Cub 7275 wheel spacers are done. (picture)

[JimR]

Today I finally got to finish the spacers for my Cub and install the double ladder chains. It was just in time for the latest snow storm we are getting now. My son left for D.C. yesterday with my plow truck and I need my tractor for plowing till my truck returns. The spacers were made from 4 scrap pieces of steel from a steel supplier. The disc were scrap flame cuts out of a sheet of 3/4" steel. The center hubs were off a bar of 5" stock. Here is how I made these. I turned the center hub to the wheel ID. Next was to mark out the center on the disc. The disc were bought oversize so being dead on center was no big deal. Then I drilled holes around the center mark and removed it. I then used a carbide mill in my drill press to cut the diameter in the disc for my center piece. This was done by bolting the disc to the rotating base on the drill press and turning it to open up the centerhole a little at a time. Next was to weld the disc to the centers. Machining the disc was the final step in the lathe. I marked out the bolt holes against the backside of the wheel and drilled them on my drill press. What a difference chains make on turfs in the snow. The weld looks funny because it is welded on halfmoon holes left from drilling out the center.

 

[JimR]

Here's the tire chains installed. Boy am I a happy camper now. I just needed to run it around a bit for the chain tensioners to tighten up the links.

 

[ronjhall]

Jim
Nice, well done project.
I spent a lot of time finding a set of spacers for my tractor. After reading your description. I am glad that I found a set. It looks like it was a lot of work.

 

[GrayBeard]

Jim,
They look great; I'm still stuck on the "longer cone seat lug bolts" for my 7264. I checked every supplier I can find , with no success on the tapered seat metric bolts.
The way my rims are made with the "raised" reinforced hole make me cautious about using a regular "flat" seat cap screw.
If you have any ideas; I'd appreciate your comments.
Again nice job on the spacers.
GrayBeard

 

[JimR]

I have a solution to your problem. Buy the longer standard hex bolts that you need. You will need to weld up the underside of the hex and machine the angle on the bolts to match your existing lug nuts. The only other solution woud be to buy some 7/8 hex stock and make your own. Do you have a lathe and a welder?

 

[JimR]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Jim
Nice, well done project.
I spent a lot of time finding a set of spacers for my tractor. After reading your description. I am glad that I found a set. It looks like it was a lot of work. )</font>

Ron, I had a guy in CA. that was going to make me a set for $60.00 out of aluminum. I sent him the dimensions and he never returned my emails. The next best price I had was close to $200.00. So I took it upon myself to do them. I used a friends lathe to do the maching. That was the time consuming part of it. The lathe was an older unit and small. It was not capable of taking large cuts. I am going to be selling off some of my stuff soon to buy a large lathe and keep it in the barn for future maching projects and side jobs.

 

[GrayBeard]

Jim,
The welding is not a problem but I have no lathe.
A local machinest was going to make my spacers out of aluminum; he wanted about 200.00.
Then I got hung up on the bolts.
I thought about metric studs and and tapered seat nuts but no luck. I even looked into reg. hex nuts and then adding "sperical washers".
My attachment arrangement may cost close to what the spacers do...
In the end, I do have chains on the tractor and they work .(with no room to spare) I just wanted to get a little more room if possible.
Thanks for the comments.
GrayBeard