thickness this small amount besides that they are too short to safely put them through.

Tomorrow may be as slow as I have an appointment with the cardiologist due to a fall they have already ruled out a stroke. And as I suffer with both of these they are playing safe.

 

[Brian18741]

Exceptional attention to detail, truly outstanding!

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk

 

[Dalboy]

Thank you Brian18741

Got back from the hospital first order of the day cup of tea. The tea at the hospital is terrible.

Then into the workshop once I had changed, cut out the seats and the back rests as well as rounding the edges. The saw dust from this wood gets everywhere so once they were finished a clean up as it would make the lighter wood look dirty in no time also took this opportunity to apply some sander sealer to them.

Then it was onto the internal locker boxes and fuel tanks.



The largest of these needed some routing done to represent the lids

And the fuel tanks needed a filler cap to do this I drilled with a forstner bit down to 3/32" and then a 1/4" drill in the centre of that I will add a contrasting piece a little later

Starting with the shortest locker I added the seat back to it as this sets the correct height for the rest of them all I had to do was then match up where they sat across the lockers by the plans.

I mentioned about the fuel tank filler in the photo with all the parts you can see I have stuck this in but it needs sanding down level with the top of the tank when it has dried

To give an idea how it all fits together inside the rear of the half track I did a dry fit. I will be glueing the seats tomorrow but the lockers I will leave until I have glued the sides and rear panel in place

 

[DTR]

Awesome! Watching with interest =D>

 

[Dalboy]

After being rushed into hospital by ambulance yesterday nothing was done on the half track.

Anyway onto today and glad to be back in the shed. I decided to take it slow but still managed to get some little fiddly bits made.

Started with the rack on top of one of the lockers I made the other day and the two side pieces on another.

This little locker fits on the inside back door and required two rebates one top and one bottom as well as a door bar which is only 1/32" thick a bit of gentle sanding to get it down to this

The two little boxes to fit on the rear outside panel one either side of the door

And finally the rear bumper assembly the hook was fun to make as it is only sticks out 1/4" from the little back plate it is attached to