Parts Question. - RC-Monster Forums

JERRY2KONE · **Parts Question. -** 01.04.2009, 06:10 AM

I have a question. Does anyone know a place to acquire hardened steel pin stock. I want some really tough 3.10mm pin stock for making up my own suspenssion arm pins. Even some drill bit blanks would work if I could find some. We all know how weak the pins are now. They bend much too easly and can be a Beotch to remove. I want something that will not bend, and get jammed in the arms or the bulkheads. Any ideas???

I also want to get my hands on some metric 6mm threaded steel rod, and some 6mm threaded female stock. I plan to use them for extending my arm lengths 12mm each.

George16 · 01.04.2009, 06:19 AM

Jerry, I had been making hinge pins from through-hardened ejector pins. They will break before they bend which is better for my application.

I get mine from plastixs.com because they are cheaper compared to mcmaster-carr.

By the way, you need the 1/8" diameter which is equivalent to 3.175mm.
http://plastixs.com/ep03.html

Here's my gmaxx build thread which includes some pictures on how I made my pins captured.
http://www.rc-monster.com/forum/show...t=12463&page=4

JERRY2KONE · **Thanks -** 01.04.2009, 08:26 AM

You are the man Lito

. Thank you for the help. I do remember seeing your thread before, but months ago, and getting the link was great. I have a set of the GA titanimum bulks in one of my builds, but I am probably going to take them out. I just built up another set set of the RCM hybrid diff/bulks using the HB hardened gears for this project. Like you I was just getting tired of seeing the hinge pins get bent, and having to fight to get them out of the bulkheads without destroying something. Thanks for the info. I am still working out the details on the other problem that we talked about. I will be in touch once I get it resolved. Have fun in class

. Later Man.

JERRY2KONE · **Thanks Lito -** 01.04.2009, 10:35 AM

Thank you Lito. I just placed an order for 12 of the 14" pins. That should be plenty to refit all of my trucks, and give me several spares for down the road. I have been wanting to do that for a while, but just kept forgetting about these pins. Great info Man.

Quote:

Originally Posted by George16

Jerry, I had been making hinge pins from through-hardened ejector pins. They will break before they bend which is better for my application.

I get mine from plastixs.com because they are cheaper compared to mcmaster-carr.

By the way, you need the 1/8" diameter which is equivalent to 3.175mm.
http://plastixs.com/ep03.html

Here's my gmaxx build thread which includes some pictures on how I made my pins captured.
http://www.rc-monster.com/forum/show...t=12463&page=4

JThiessen · 01.04.2009, 12:57 PM

Jerry - have you tried titanium hing pins? I noticed that you have titanium bulks, but not pins.
IMHO - a through hardened pin is much more likely to snap than bend. This MAY be an issue to remove if it ever happens.

In my professional alter-life, I never put a hardened pin or bolt in a shear connection that could possibly load more than 1/10th of its shear strength.

JERRY2KONE · **Tollerence -** 01.04.2009, 05:45 PM

Yes I have some "Lunsford" titanium pins in two of my trucks now. The problem is when they take a good hit they do bend. Removing a bent pin is a pain in the butt sometimes. If you have a hardened pin that breaks and does not bend it would be much easier to remove from the assembly IMO

. Don't you think?? Lito what is your opinion on this since you have been using them for a while??

Using the hardened pins makes sense to me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JThiessen

Jerry - have you tried titanium hing pins? I noticed that you have titanium bulks, but not pins.
IMHO - a through hardened pin is much more likely to snap than bend. This MAY be an issue to remove if it ever happens.

In my professional alter-life, I never put a hardened pin or bolt in a shear connection that could possibly load more than 1/10th of its shear strength.

George16 · 01.04.2009, 06:06 PM

I still have to bend or break any of the hinge pins I made. It even stood the driving or lack thereof of my son. He already drove the supermaxx into the curb countless times and the most damage he got was bent titanium(3mm) skids and titanium pillow balls.

The likelihood of bending or breaking my hinge pins is very minimal because they are captured. The lack of fore and aft movement greatly prevents any bending or breaking of the pins compared to the stock setup.

By the way, you have aluminum bulks. I don't recall GA making any titanium bulkheads.

JT - give it a try and post your experience here. You'll be surprised.

JERRY2KONE · **Yes. -** 01.04.2009, 06:14 PM

yea that is kind of what I was thinking. If these pins are hardened it would take quite a huge hit to break anything. I have already had to remove a couple of titanium pins, and it was not easy to do. And yes I have a full set of GA titanium bulks, and titanium spacers. They insist that they are the ultimate "bulletproof" item for the Maxx truck. They are installed in one of my projects, but I have never driven it yet because I keep changing the setup making improvements. They look pretty much indestructable, but I really like the RCM hybrid setup for simplicity sakes, and the toughness of the hardened HPI "Lightning" gears. They will probably end up in one of my boys rigs to keep them from breaking things.

Quote:

Originally Posted by George16

I still have to bend or break any of the hinge pins I made. It even stood the driving or lack thereof of my son. He already drove the supermaxx into the curb countless times and the most damage he got was bent titanium(3mm) skids and titanium pillow balls.

The likelihood of bending or breaking my hinge pins is very minimal because they are captured. The lack of fore and aft movement greatly prevents any bending or breaking of the pins compared to the stock setup.

By the way, you have aluminum bulks. I don't recall GA making any titanium bulkheads.

JT - give it a try and post your experience here. You'll be surprised.

JThiessen · 01.04.2009, 07:47 PM

George - I didnt want to imply that it wouldnt work - just wanted to give information on possible outcomes. GENERALLY speaking, If they dont break, I think the most damage these may do is over time you MAY see your mounting holes in the bulks round out a little more. This would be due to your pin now being significantly stronger than the material capturing it. Those bent pins we all experience can almost be considered a predicted failure mechanism.

JERRY2KONE · **Hardened Steel. -** 01.04.2009, 08:21 PM

That is the direction that I want to go in this. We all know what the outcome is with the pins available for these trucks. Sure a bent pin from time to time is inevitable, but if you can make your setup bulletproof, then why not go for it. Sure these pins may break, or they may not. How many hardened steel items have you seen broken in an R/C vehicle? My guess would be very few. It would be my belief that these hardened steel pins would be pretty much indestructable, and even with the risk of wearing the holes out somewhat that to can be remedied with inserts. At least you wuld no longer have to fight trying to get the bent pins out of the bulkheads and arms. Yes all of the manufacturers build in weak points to avoid bigger problems, but that is also how they make tons of money on the replacement parts business. My goal is to build R/C trucks that do not break down.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JThiessen

George - I didnt want to imply that it wouldnt work - just wanted to give information on possible outcomes. GENERALLY speaking, If they dont break, I think the most damage these may do is over time you MAY see your mounting holes in the bulks round out a little more. This would be due to your pin now being significantly stronger than the material capturing it. Those bent pins we all experience can almost be considered a predicted failure mechanism.