kolene steels

[Clay Thompson]

Reuse steels????

Based on all I've read in this thread it sounds like the best practice would be to use used steels as they would be smooth and some/most of the uneveness would be worn off the plates.

Right?

I've noticed that--as Bruce mentioned--most steels show hi/low spots, very few are perfectly flat.

 

[WE4]

Welll..... I dont know if were to go that far. Hot spots are usually present. NO I did not say use old ones in fact , the only place I use old ones if good are in OR, LR, And Forward. Never in a shifting clutch.

Bruce

 

[monte_383]

Clay, I'm not going to re use them in a tranny, I just have some used ones here that aren't in too bad shape that I was going to "surface" and send to Bruce to test. More than likely they will be too thin when I'm done (based on previous post about them being out of flatness by 0.002" new) but he can decide if the surface finish is close enough to what he's after. The surface finish is the main reason I'm trying out a process. Wanted to test it on some used ones first in case it didn't work, wouldn't be out any money for new ones that way. Going to try it today, might have results later on as to wether it works or not. -Chuck

 

[monte_383]

Update

Well it works... on the more flatter ones any way. I at least found out why the clutches were smoked on that particular pack . There were two that turned out nice, didn't take any time to get smooth. The rest of them were on the machine (on one side only) for 2 1/2 hours and still didn't meet my satisfaction. I would say the process would work a lot quicker if I had started with new steels, but I wanted to see if it would work at all on some used ones first.
At the present time they are all boxed and waiting for the UPS man to pick up to go out to Bruce for his inspection. I'm somewhat excited to be doing R&D work for a change, even though its just a small part of the big picture. Just going Regular UPS so it will prolly be about 4 days before Bruce gets 'em. -Chuck.

 

[HOTTOGO]

Way Cool!

Kinda neat to be doing the R&D for the guru HUH?

 

[monte_383]

Yes indeed 'tis way cool. I tried asking around here at work what exactly the surface finish was that the machine puts on (in micro inches) but nobody was able to give me an answer. Were not a machine shop, just try to fix some of our stuff here since its cheaper that way. And the machine I was using is older than dirt, but we try to keep it maintained well. I use that particular machine probably more than any one else here, I guess the labor rate for the department I work in is cheaper. Everyone else just gets new parts to fix the problem. We end up with whats left over and I get to mess with them to see if they can be salvaged. I saved a $5000 gear pump the other day( used and rebuilt parts sell for 1/2 of new $ here) that needed $100 worth of seals, bearings, and 1 hour on the machine to clean up a couple of housings. They bought a new one. Such is life (when its someone elses money). -Chuck