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I make toys for kids who don't want to grow up. I'm on the lookout for new projects. If you're interested in commissioning me to build something ridiculous, shoot me an email.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Tiny Tank Update: TRACKS!

There comes a few times in the course of my silly projects where something tiny and insignificant looks like a much bigger deal than it actually is.  Yesterday my friend Matt came over and we spent some time tinkering with the tank.  We pulled the rotten muffler off of the engine, tinkered with the transmission a bit, and spent a lot of time discussing changes to the drive train. 

At the end of the day, we'd re-designed the axle for the idler wheels at the rear of the tank, built it, and installed the first track:Port Track Test Fit

The problem with progress like this is that you end up taking a step back to see how it looks and get stuck staring at it for a while.

We didn't get much else done after this picture was taken.

Now I need to draw up the CAD drawings for the drive sprockets at the front end so I can replace my MDF stand-in with a proper sprocket and then see about making it go.  I've just finished drawing up the finalized design for the drive sprockets, so now I need someone to cut these out for me:
Hopefully I'll have this baby up and running this month.  Fingers crossed...

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Posted by THORSSOLI at 17:26
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3 comments:

  1. Tyr16 February, 2011 11:33

    Is there any means of keeping the treads from sliding off the wheels or are you hoping the tension will be enough?

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  2. THORSSOLI17 February, 2011 14:22

    I haven't added them yet, but there will be guide teeth along the center of the tracks that will ride between the road wheels, idlers, and return rollers. I don't think simply relying on tension would do the trick.

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  3. johnjurkovich05 June, 2011 09:22

    I was searching the web for solid rubber tires for my tank project when I found your Sherman images. Your Sherman looks great!

    There's a man in Australia who has made two WWII tanks (about half-scale) and is now working on an Abrams. He has a series of videos, about 12, on Youtube. Search that site under "How to Build a Sherman Tank" to get detailed advice and drawings that may be of help to you. He also has a simple way to make those track teeth guides needed for your next step.

    Good luck on your project

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