column drop

[enjenjo]

I decided to fab a column drop, the only power tools used were a drill press, and a belt sander.

I know you could buy one, but it only takes a couple hours to make it, and it gives you bragging rights.

[RottenRodney]

Sure, you could buy one, but it ain't always easy to buy one that'll fit your application.  The store-boughts ain't quite universal enough -- yet.  That looks real nice.  RR

[Ed ke6bnl]

I felt the same way and built my own and it was the first time I used a boring bar in my mill did use a plain old router to do the rounding over on the outside. Ed



I later ball milled between the hole and the top section.  I liked it but is not very visable in the truck.  self satisfaction.

[enjenjo]

Looks Good Ed. I was trying to demonstrae that you can do it without a mill, or any other fancy tools. I could have hole sawed it by hand, the filed the outer edge, but it was faster with the power tools, and most people have them.

Tools don't give you a better part, they just make the same part faster.

[Carps]

Nice work guys.  I made mine from steel, again all done with a hand held drill, hacksaw, files and my trusty gas welder.

[Dave]

Ive got one in the coupe i made and yup i also used the band saw ,mill and belt sander at work.. I could have bought one also but i needed an odd ball length. Like my length :!:  Ive made a few and at one time i think it was my brother made a print for one. Of course they are all different lengths but the print is kinda handy. Its not tech week yet so im not gonna give my ideas for lower column mounts..
Dave

[C9]

Good one on both your lower column mount and column drop Enjenjo.

I like the roundover done by Ed with his router.
Good use of a router, lotta times folks forget they can use woodworking tools on aluminum.

Here's some pics of mine.
Flat 1/2" aluminum plate, hole bored on a lathe, but a hole saw with drill rod guide would work just as well.
This one would look better if I'd used 3/4" - 1" aluminum and done a roundover like Ed did.

Like Jusjunk, I don't use a clamp on the lower column mount either.
The 1/2" thick retaining ring that bolts to the drop plate has the same bore as the drop plate.
Since the column goes down at a slight angle the retaining ring gets pulled down flat on the drop and locks the column in place.

I've been thinking of ways to do the 31's floor and your short piece of tubing welded in will do the job.
As you can see in the pics it's not flat in the area where the column goes through the floor/firewall and the tubing will work well.

[C9]

Sorry for the cut-off notes on the pics.

I didn't know text was limited in that area.

[phat46]

...I holesawed a piece of 1/4" plate and welded it to the bottom of the dash in my '40 truck, took 15 minutes...and looks like it  

[Dave]

Ill take a pic on the finished lower mount in the coupe in a while.. Im going out and get more pics of the roadster so ill do that at the same time..
Dave    

Heres the pic...............

[Flipper]

Here's one I built out of steel scraps.  It is tucked back under the dash a ways and not really visible from the driver seat.  Once it is all painted, it should be factory looking.

[enjenjo]

This is turning out to ba a great post. All of you are posting your take on column drops. Lots of good ideas here, I'll steal a few  

[C9]

Enjenjo, sanding the face of your plate goes pretty quick with 100 grit and a Makita - high speed little devil - vibratory - finish sander.
(I built a bookcase and couldn't believe how fast the Makita was compared to the B&D finish sander that burned out part way into the job.)

After that, a little hand rubbing with medium 3M abrasive plastic wool or whatever the heck it's called.

I use either 100 grit wet/dry or the longer lasting 100 grit for wood.
I forget the type/brand name right now, but if you're interested I'll post it later.
It's lasting really well on a gunstock I'm refinishing.


So far - imo - I'm liking Ed's use of a router to make his roundover as the best hint to now.
Looks really good.

Simple ideas like your use of two sorta square pieces makes life easy.
I made a similar to a column drop shaped piece a while back and made the mistake of cutting it to shape first.
Then, instead of simply drilling for the hold-together bolts (allens) I had to set it up in a mill for cutting the allen head clearance hole with an end mill.

Live and learn I guess.

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For those interested in the con-rod column drop shown above, it's a 2 1/2" bore.
The column jacket is 1 5/8" OD.
There is a stepped adapter between the two and when the con-rod is clamped down it locks onto the column jacket via the adapter quite well.

I have bored out smaller bore con rods, but 1/4" over is about as far as you should go or you'll have conflicts with the rod bolts/studs.
Easily done in the lathe if the con-rod fits.
If you have a smaller chuck available you can bore half at a time with a three jaw.
Otherwise things need to be set up on a face plate.

Fwiw - if you have a lathe you'll find a very small chuck on the larger lathes can be really handy.
I have a 3", 5" and the usual 6" three jaws for my 12" x 36" lathe.
It is amazing how often the 3" gets used.
Looks a little funny at first, but . . . whatever works.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That thin piece right below the con-rod is an un-drilled floor/colmumn jacket escutcheon.
It gets installed later . . . right after I install your tubing floor mount.

Aluminum escutcheons are easy to make - drill press, mandrel and hole saw are all that's required . . . except for the sandpaper and file.
They make a nice finish between column or throttle rod and carpet.
A piece of Teflon can be used with the escutcheon for a seal.

[Dave]

We have a huge vibratory machine here big enuff to do prolly 4 to 6 intakes at a time and we have 3 or 4 smaller ones. Needless to say all my aluminum stuff usually gets the vibratory when finished..
Dave

[enjenjo]

The easiest way is to start with one large rectangular piece, drill the clamp bolt holes, cut it in half, and then bolt it back together to finish. But starting with what I had laying around, I used two pieces.

Sanding on a steel plate does not take long, and gives a nice finish. I have also used an air file to do it too.

For an old timey look, you can Damacene it on a drill press with a dowel, and valve grinding compound.

I have used the router trick to do a rounded edge, but I usually start with a thicker piece, 3/4" or so.

The car this is going in, belongs to a guy who is into brushed finished parts. He did a Tbird with all brushed trim, that has won many awards.