g741.org

Never ending.... worked to fab the hold open bracket, installed new felt window guides, bottom stops, and regulator. Go to crank the window and noticed that the handle hits the door. Look really close to find that the square drive shaft that the handle fits on had actually been snapped off right at the keeper pin hole and that a new hole was drilled down the shaft closer to the door. You can see the remains of the half-a-hole right at the tip. Would it be possible to weld on a 3/4 chunk of steel, grind to shape, and re-drill the hole? Looks like a PIA, but not sure if a replacement exists. Looks like the crank is not removable/serviceable. Any Ideas?

If you can find a replacement regulator, that would be the way to go. It would be possible to fix it as you suggest, but if you plan to use a 3/4 " piece of steel, you're in for a lot of grinding! A 3/8 " piece would be much more like what you'd actually need.

Lifer - good catch, I meant to say 3/4" in length!!! just to show how much look broken off...I'll see if anyone has a regulator before we light it up!!

knattrass wrote:Lifer - good catch, I meant to say 3/4" in length!!! just to show how much look broken off...I'll see if anyone has a regulator before we light it up!!

I think we have some new ones, would have to check for certain.

On the other hand, if the one you have is good shape other than a broken square shaft, a good repair is easy. Either way it has to come out of the door, obtain a piece of square shaft of correct size, (local home improvement store will likely have it), unless you have a metal working shop handy to you. Cold roll is the best choice of material. Determine the length you need & cut, this step very important, taper the end of the broken shaft with a grinder from the center outward 1/4" back on all 4 sides. Hold your new piece in a vise & taper it back likewise the same amount. Take the 2 pointed ends & with the help of an assistant line them up, points touching & clamp in the vise. When you are sure alignment is exact, tack weld or braze the top side. When complete, turn it 180*. Realign & tack this side, follow through with the other 2 sides in the same fashion. When all sides are tacked securely, check alignment & proceed to finish out the welding (or brazing) working 180* apart each time. Working 180* apart on each pass will help to minimize misalignment caused by heat drawing. BE SURE TO CLEAN SLAG THOUROUGHLY BETWEEN PASSES. When the "V" portion is filled in completely, let the assembly cool without help, just walk away for a while. When cool, carefully work the square back into shape by grinding then using a file to get the perfectly shaped square you need. Drill the .125" hole in the correct place & reinstall everything back into place. My preference of method here is brazing, makes finishing the repair much easier because the brass is easier to file & shape. Doing the repair this way will produce a solid repair that is all the way through the shaft, it is as good as new. Just doing a "skin" deep weld without the taper is pretty much useless, it will soon break again. Another + side to repairing this way is that when you finish the new square surface, it can be left slightly oversized if need be to compensate for any wear in the square bore of the crank handle making a better than new job when finished. This may sound like a huge process to go through, but many years of trouble free use & great satisfaction from a job well done is the reward. This is how we look a building trucks here, it is time proven.

Charles is right, it will last another 50 + years.
Removal of the mechanism is easier than you might think?

I also have NOS ones in stock.
www.midwestmil.com
John