DIY welded dropspindles?

[beetleseb]

I've only seen one DIY spindle but it was done by a very talented pro and it was a stunning job

You can't under estiamte the difference in an expensive pro welder and a cheap mig. Even the best welder can't do it with a halfords own brand gasless mig!

I'll be adding adjusters in the split bug beam and although I'll cut and tack, you bet your life that there are only 3 people I'll trust to weld it back properly, I'm not one.

We need pictures of the dodgy spindles!

Seb

 

[young_dubya]

To me welded spindles are a big NO NO!! the weakest part of anything that has been welded is the edges of the weld where the metal becomes brittle. the strength of any welding can be as low as half (YES HALF!!) that of the original metal. so in 1966-7 (or whenever they started designing the spindles) VW's engineers spent time and money figuring out the perfect shape, size and material to create the spindles not to mention the how to produce the spindles. VW's use forged spindles which means the metal is heated hand then hammered into a mould (i dont mean a 2lb ball penn). this not only keeps the materials original mechanical propertys, it add's to the strength by causeing the metals internal structure to be formed into the shape of the mould. get it?? to do a dropped spindle you will need at least two welds meaning half the strength in two places also you will be adding stock mild steel into an area where before the inner structure helped strengthen the spindle you will have a far flimsier piece of mild steel. so to me i wouldnt buy them form a shop and i wouldnt have a go at making them.

just my (rather long) two pence :mrgreen:

 

[stagger lee]

bit dated this thread, but just picked it up. i 'did it my self' getting on for 7-9 years ago quite literally in my back yard on a black and decker workmate over a weekend. basically made a jig to hold the spindle. sliced the front of one, the rear off another. and welded the two halves together. gave me about A 2.5-3 inch drop. proof of the pudding is them on the van for like nearly a decade, been all over the country sometimes loaded up to the 9s. infact, now that i have some basic machining facilities at work, i am about to make another pair with improvements on my first. i'm not going to go into in's and outs of the physics of it all, i have confidence in my knowledge and my abilities etc. but the most important thing is the welding. it goes without saying it has to be done right and with equipment to give appropriate penetration for metal thicknesses involved. and done right they're as strong as anyhitng. these things are not welded by the magic welding weevil that beholds welding knowledge unknown to mankind. it some guy with a big mig, yeah. emperors new clothes springs to mind. anyway if you interested [email protected], give us a shout.

 

[maybee]

nothing wrong with welding your self but it would be wise to get get them ultrasonicly tested as this detects faults in the weld invisable to the eye