plunger clutch basket

[shuswapkev]

  i have a 51 a10 clutch (plunger rigid) and a few clutch baskets...my best basket is showin its 60 some odd years of wear...

the slots that catch the fiber plates are pretty banged around... rounded over... i can file some of it good...

but is there a better way???  i do have a lathe and mill...  recutting the slots??...welding and grinding??? hate to put new plate$ in and have them lookin like 2 miles of bad road in a short time...
maybe making a jig and welding in bits of flat bar??  (spot welder??)  and cutting matching grooves in new plates??

i cant imagine the clutch action being all that flash with all the bumps in there..

[muskrat]

 G'day mate, if the grooves in the slots are only a mm or so deep and you have a mill and indexing head. You could clean the slots up taking the same amount off each slot. It will give the plates a bit more room but as you see 99% of the wear is on one side (the driven side). It may rattle a bit with the lever pulled in but OK when driving. Did it to a trihard clutch with no ill affects.
Cheers

[Brian]

I've done a few of these and the only way to do it properly is to remove the rivets so the basket comes away from the chain wheel.

Then stick it in your mill, hopefully you have a rotary table, divide the number of slots by 360 and that gives you how much to move it around each time. You may find you will have to file the very last tiny bit depending on how small a bit you use.

Then rivet it back together. Finding rivets can be a bit hard, last one I did I made the rivets but you should be able to find some if you search places like model suppliers.

[BSA_54A10]

Way back when I had thick hair & all my teeth a local speedway rider took exc eption to may rattleing clutch & the fact that I was riding the clutch at the lights instead of selecting neutral.
So he whipped out the clutch, filed the slots true. braised on some square section key steel then filed down the tabs on my plates to match the new slots.
all done by hand, no measurements, no dividing table, no mill , just a couple of files & scrapers.
He then machined a leaded gunmetal bush to replace the double row of balls.
Two important things happened after this.
1) the clutch was sweet & quiet to use allowing me to select neutral easily even when standing still .
2) it cured me forever of riding the clutch as after about 1 minute ( 1/2 the traffic lights cycle ) it would heat up enough to lock up sending me into the cross traffic.

[chaterlea25]

HI All,
I have recovered a worn clutch basket by adding metal along the worn edge with tig weld
A shaped piece of copper clamped inside the basket keeps the weld from flowing inwards
As I did not have spare plates for this clutch (Gilera) I clamped the plates together and milled the worn tongues
back till they were all the same, then milled the weld to suit the modded plates

Another way is to mill a new set of slots midway between the worn ones, (on an Ariel) this required removing the band around the outside and then making a new one to refit afterwards

HTH
John

[shuswapkev]

mateys

 thanks heaps for all the help..
 looks like i will be drilling out the rivets and banging it into 3 pieces...

i reckon i can mig or tig  some more metal on the drive side..setting up in the mill??  wish i could do that with some real  confidence..well..cuz its just guage plate...and only a few slots...  i think this calls for the purchase of a "best quality" new file and use  a new friction plate for a guage...
 i reckon thats done and dusted...   now i have to invent a new reason to buy an indexing head...i am sure somthing will pop up...

 the key material sounds interesting...was thinking of doing that...and then milling the plates to match...but not much room for the steelys..would have had to take a bunch off them...mayby .140???


  rivetting???  havent done that since high school...i think need to make a clamping jig squeeze the crap out of it... and hold it tight... but any tips here...???  obviously need to make up the rivets??  black bar or cold rolled???  turn ,m on a lathe with a head.....or upset the ends of the original dia???   i need to make up the anvil and round over punch...i have a bunch of en36.....from there...just bang on ,m??? with a big hammer?? should i heat the rivet ends??    before i hammer... i reckon i do need to do a bit on each one..going across...like head bolts???

how does a rivetting machine work??  never seen one... wil a head on a mill or drill press work???

  the shaped copper.. now thats interesting...how thick?? 1/8 or 1/4 or 1/?  will that work with mig..?? or am i best to get my ass on a chair and work up my tig skills???  i do have a scratch start tig... if i weld up...obviously the inside of the drum will be the hard part to clean up...
 do i just cut a 2 inch by 3 by 1/4 inch bit of copper flat bar... curve to inside dia..and clamp inside???  the copper bar is easy enough to get...  will brass work???   already have that...

and again...thanks heaps for your help..and enthusiasm...

a bit off topic...but...has anybody used ice to bend up exhaust pipes..???
 i reckon my freezer will do it in 2 halves..top and bot...then just weld ,m together...

as far as a clutch rattle...i have had harleys for over 40 years...and same one for 36 years...i would no idea what a bike would sound like without a clutch rattle...


wishin all youse..
  a really great christmas...

[chaterlea25]

Hi
"  the shaped copper.. now thats interesting...how thick?? 1/8 or 1/4 or 1/?  will that work with mig..?? or am i best to get my ass on a chair and work up my tig skills???  i do have a scratch start tig... if i weld up...obviously the inside of the drum will be the hard part to clean up...
 do i just cut a 2 inch by 3 by 1/4 inch bit of copper flat bar... curve to inside dia..and clamp inside???  the copper bar is easy enough to get...  will brass work???   already have that...""

1/8th would be fine, easier to shape, if shaped really closely there will be little if anything to remove on the inside of the drum!!
MIG /TIG wont stick to the copper

I would think ordinary mild steel (black) would be ok for rivits???

HTH
John

[trevinoz]

I make the rivets for the Altette horns out of what is sold here as 'bright shaft".
I use the diameter of the head and turn the shank to size.
You can rivet cold, use a "set" or ball pein hammer.

Trev.

[Brian]

With your mill shuswapkev you dont have to go to a full indexing set up. You can do a lot with a simple rotary table and self centering chuck.

I have a 6" Vertex rotary table with a 5" self centering chuck that has a set of reverse jaws. All stuff you can buy at any engineering supplier or second hand if you search around.

Tooling for mills and lathes can cost a fortune but you would be surprised what you can do with some basic stuff.