csrmel Posted June 11, 2007 Report Share Posted June 11, 2007 i used an umbrella pole from a large patio umbrella.. drilled some holes in each end after i cut it to the right length. it works fine. why use bushings? its not as if its a pivot point. its RIGID. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djcapita Posted June 11, 2007 Report Share Posted June 11, 2007 Seriously, you can go to Home Depot or Lowes and get a peice or 2 of ceiling fan extention tube in the finish of your choice. Cut it, smash the ends down to fit, drill it, bolt it up and go. Works great. Very strong. looks good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toybreaker Posted June 11, 2007 Report Share Posted June 11, 2007 (edited) i used an umbrella pole from a large patio umbrella.. drilled some holes in each end after i cut it to the right length.it works fine. why use bushings? its not as if its a pivot point. its RIGID. Main reason i bushed them is it is harder than the aluminum i used so it won't wear into an egg shaped hole. Also OILITE weeps a small amount of oil when it is heated or exposed to pressure. makes it easy to get the bolts out and it looked good. Edited June 11, 2007 by Toybreaker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racer Posted July 5, 2007 Report Share Posted July 5, 2007 Wow, I forgot about this thread. Great source for materials online Mark, thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
23champ Posted July 6, 2007 Report Share Posted July 6, 2007 Go to a local race car shop. Buy an aluminum swedge tube (they make various lengths, and various anodized colors). Swedge tube and heims will run about $35-$40 for the whole setup, and the heims provide about 2inches of adjustment, up or down! For spacers I use a set of old handle bars and cut off a piece to my desired length. Handle bars provide a nice clean looking polished aluminum spacer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racer Posted July 6, 2007 Report Share Posted July 6, 2007 I could do a set for 30 bucks, if I wanted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireHead Posted July 8, 2007 Report Share Posted July 8, 2007 I could do a set for 30 bucks, if I wanted. If you got a deal on some ally bar clippings from a local metal yard and used cheapo heims, I bet you could probably do it for $10 is you have the tools to use for free. :wink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racer Posted July 9, 2007 Report Share Posted July 9, 2007 Tools for free? Absolutely. I could probably get even cheaper than that. Use square bar with delrin bushings in the end, but adjustment is very nice. I dunno. If someone contacts me about it I'll look further into it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racer Posted July 21, 2007 Report Share Posted July 21, 2007 I think I'm going to make some. Custom lengths, $30/ea, or $80/set sound fair? PM please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireHead Posted July 21, 2007 Report Share Posted July 21, 2007 Tools for free? Absolutely. I could probably get even cheaper than that. Use square bar with delrin bushings in the end, but adjustment is very nice. If you are really interested in something cheap, then may we need to talk about my grease-draulic shock absorber. :geek: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireHead Posted July 21, 2007 Report Share Posted July 21, 2007 I think I'm going to make some. Custom lengths, $30/ea, or $80/set sound fair? PM please. Will thay be available in custom materials as well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racer Posted July 22, 2007 Report Share Posted July 22, 2007 Custom materials? depends on the order. Im not making phenolic drag struts for weight saving purposes. ha. But I do want to hear of the grease shock thingy. PM? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireHead Posted July 22, 2007 Report Share Posted July 22, 2007 Custom materials? depends on the order. Im not making phenolic drag struts for weight saving purposes. ha. But I do want to hear of the grease shock thingy. PM? Can I get a set of struts made out of cheese? :biggrin: This thread is probably dead enough that we can talk about my grease-draulic shock absorbers. I'll see if anyone bitches and about this and post something about them later. :geek: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racer Posted July 23, 2007 Report Share Posted July 23, 2007 alright no one's belly achin' lets here it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireHead Posted July 24, 2007 Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 alright no one's belly achin' lets here it. It's not all that impressive, in fact, it's not really even my idea...........................,but anyway its basically a piece of solid bar that slides inside a bit larger piece of tubing. Then, you fasten some rubber to the end of the bar and drill holes to suit your valving needs. After that, fill the tube with grease and assemble. As long as you do not over extend your new shock absorber it will work well enough to start and a finish a few SAE Mini Baja events. Fine tuning can be done with grease viscosity, but it is alot easier to poke more holes in or plug up holes in your "piston." A couple of fun trivia questions on this topic: 1.) What was the first automotive application for a grease-draulic shock absorber? 2.) What is the most well know vehicle to use this type of shock absorber? 3.) What is a modern day, common application for this shock absorber? :geek: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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