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Home build idlers |
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BarneyH
BHPC Member Joined: 02 May 2007 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 409 |
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Posted: 05 February 2021 at 7:05pm |
Advice required from homebuilders / engineers.
If I'm going to have a go at making my own idlers is there a particular plastic recommended - I'm looking at Delrin or Acetal anything else better? HDPE / PEEK / NYLON All advice welcome before I commit to buying blanks and putting them in a lathe. Barney
Edited by BarneyH - 05 February 2021 at 7:05pm |
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AlanGoodman
Admin Group Club Chairman Joined: 04 March 2005 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 7809 |
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Bruvver Dave made his out of old skateboard wheels but he’s a bodger. :)
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BarneyH
BHPC Member Joined: 02 May 2007 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 409 |
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I've got some bodging industrial pulleys that are better than skate wheels but looking to go one step better.
Edited by BarneyH - 05 February 2021 at 7:30pm |
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GeoffBird
BHPC Member Joined: 20 September 2005 Status: Offline Points: 2397 |
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I've used nylon (PA or polyamide) before. The first ones I used were PU skateboard wheels with grooves cut in them (try a 3/8" chisel and cut the whole groove at the same time. Also, putting the part in the freezer overnight helps apparently) - this in the mid-90s - they are still going strong! 80-90 shore PU is very tough! PU is also noticeably quieter than PA. HDPE might be okay. I would think acetal and PEEK are too hard and therefore noisy and damaging to the chain, and PEEK is ferociously expensive.
I'd try nylon or skate wheels, but if you are chasing efficiency (and quietness), use a sprocket on the tension run, perhaps with ABS or HDPE side plates. Be aware that nylon (and many other plastics) are hygroscopic, so your carefully turned N7 bearing housing might become a D7 (stick in a bucket) if it dries out! Unless you want something special or you are very strapped for cash, buying one is the sensible option. But maybe you just want the challenge?
Edited by GeoffBird - 06 February 2021 at 3:36pm |
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Right Time - Right Place - Wrong Speed
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