Resurface Motorcycle clutch Basket?

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mcman56
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Resurface Motorcycle clutch Basket?

Post by mcman56 »

I have an unavailable clutch basket that has some grooves where the friction plates hit. See pictures. I found a link where someone uses a vertically mounted rotary table for indexing for refinishing. Is there some way to do this without a rotary table or do I need to go shopping? I thought of mounting the basket flat on a mill table but I have no way of indexing. Mine is not as bad as the ones in the pictures.
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basket on mill.png (598.74 KiB) Viewed 1729 times
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basket.png (281.17 KiB) Viewed 1729 times
basket tang wear arrow.png
basket tang wear arrow.png (471.56 KiB) Viewed 1729 times
TimTheGrim
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Re: Resurface Motorcycle clutch Basket?

Post by TimTheGrim »

Count the teeth on the ring gear and just maybe they divide evenly with the # of slots. Best case scenario you could use
the gear as an index with a detent.
Mount a boss on an angle plate that closely fits the hub bore. Set up some kind of fixed stop/detent that can reference
a good repeating section on the hub and set a few clamps around the outside.
I’m sure that double decimals or half degrees would be close enough.
You can certainly do it without a rotary table.
If not…I have one listed in the classified section. (Shameless aren’t I ?)
Illigitimi non Carborundum
'96 Birmingham mill, Enco 13x40 GH and Craftsman 6x18 lathes, Reid 2C surface grinder. Duro Bandsaw and lots of tooling from 30+ years in the machining trades and 15+ years in refinery units. Now retired
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Harold_V
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Re: Resurface Motorcycle clutch Basket?

Post by Harold_V »

Along with Tim's thoughts, a little creativity may solve the problem. By mounting the basket on a common shaft with a gear with the proper number of teeth, you can use the gear to index by adding a finger.

It is my opinion that you would be best served to use a reliable indexing method, so the mating components bear on all of the re-machined surfaces properly. It would most likely be a bad idea to resurface this part by random machining.

All said and done, a rotab is a nice piece of gear to own, in spite of the fact that it will sit idle the vast majority of time.

H
Wise people talk because they have something to say. Fools talk because they have to say something.
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Bill Shields
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Re: Resurface Motorcycle clutch Basket?

Post by Bill Shields »

If the gear suggestion does not work out...

If you have confidence in your table positioning skills, you can layout an indexing plate using XY coords to locate properly spaced radial positions.

Once you have that disc, follow instructions above.

Like Harold said ..may not use one every day, but when you need it ..there are few substitutes.

Suggest that if you have to purchase one, consider one with an indexing plate.
Too many things going on to bother listing them.
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rmac
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Re: Resurface Motorcycle clutch Basket?

Post by rmac »

One of Joe Pieczynski's videos shows a number of ideas for accurate indexing without a rotary table. Not sure if any of them apply directly here, but some variation might get you where you need to be.

-- Russell Mac
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liveaboard
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Re: Resurface Motorcycle clutch Basket?

Post by liveaboard »

I faced this problem long ago, and solved it in a far more simple way.
I just filed the surfaces flat with a wide mill file. I used the bottom of the wear grooves as index marks.
When I was done they were still just visible but the surface felt smooth to the touch.
The clutch action was good after I reassembled it and I used the bike (hard) for another 15 years.
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tornitore45
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Re: Resurface Motorcycle clutch Basket?

Post by tornitore45 »

I was going to suggest, forget all that precision indexing. Eyeball the surface to machine parallel to the end mill cutting edge. I was reluctant to post but then Liveboard proved that there is no need for a lot of precision. An eyeballed milling job is certainly more accurate than filing. How many times we fall in the machinist mind set? Whatever that is.
Mauro Gaetano
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mcman56
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Re: Resurface Motorcycle clutch Basket?

Post by mcman56 »

If I go forward with a rotary table, what is a good size for general use on mostly motorcycle part stuff? I assume it is a balance between too small to be useful and too heavy to want to mount. Is an 8" much heavier than a 6". I would be in the economy price range.
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Bill Shields
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Re: Resurface Motorcycle clutch Basket?

Post by Bill Shields »

I have several rotary tables, most all of which are too small.

it is not just the size of the part, but also the real estate needed for clamping and fixtures.

4" dia is a joke (for my needs)
6" is just large enough on which to permanently mount a 3 jaw chuck. otherwise, it is often too small for many of my needs.
10" is where I currently sit. been a LONG TIME since I considered a job that would not fit on there. It is also about the limit of which I can lift and place on the milling table.
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mcman56
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Re: Resurface Motorcycle clutch Basket?

Post by mcman56 »

Weight is a big concern. The last time I used one is was maybe a 10 or 12" table and of course heavy things are always stored on the bottom shelf. At 66, not large and with recent back surgery, weight is definitely a concern.
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Bill Shields
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Re: Resurface Motorcycle clutch Basket?

Post by Bill Shields »

some sort of 'lifting table' like a roll around -> on which you can put vises, rotary tables. Use a board to slide from roll-around to milling table.

i have seen fellows use engine hoists, but that's a bit overkill for my work area.

it only gets worse as you get older...so either plan ahead of stay off of motorcycles.... :mrgreen:
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Harold_V
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Re: Resurface Motorcycle clutch Basket?

Post by Harold_V »

I'm 83 and have never been a strong person. I have a 12" Bridgeport rotab and wouldn't want one any smaller. Mounting of work can be challenging even with the 12" table. That's not to say that a smaller one isn't functional--it all depends on the nature of the work involved.

By the way, the BP rotabs are not horizontal/vertical without the added angle plate, which I also have. When the plate is added it weighs far more than I am able to lift by hand. I store my rotab on a table adjacent to the mill and can slide it from the table to the mill table by extending the mill table to its limits towards the storage table. Weight is always a concern if you have anything but a small rotab.

My opinion. Owning a rotab is akin to owning a boring head. You can't really operate a mill to its capacity unless you have each of them.

H
Wise people talk because they have something to say. Fools talk because they have to say something.
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