gusset plates or not?
gusset plates or not? I had a machinist i work with turn this out on a lathe for me, its a pedestal for the idler pulley that previously was mounted to the alternator bracket.
It started out as solid 1 inch round bar, 316 stainless. the hole in the middle is 7/16ths which leaves .281 wall thickness. the bolt through is a stainless steel all thread, M10x1.50 (same as the bolt hole in the block) cut to length with the nut welded on.
total length is over 4 inches and im wondering if I can run it as is or should I add two gusset plates? the base is both square and flat so im hesitant to add the plates if I dont have to. what do yall think?
It started out as solid 1 inch round bar, 316 stainless. the hole in the middle is 7/16ths which leaves .281 wall thickness. the bolt through is a stainless steel all thread, M10x1.50 (same as the bolt hole in the block) cut to length with the nut welded on.
total length is over 4 inches and im wondering if I can run it as is or should I add two gusset plates? the base is both square and flat so im hesitant to add the plates if I dont have to. what do yall think?
I would steering away from using all thread because the thread will be contacting the inside hole on the pedestal leaving a small amount of material that will wear and over time cause deflection. I would take a piece of solid rod, then run a die over each end of it to thread it, then thread it into the block as far as you can, then use a nut and washer on the pulley side so you have a flat contact on the inside and not threads contacting.
With a 7/16" hole, centered you shouldn't have any issue with a 10mm fastener contacting the id of the bushing. From a strength stand point you are more than ok with just a 4" length pipe of that size, never mind a pipe with the preload from the bolt holding it against the block. Are you bolting this to an iron or aluminum block? I would prefer to see a flat bracket welded with another bushing to distribute the bending force onto like the following picture...
With that being said I have a similar setup on my car with 2 aluminum bushings and a bracket and I have no issues at all. These are 1" 6061 with .25" wall thickness.
With that being said I have a similar setup on my car with 2 aluminum bushings and a bracket and I have no issues at all. These are 1" 6061 with .25" wall thickness.
Last edited by Brad Campbell; Oct 30, 2011 at 08:19 AM.
