Weasel tracks redeux 2019

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mvpile
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Re: Weasel tracks redeux 2019

Post by mvpile » Tue Feb 19, 2019 3:16 pm

5EFC87D1-B925-43F6-9AA0-3DB9E1077DF5.jpeg
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Please find attached the photos I mentioned.
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M422A1, M151, M274A3, M43, M37, M29C, M38A1, DUKW, WC52, M100, M101A2, M416B1, M116A2
My wife say if another one shows up I’ll be contacted by her attorney.


nwarcade
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Re: Weasel tracks redeux 2019

Post by nwarcade » Tue Feb 19, 2019 4:34 pm

Very cool, I've owned weasels for a few years and heard rumors of this conversion but never saw any pictures. Too bad there isn't a good source for components or I would go this route. Thanks for sharing.

ozm29c
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Re: Weasel tracks redeux 2019

Post by ozm29c » Thu Feb 21, 2019 12:08 pm

MVpile,
I saved these M114 track conversion photos from a post many years ago. Perhaps it is your weasel. Anyway I acknowledge the owner of these photos, whoever he or she may be.
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GPW 135997
M29C 7333
M29C 4338

ozm29c
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Re: Weasel tracks redeux 2019

Post by ozm29c » Thu Feb 21, 2019 12:10 pm

This company went down the path of reproducing weasel tracks. Nothing came of it?????
http://www.carrolltech.com/
GPW 135997
M29C 7333
M29C 4338

prc148
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Re: Weasel tracks redeux 2019

Post by prc148 » Thu Feb 21, 2019 6:13 pm

I wonder if they can repair bands?

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Re: Weasel tracks redeux 2019

Post by signsup » Fri Feb 22, 2019 5:22 pm

I have emailed Carol tech and will call on Monday to follow up. I am mulling over the suggestion of using the rubber conveyor belting sheets across the entire inner and outer width of the grouser up to the inner bands to take advantage of six attachment points per grouser. My thinking was leaving the original outer bands with the steel cable inside for support, but maybe that's putting a lot of faith in something that is part of the problem. So, now I'm designing in my head an approx. 5" wide sheet of 1/2" belting from just inside the turned up lip of the grouser to the edge of the inner band, attaching with 5/16" bolts. At the splice grouser, putting the splice in the middle of a grouser and using a sheet of plate steel and six longer bolts to provide a "cover plate" over the splice and provide additional support in that area. And, again, putting the inner and outer belt splices directly across from each other for additional support.

I will follow up with the glue and pad people on Monday as well for ashesion recommenations. I think they are gluing rubber to rubber and we will be gluing rubber to steel, but if they can cut the road pads and provide a glue, I'm all for that.
Robert Brough
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Dave 56
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Re: Weasel tracks redeux 2019

Post by Dave 56 » Fri Feb 22, 2019 6:49 pm

One issue I see with leaving the inner bands in place has to do with a problem I found on my tracks. The inner bands on my tracks are deteriorated to the point where the upper rubber surface is breaking apart and falling off (above the areas where the mounting brackets are molded in), leaving gaps where the bogies, idler wheel and sprocket wheel ride. The cables inside the inner bands are also broken in some places, reducing the strength of the track. If the inner bands are intact, this is not a problem, and using a single 5" wide conveyor strip on either side to replace the outer bands to rebuild the track would work fine. It seems like the cheapest way to go. However, if the inner bands need replacing too, replacing just the outer bands won't work very well.

Because they're in bad shape, I plan to replace the inner bands on my tracks as well as the outer bands. I'm using 3/4" thick conveyor belt material for the inner bands. 3/4" is thinner than the original inner bands by about 1/8" - my original inner bands measured 7/8" from the surface of the grouser to the rolling surface on the band - but 7/8" material was not available when I bought my conveyor belt material. To compensate for the thinner inner bands, I planned to shorten the spacing between grousers by 0.015" (to 2.36"), which will bring the effective track length closer to what it was originally (which helps with track tensioning), but risks misalignment of the track with the sprocket teeth. Seems like others have used the 3/4" material without experiencing any problems, other than one case I know of where the tensioning springs had to be modified to work properly.

Another way to do it would be to put 1/8" spacers under the thinner (3/4" thick) inner bands, bringing the thickness back up to original, and keep the grouser spacing the same as original (closer to 2.375"). If messing with the spacing between grousers doesn't work, I will try the shims. But that means buying more conveyor belt material and having the shims made...
42 - 45 GPW and MB jeeps
43 CCKWs
43, 44 Ford GTBs
45 M29C Weasel
45 DUKW
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mvpile
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Re: Weasel tracks redeux 2019

Post by mvpile » Fri Feb 22, 2019 9:37 pm

The photos of the M114 track weren’t from me. I believe they were from Gary Lacey in Washington from years ago. I ended up machining spacers and new axels to get the bogey wheel spacing correct. I had to make adapters for the sprockets and guide supports on the sprockets. After the tracks stretched and relaxed, I’ve used most of my front idler travel. I’m planning on adding 3/4” of belting around the front idler wheels to take the adjustment back to neutral position.
My wife always laughs when she hears the Weasel driving on pavement coming up the hill to my shop. It sounds just like a M114 rumbling up the hill but it always just the Weasel.
M422A1, M151, M274A3, M43, M37, M29C, M38A1, DUKW, WC52, M100, M101A2, M416B1, M116A2
My wife say if another one shows up I’ll be contacted by her attorney.

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Re: Weasel tracks redeux 2019

Post by Weaseler » Sat Feb 23, 2019 3:50 am

1 “ conveyor belt is required and all the fiber should be to one side of conveyor belting just the way the cable was placed in the bands. Easier to find correct belting then to try to re invent the wheel. I will take a pic of my convertion in the morning light

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Re: Weasel tracks redeux 2019

Post by signsup » Sat Feb 23, 2019 6:42 am

Dave, are you using any sort of clips to attach your belting? Or, are you using 4 separate belts and attaching them directly to the grousers with nuts and bolts? Or, just one 20" wide of belting material attached with nuts and bolts through 16 holes in each grouser. I'm trying to envision how different people are using the basically, same belting material. I'll go check again, but I think my inner bands are useable except where the one track has completely separated and I may chain up against the separated sections as well as the belting material.
Robert Brough
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President, GA MVPA

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Re: Weasel tracks redeux 2019

Post by Weaseler » Sat Feb 23, 2019 7:08 am

Also there are two different size sprocket drive wheels one used on 56 type 3 and a 55 type 4 track if ur designing track to the type 4 55 grouser track make sure u have correct size sprocket drive wheels that will also throw off sprocket to track timing

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Re: Weasel tracks redeux 2019

Post by Dave 56 » Sat Feb 23, 2019 9:04 am

I'm replacing all the bands on my original track, 4 bands per track, 55 grousers per track, with my original sprockets, not mixing with anything from a 56 grouser design. I'm using a setup almost identical to the Snake River 4x4 design. Check out their design on their website. In their apparently successful design, they use 3/4" material on the inner bands and 1/2" material on the outer bands.

Inner bands will be held in place with a single row of elevator bolts along the outer edge (away from the center guides). Bogies, idler and sprocket wheels ride on the inner edge where there are no bolts or rivets. Both inner and outer bands are wider than the originals, wide enough to be bolted on using the original rivet holes, without using any metal brackets.

Outer bands will be held by two rows of bolts with nuts and washers on the belting side to keep the nuts from pulling through. Snake River uses plates spanning the width of the belt similar to U-bolt plates, instead of washers. The plates may also help stabilize the belting material if it's too flexible, but I plan to use washers.

All bolts will be 5/16" dia. and will replace the original rivets in the original holes. The only rivets I'm not removing are the four rivets connecting the center guide teeth to the grouser. I'm using a cutoff wheel to remove the inner band by cutting the molded-in bracket away from the riveted portion next to the teeth, leaving the guide teeth riveted to the grousers and providing a flat space against the grouser for the 3/4" belting material to sit on.

Dave
42 - 45 GPW and MB jeeps
43 CCKWs
43, 44 Ford GTBs
45 M29C Weasel
45 DUKW
42,43,44 G506 Chevys
46 CJ-2A, Ford 302

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Re: Weasel tracks redeux 2019

Post by Weaseler » Sat Feb 23, 2019 9:27 am

Sprockets are the same size drive wheels have two different sizes how do u know u have correct size drive wheels. People ask for advice then they get some then they want to argue. Inner bands need to be 1” fibers need to all be on one side of the conveyor belting. conveyor belt have different percentage of Stretch 03% 05% 10% wat are u going to use? Do u know the correct grouser spacing old tracks are stretched so u can t use those measurements. There is alot of factors to take in account.

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Re: Weasel tracks redeux 2019

Post by signsup » Sun Feb 24, 2019 6:10 pm

So, I'm having another brain fart here. If my current thinking is using belt material to reinforce the current bands, one suggestion was to loose the outer bands and belt across 6 rivet holes up to the inner bands. I'm going to research adhesives for rubber to rubber and rubber to steel for road pads.

So, here's my latest vision. If the belting material is the correct weave and tensil strength and if I find an adhesive that will hold rubber to steel and/or rubber to rubber, is it possible to cut three layers of belting material the correct width of the bands? Take one layer, glue it to the grouser and use the original clips to bolt it using the original attachment points. Then glue another layer or two over the first layer and clips and, in effect, create a replacement band. No steel cable, but much stronger rubber layers and modern adhesives.

Can we agree that the inner bands need to be 1" tall for correct timing and spacing on a 55 grouser set of tracks. If so, then the layers would have to be as close to the 1" height as possible Either one 1/2" and one 3/8" thick layers with glue and the clips getting us close to the 1" or, two 1/2" layers with compression absorbing any glue or clip thickness increase. If 1/2" belting is used, then three layers for the outside bands? Thickness is not critical and optimum strength is.

So we would be using adhesives to replace vulcanizing and creating our own bands using original clips.

Am I off base or missing something obvious?
Robert Brough
Winston, GA
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President, GA MVPA

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Re: Weasel tracks redeux 2019

Post by signsup » Mon Feb 25, 2019 5:50 am

It has been pointed out to me that my mm to inches calculation was taken off a Canadian forum post and was used on the 56 grouser mid production set of tracks. That the 55 grouser late production 20" tracks inner bands would be much closer to .75, or 3/4", perhaps a shade thicker at .79 inches.

Surely, it can't be this easy, or someone much brighter than I would have thought of and tried it. Just replacing the OE bands with the same thickness conveyor belting material? Either glued, vulcanized, or bolted in place. What am I missing?
Robert Brough
Winston, GA
2018 MVPA Honor Service Award
President, GA MVPA


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