X231's Mystery Prototype "Round-Key" Axle Hubs & "Engineering vs. Designing" - Episode #92

[@cometcountry1974]

Another great video, it is sure exciting to see everything coming together on Christine to make her a rolling chassis again! I am so excited to see this happen! Once that hurdle happens maybe we can have an episode showcasing what has had to happen to get to this point. All the years, hours spent, carnage of parts, overcoming of obstacles, and the sheer amount of work that has gone into her to get to this point! As you have stated in many of the videos we have seen, we only see a small portion of what goes into making these episodes. She has pushed you to the breaking point more than once, but you still persevere and push forward! My hats off to you, you have earned my respect early on with this project. Once she gets to being in the roller stage, do you think the days ahead on her will be any better? Are we getting any closer to leaving the major part of the carnage behind us, only to be seen in past videos? Hopefully, once we get past the major damage where each step of the repair doesn’t occupy 2 weeks of your time, more people will be interested in her and help boost the numbers. X231 certainly deserves more views than what she is given, and I hope as we pass this chapter it will start bringing in more.

[@squatch253]

Thanks for the kind words, and yes - X231 has had me on the brink of giving up more than once, to the point that I knew if I didn't walk away from it for a few months I might stop work on it completely. I'm hoping the worst of the battle is behind us now, but I still have some serious reservations about what might happen when I try to fit the engine up to the transmission when it comes to everything aligning and joining properly - but we'll see when that time comes. If we can get past that point without a major re-do on something, we do still have a long road left to travel because all of the periphery bolt-on items are in just as bad of shape as the rest was, with some key pieces missing altogether so there'll be a lot of head scratching and photo referencing to try to return everything to a functioning state. And the thought of the first-start on this tractor keeps me up at night, thinking of all the things that could go wrong, or that are possibly not right already, but me having no way of knowing until that moment of truth arrives. The only guarantee with this project is that whatever the task, it's NOT going to be straightforward or easy.

[@shadovanish7435]

​@@squatch253Watching your deliberate & careful progress on the MM X-231 prototype tractor restoration has been very interesting to me! Regarding your realistic (as I would have expected) assessment of the issues (whether possible or definite) that lay ahead, the issues remind me of Kelly Johnson's (Kelly Johnson was the chief designer of Lockheed's special projects division, or something like that) similar assessment of designing & constructing the SR-71 "Blackbird" aircraft. Johnson had apparently made a bet of $200.00 (in early 1960's money value) that nothing would be easy or simple about the SR-71 project, & apparently, Johnson never had occasion to pay that bet. Another great episode, as always!

[@danielbutler578]

@@squatch253 I remember that you said once that you were at the point once of paying someone $50000 to take it off your hands on the condition that they could never bring it back. I guess that I wasn't at the right place at the right time because I would have been happy to take you up on that offer. I am so addicted to this tractor that I have watched this episode at least a dozen times in 2 days. I am anxiously awaiting the next episode.

[@N57RU]

Weeelllllll, you could use both prototype hubs if you make a combo Axle Key.... You know the length dimension of the key from your documentation. You could take a 3/4" piece of stock and using a 3/8" radius milling cutter, cut the round section on 1/2 of the square stock. Bing, Bang, Boom...

[@gordonmcmillan4709]

That's good thinking right there.

[@steveschumacher5470]

My eye was twitching with that same thought the whole time

[@aserta]

Yeah, "half-moon" keys, not to be confused with the woodruff keys of the same nomenclature. Old, old design from when standards were pretty loose. Dunno that i'd recommend it, because on all the pieces of equipment i've come across, with these keys (a few mills, a couple of old lathe motor shafts), almost all of them have the bottom right (as you'd look at the cross section) part of the shaft in which they were set, chewed out. IMHO, it would absolutely be a shame if the OG hub would be lost on account of that. I think Squatch chose the wise way out of this one, best to preserve something that can't be placed back on. jm2c

[@N57RU]

@@aserta Bottom line, remember The hub clamps the key. It's not going anywhere, if done right, unless the hub loosens.. Also, if the original round key hubs are unusable, the same hybrid key can be inverted and a square key hub could be used on the prototype axle. I apprenticed with a machine shop that started in 1864. I've seen all of the old school and it all works fine if done right.

[@ListerPetternuts]

I like this idea....

[@stevenrapp3217]

I must admit.....I had a big smile on my face as I watched X231 taking the postion of honor!! YeeHaw!!!! so it continues! Many Thanks and Best Wishes.

[@stephenkrile3330]

Wow that empty space made the shop look very large for a few minutes😊

[@HiwasseeRiver]

I worked at an engineering company, the name ended in an "R". One day they called a meeting and a design firm rolled out a new logo. The big innovation was that the tail of the "R" curved up slightly. The design was even trademarked. You could have heard a pin drop, 200 engineer jaws hit the ground in unison. After a collective sigh we went back to work on things with right angles.

[@jankotze1959]

This video was a moment for me in X231, I like this project

[@richardcavalloro8355]

Its pretty exciting seeing X231 moved up to the door. Im amazed at the work thats gone into saving and even more importantly, documenting it. I cant wait to see it on wheels!!

[@AlexanderGibbonsAudio]

Great video, love to see X231 on the feed again! The leftover hubs would make for a cool display prop for shows: prototype versus production kinda thing

[@challengerhitchman]

I have heard you reference a fixture may be needed as part of the rear wheel build. My dad changed out several rims over the years that were spot welded to the dish just like X231. He would set the old rim on the floor plate of the standing drill press and use a 3/4" bit to drill thru the old spot welds. There were normally 3 spot welds per contact area. Once the welds were removed we could pound the dish out. To get the dish into the new wheel normally took some work. We would place the rim on the floor and press the dish in using a jack tied to pad eyes in the concrete floor. Depending on the press fit this may not be an issue for you. To align the wheels we just bolted the dish to the tractor. In our case we changed the offset to what we wanted then placed a magnetic base dial indicator on the chassis and just rolled the wheel. We used a hammer to tap the rim around until we had acceptable runout on the indicator. Since we drilled the spot welds out there were holes left in the dish. He used a wire feed welder to fill the holes attaching the dish to the wheel again. A little grinding and no one was the wiser that the rims were replaced. I guess I don't think you need any complicated fixtures to do this is what I am trying to say.

[@squatch253]

I’m about half-way through a similar process right now 👍

[@danielbutler578]

@@squatch253 I am DEFINITELY looking forward to seeing that video!!!!! I had a friend that was involved in drag racing that wanted to adjust the spacing of his rear wheels without having the rear end narrowed. He cut the centers loose from the rims and clamped wood blocks to the rims to hold the centers where he wanted until he could tack weld them. He made a gauge block to check the spacing before each tack weld. He used those wheels for several years with no issues before I lost contact with him.

[@matthewmann5938]

Awww Squatch, I can almost see the light at the end of the X231 tunnel. Its amazing to see the tractor that started me on your channel, coming together. The wreck you started with, the engineering of parts, restoration of parts and pursuit of originality, the thought process it took to overcome obstacles, prepping and painting, the research you've done with books and manuals, and my favorite part, the mechanical analysis of what went wrong, decades ago, that left X231 abandoned in the field. Absolutely Incredible and my favorite site on KZbin. Love the content and subject, looking forward to the next video. 👏

[@JMassengill]

I started watching your channel about half way through 5J1113 and found the playlist for x231. it was impressive watching x231 come together. slow and steady wins the race. what a great video.

[@lastguy8613]

I was waiting for the shop vac shutdown, never disappoints😂 Now shes front and centre in shop maybe Christine will behave herself given the limelight she deserves!

[@tomschnelle9227]

Glad to progress on X231. I'm amazed at all the background work that goes into it.

[@jimamundsen7029]

Sad to see the H gone, but glad to see X231 starting to take shape as the next tractor on your "production line"! Cannot wait to see all those parts emerge as a functioning tractor. Great job, as usual, Toby.

[@stevecunningham2759]

I started watching your channel with x231 and I am happy to see more activity to completion! I really appreciate your tool innovation and the depth of your knowledge.

[@evanpolasek8033]

When I started watching your channel you were line boring the rear end of X231. It has been a very enjoyable road to get to this point.

[@danielbutler578]

The first video that I saw was when he was putting the crankshaft in the engine. I immediately searched and found the beginning video where he introduced the project. I've lost track of how many times I've watched the playlist. I am very much addicted and I miss it when he takes a break. It definitely deserves much more attention than it's getting. This is a piece of history that deserves to be preserved and treasured.

[@evanpolasek8033]

@ I was initially deeply disappointed when Toby started work on Swamp Angel. The way Toby goes about his work soothes my OCD though, so it’s been a great journey.

[@paulsilva3346]

18:00, A commercial. Oh, it's on public feed. Lookin good SQ...😊...

[@arthurirwin8235]

Im glad to see X231 moved to the assembly area!!

[@larrybl]

I went back to episode 77 "The tractor that saved X231" Great video! I started watching your channel because of X231.

[@Jimbo65203]

I'm not an engineer but worked with them closely over the years and most of the round and square key is a part of the iterative process they use to see what works best.

[@cmh1984]

I have to say, having a production 445 myself, I like X231's clutch setup a lot better. You really have to high leg it it get your foot on the pedal of a 445, and if you're doing a lot of shifting it's not the most comfortable to operate. I liken it to a Ford pedal (like an 8N or newer) without the running boards you can rest your toe on and run the clutch with your heal. All that said, it's great to see X231 closer and closer to roller status, and I'm interested to see how you handle the rim situation.

[@squatch253]

I agree with you there, I noticed the same thing with the clutch pedal on the 445 parts tractor during the brief test drives I made with it right before taking it all apart - the straight-down pedal push felt awkward and you lost a lot of leverage over a more straight-ahead push like most others. Senior’s 5-Star is the same way, only with a slightly stiffer pressure plate so it takes even more to depress the pedal. But it’s very interesting to note how M-M reverted back to a clutch linkage very similar to X231’s on the later U302, Jet Star, and 4-Star tractors - surely due to the Operator fatigue issue with the 445 clutch 👍

[@HillbillySailor]

Glad to see Christine get herself in the primary spot in your shop! I know X231 came from a specific farm (if my memory serves me correctly, one of the engineers was related to the farm owner) and that there were multiple prototype tractors on said farm. Was anyone else able to save any of the other prototypes or did the rest of them all get scrapped? Thanks for your time and have a great day.

[@squatch253]

Yep and unfortunately X231 and X253 are the only machines that survived, because my grandfather was able to buy them and take them off that farm a few years before the farmer died and everything he had there was scrapped.

[@raygrimaoldschooltrucking3100]

Love your work Toby, the rear axle keyway would make an interesting talking point at tractor shows ,I’m so glad that you’re back onto the old MM prototype.

[@ctrhenry]

round keys are generally used when the axle is prone to cracking out the keyseat from torsional stress. they likely got the heat treating figured out or changed the axle material to be able to use the easier to manufacture ( on the shaft side) rectangular key

[@RobertBrothersJr-dc7nr]

Squatch, nice to see X231 front and center in your shop. She’s starting to come together. It’s very exciting. I throughly enjoyed the video and look forward to your next one. Thanks

[@bcbloc02]

For the show use of the tractor I would get a piece of long 3/4" diameter rod, smoke it with an acetelyne torch. Then bed it in the square key axle with some jb weld. Let it setup pull the key and install the original hub. Once you paint the axle no one would be able to tell by looking and once its clamped the key doesn't really do anything anyway particularly for a tractor just driving around.

[@angrybobking5083]

😅 You haven't been here long

[@ralphnorris-vk8ff]

That is why I never throw a wheel away! If it has a good 6inch section, I can cut that out and repair another wheel!

[@nickbs2286]

Thanks for the good vids. Always informative. Regarding your small blast cabinet there are a number of videos online on improving them. The upgrades I’d recommend are putting in glass rather than plexiglass, it does not get damaged anywhere near as bad as plexiglass. Other options: magnetic led lights, put a couple of strengthening bars under your wire mesh for heavy items, consider changing the gun and including a foot pedal.

[@michaelbaumgardner2530]

I've done some farming in my time and the engineers version would be much more appealing to me because you know your gonna have to service and repair it, and time is money, looking forward to the next episode

[@milkman1944]

Your work and attention to detail is impeccable, so I don't know if it bugs you, but that square axle key would bug the crap out of me. Would it be possible to partially weld that square key way in the axle and regrind it to fit the round key hub? After reading more comments, I see several have commented on the square key axle. I know that we all like to spend other people's money in these videos, we seem to also like to pile on the work load too. Just modify on of the 445 hubs to round keyway, then modify the square keyway in the axle to round also. Just another days work and interesting video.😁

[@grasshopper7760]

Love seeing the progress and a big clean space ✌️

[@tacticalrabbit308]

I know all about that rusty and dusty rim cleaning as I changed out alot of rims on tractors when I was a service tire repair mechanic for Hutton tire center in Eagleville , MO. 15 years ago

[@neilkratzer3182]

Food for thought. They made have thought that a round key would cause less shock if the wheel stopped suddenly.

[@matty2helpfull]

Yay! Its so exciting to see x231 getting closer to being a roller ❤❤

[@johngibson3837]

Nice work mate cool to see a H has gone to sleep and made space for Christine, sweet video thanks

[@sterff89]

Looking forward to the rim repair!

[@guifrakss]

Great video, love to see X231

[@jazzerbyte]

A rare moment in a busy workshop: Lots of space!

[@normanschillerstrom1226]

Good video, amazing how things change throughout the years. The H looks amazing! My grandfather had the same year he also had a case with the wide front end and I just learned that he sold Silver King before I was even thought of. My cousin has one in his barn that is in great condition and runs. Take care. Man it’s cold 🥶 😂

[@janfrankena1440]

May I thank you again for this wonderful post, where you share your knowledge about the history and method of construction of these prototypes. I secretly hope that after this project you will find a new ..... prototype! your passion and especially the details you manage to share with us are reasons for me. that I always look forward to your new posts. Kin regarts, Jan Foeke Frankena

[@ricklaleman6552]

Great episode.! Thanks for sharing your thoughts on engineering for function and later for design. Sales people loved to have a new distinctive design. I have spoken to a number of people about the original 445 and 335. My Dad had a 445 (it had been rolled over) purchased to replace a ZA that threw a rod. (My fault) The consensus was the tractors were not ready for production, but were rushed into manufacture because the sales staff wanted to sell the new design. I spoke to one former employee who had the state of Wisconsin as his territory and all he did was in the field repairs on 445's that had broken down. Many of the problems were in the hydraulics. Our 445 was poorly balanced and the front end would tend to lift underload. (that was probably why it rolled over)

[@squatch253]

Thanks Rick, and your conversation with the former employee closely mirrors one that I had with a former M-M factory field tech who told me that for the first couple of years of the 335/445 production, almost all he did was repair, adjust, and tune the early hydraulic and 3-point lift systems on those tractors. He mentioned that many had come from the factory poorly set or not adjusted at all, and that he became so good at tuning them up that once he was finished, he would have the draft adjustment so finely tuned that he could lift a 2 or 3 bottom 3-point mounted plow with just one hand when the tractor was running, because the draft control could sense the pressure he was applying to it. In my opinion, I think the prior ZB model was a much better tractor than the 445 when it came to ergonomics and overall function - I've driven one that a buddy owns and the gear shift ball-pivot mechanism is tighter, the suspension seat is more comfortable, and the clutch/brake pedals are easier to push due to them having a forward arcing travel as opposed to the more vertical pedal travel of the 445. But, the 445 also offered innovations like power steering, Ampli-Torc, 3-point lift system, and live hydraulics, which put it on a whole other level.

[@mattthescrapwhisperer]

I do most of my grinding and welding outside also to keep the mess at a minimum inside the shop. This video reminds me it's time to refurb my blast cabinet. It's pretty sorry right now. Man, what a transformation X231 has gone through. Thanks Squatch!

[@greglittle4513]

A round key will create less stress risers when you cut the key way in the axle shaft. That’s probably what the engineers were thinking.

[@squatch253]

Absolutely correct, and I can also see the bean counters winning in the end if they pointed out how M-M had already been cutting square keys for all their previous tractors, and that it would continue on because they already had the machines and tooling in place to just keep on doing it 👍

[@allanrichards3752]

Great video and good to see X231 taking shape. That square keyway bugs me though. I was thinking that you could make a square to round key to use the original X231 hub. You could then use JB Weld or similar to convert the un-used part of the square keyway on the shaft to a half round section. If you paint the bits of the shaft beyond the wheel hubs you would not see any square keyway or the JB Weld. Some people may suggest welding up and re-cutting the keyway half round but that would definitely bend the shaft so don't do that.

[@matthewstabley4395]

Another great video keep them coming sad to see the h all done but looking forward to x231 videos!

[@aserta]

3:48 round keys were a bit more common in the early days, because (by using) the pillar drills, they could drill the key's recess, rather than mill it. Why the prototype of a MUCH later machine has round keys... i couldn't tell you. Maybe they thought that farmers could get their hands on round stock easier than square stock??? 9:59 put a new sheet of plexy AND, then put clear film on the inside. Every time you wear the film, you peal the old film off and put new film on. Far cheaper than swapping the plexy.

[@rawbsworld6604]

Someone’s a nascar fan 🤭 ☝️ sounds like a feasible idea 👍 may be worth trying

[@sleepingdogs8939]

It will be interesting to see if anyone notices the square and round keyways when you take it to the tractor shows! I see you now have a Bridgeport. This will for sure expand your machining capabilities.

[@williamschmiedel6890]

Wow she is getting closer to being a roller, even got the prime shop spot. She sure is looking good.

[@ericsargent4551]

Great video!!!! Thx for sharing!!

[@SuperMAZ007]

The wheel hubs look like the same era Belarus tractor used but the Belarus hub is way bigger and has more beefier bolds,studs and clamps to hold it in place. As for the round key, that might have been a idea that was on the table. M-M did test if they could use round key's instead of a square key. However round key's have a draw back, once the clamp loosens up it will not hold anything in place. A Square key even if the clamp is loos or ran loose will hold until it rubs or breaks itself out of the key way.

[@johna7661]

I swear when you started wire wheeling on those wheels, I could smell it. Just for a second, then it was gone….

[@76RSLT]

I've been looking forward to the wheel rebuild. I did a few back in my stock car racing days. If I was lucky enough that the center fit snugly in the rim, careful measuring with the wheel on the floor was all that was needed.

[@rickbrandt9559]

Wheels,Mobility, secrete for small shop to keep multiple projects moving 3M Clear helicopter blade protect blaster window, peel off/replace tape.

[@vanislescotty]

Darn, the bolts worked out and you didn't go to the tractor salvage yard, one of our favorite trips. Great job as usual.

[@charleslund453]

Very few people will ever notice the different in keys. I would. I once bought a tractor that the previous owner put a round key in a square hole. It stood out like a sore thumb. He did it just to sell it. It was only done to get it loaded. I could write a book on items like that. Watching this video is like watching things arising from the ashes. Now there will an audience which will be captivated. Thanks

[@forbes80751]

Yeehaw boys. the parts are all in the same area together! its gonna be a roller soon!

[@tonykelty8834]

With your meticulous nature I can’t believe the one square key and one round key thing isn’t driving you crazy. 😊

[@michaelscriffiano9267]

Thank you

[@jimwoidyla5139]

Just speculating, it might have been easier to just cut a round key than a square key, it might be that simple.

[@BillTheTractorMan]

Great work! If you get to a position where you just flat out need better options for rims, I had a line on some that I decided to pass on for one of my projects. The rims are located near Moorehead, Minnesota though.

[@markmartin9671]

Haven't even watched the video and I like it already. X231 sweet

[@rickbray7100]

Wish we still had mechanical engineers that actually new how to wrench

[@dylanhockaday9878]

Some one probably forgot to put the key way in the mold and they gust yoused a drill bit to drill a key way in stead of cutting a square one in

[@markdavich5829]

Ready for the rust dust sparks and wheels! - Can't wait to see the jig for the wheel centers.

[@rogerallen6644]

X235 to the front of the shop!!

[@dans_Learning_Curve]

Thank you for the update video!

[@gregdawson1909]

be interesting to see the tooling marks in the axle for the round key, would give an idea how they were done, and maybe why. My guess is that the key was round because a new engineer was allergic to stress risers (sharp corners)

[@squatch253]

There are no tooling marks that I can see in those round keyway slots, so I can't say for sure exactly how they put them in there.

[@gregdawson1909]

@@squatch253 probably a milling cutter in a horizontal mill, it was real common back then dead give away if the end of the key way resolves out like the square key on your other axle, but since its not a straight cutter it will both reduce in depth and width as the cutter comes out of the work. the key way in the bore is more intriguing, my guess would be a shaper, if it was a short lived experiment and a special broach in production. we still cut normal key seats in shafting with an old Brown and Sharpe universal mill with a 3 gang cutter.

[@rickharper6320]

For God’s sake man !!! Your shop has a FLOOR !!!! 😁

[@johnnymorrow63]

It was awful exciting seeing that engine heading toward the bellhousing! Wont be much longer!

[@gregorycross612]

Toby, got an idea for the other round key axel......if you still have it, maybe a stand for story/presentation board at shows...... Nobody will likely run away with it and the wind won't likely blow it away!

[@geriatricjoe1227]

Looking at the old photos, the steering hydraulic lines look very vulnerable. The later metalwork appears to have covered those up.

[@worldsbestwatcher3735]

I suspect, initially, the round key slot was thought to be less of a stress riser than the square key slot - typical engineer thinking. I wouldn't be surprised if, when it went into production, the square key mechanism was cheaper and considered not a significant threat to fail. Accounting department is now involved. Broaching might have been cheaper than ball-nose end milling. Square stock was probably cheaper than round bar. As someone who worked in R&D Engineering for 20 years, that'd be my guess. Thanks for the vdos. Good luck.

[@squatch253]

Excellent comment, thanks! 👍 Not to mention they were already “tooled up” to do the square keys, being that the earlier ZB’s were already using that same hub.

[@walterbickel7962]

Hello 👋. A very very nice job on the h, it looks terrific. I'm working on some h s for my grandson and 2 granddaughters.

[@michaelwest4325]

My guess, like others, is that round key was a test since they seem easier and cheaper to make, but likely got dropped and back to square for production.

[@seniorelectrician6831]

Well I might know already since you kinda pointed it out but, what hubs did you pick and what was your factors for choosing? I am sure you know and realize but you know you can patch that rotted rim. it is not a high speed rim and balancing is not a concern nor is it being air tight a concern. So you could clean and cut out the rot and weld in a patch.

[@squatch253]

The main criteria for choosing which hubs I wanted to use was how good the threaded bolt holes were - one of the round-key hubs had 4 of the 9 holes stripped out, so that made the decision to just go with one of the square-key hubs a lot easier to make :-)

[@pnwRC.]

Purely hypothesis, is it possible they roughly drilled the raw casting once assembled? Perhaps it was a way 2 save machining costs fir the prototype?

[@rustyreckman2892]

X253 looks so good

[@Mitsubishigarage]

Hi squatch love your videos! Cant wait to see x231 running! Could MM have been experimenting with having a round key insted due to the square key seizing in place? But then abonded the idea for some reason? Sorry for my bad english and take care🇮🇸

[@davejanowski4510]

Hi Toby just some info that i discovered some john deere model A andB tractors had that same metal rim on them i once took the rims from a moline r and put them on a john deere model b tractor they mounted exactly the same although the off set could have been different i don't remember 😊

[@andrewwright1200]

I'd be so tempted to make a square to round pair of quadrant insets to convert that side back to round pin...

[@alanmize5627]

bless x231

[@stevemccoy8138]

Wow,rebuilding those wheels will be exciting ,and dirty. 😊

[@slowride55]

Toby, as you restore this tractor are you writing a “story” separate from the videos? Mainly documenting all of the process to fix the damaged parts, and what parts that you substituted with production parts?

[@squatch253]

The videos are the only documentation that I have, aside from the notes I've jotted down along the way in my notebook :-)

[@Porkchop65]

Helped a buddy build a custom set of rims for his off road truck that was fun you rebuilding those back rim I figure won't be to much different just can't wait to see how you do it because you think outside the box sometimes which makes your videos interesting. Now on you sandblasting cabinet is it a siphon or is it a pressure pot like the big one out side . If it is a siphon try converting it to a pressure pot uses less air pressure & cfms & quicker

[@alexkleinert2057]

Maybe it was a quicker/easier decision during fabrication of x231 to just put a blank axle and hub on and drill it out vs needing to put both on a mill or shaper to cut the square key?

[@beginlivinglikeaboss]

I’ve seen round stock in smaller staking applications. Never seen in large pieces like axles. Interesting. Could you have made a half square and half round to utilize original hub?

[@squatch253]

Yes, I had toyed with the thought of a hybrid square/round key but I discovered that other round-key hub had 4 of the 9 threaded bolt holes half stripped out, and I wasn't impressed with the limited thread repair kits I could find for the odd 9/16 x 18 thread size so I just substituted it for the square-key hub.

[@beginlivinglikeaboss]

@ there’s a valid reason for it.

[@davidkimmel5153]

Thanks

[@tofinh]

Did you consider TIG or Spray welding the original axle and cutting new splines?

[@squatch253]

That is a process that I'm unable to do with the equipment that I have, unfortunately.

[@MrNeverseeme]

Early "Reeves Variable Speed Drive Motor" would use round or cylindrical key to more easily move the "CVT" "DISC" portion of the actual drive. Maybe they were part of the R&D of this tractor?

[@ladyco4395]

Has to be exhausting just researching these small differences.

[@georgeromweber2693]

I would love to see the Squatch in his natural habitat, the tractor salvage yard !

[@clydeschwartz]

Excellent video it's nice to see more progress on x231. The R and D department just had to get some thing put together for testing and then the sheet metal design department could make it look nice and then the bean counters had to figure out how to cut the cost down so the market could afford it. Think about x231 it probably cost 20000 dollars back in the day with all the new tooling and man hours of assembly and tear down and rework and reassemble and the 445 production was probably a 3000 to 3500 dollars when new that is why they carried over the grill and radiator and axle hubs other than the round key odd ball but maybe they didn't have the correct broach and cutter at the R and D shop or else they just did that to confuse the parts department I am guessing they got a un machined hub and did there own thing with the round key stock . The extra shop space is nice.

[@MrDwrench1]

It's been a long road. It's good to see the pieces lining up! Tool question: What brand of wire cup brush is that?

[@squatch253]

It’s a “Klutch” brand, I buy them from our local Northern Tool Co. 👍

[@Dalewatterson-xz1gq]

Snowball engineering the UK fabricator has several videos on changing wheel centers and rims, the final touch is the balancing hub to get all the welds on plane with the centers and rim outsides. Good work from a very basic farm shop.

[@EricaMTB]

I'd still recommend swapping the prototype axles side for side, oil the bull gear, and fill the spline with epoxy. Unless you plan to reverse a lot, I think it will be durable and give you two prototype axles.

[@squatch253]

The real problem that arose with that worn axle is that the bull gear slid onto the worn splines so far that it contacted the inside wall of the rear end casting, which made it a no-go 👍

[@CwazyWabbits]

@@squatch253 I'm guessing that machining up a spacer that would prevent that was a no go for some reason ( you probably explained this in the original video so I'll go and check).

[@CwazyWabbits]

Putting a spacer that stopped the bull gear hitting the case would mean the bull gear could still move slightly on the worn splines which would lead to the nut coming loose eventually so I guess that nukes that idea. Apologies for wasting your time.

[@deborahstein]

A round key could roll under high torque distorting itself and the channel it occupies even to the point of splitting the casting and the shaft. Similar to the damage from an undersized key. Jim

[@ormmeford2204]

You must keep that vaccum, it's just so much charicter shuting down!

[@alanbare8319]

There's a lot open space that needs a tractor!

[@TestECull]

5:40 Just spitballing a theory here, but my mind is jumping to the guys building X231 not having a key broach capable of cutting the square keyway handy but did have a milling machine handy, so when they got the castings back from the foundry they just 'made it work'. Cut round key slots with a mill, throw it together. But that's just my mind taking occam's razor to the whole situation. Just the sort of thing I'd do...and have done...when faced with a mechanical problem like that. May not have the correct tools and parts to do it correctly but I've got enough to make something work, so I'll make something work. Certainly if I had been tasked with building X231's arse back in the day and I didn't have access to the broaching equipment necessary but did have milling tools handy I'd just mill it for a round key knowing full well the production line will be making them with square keys anyway.

[@Buck1954]

Looking forward to it. I may even resub