Axle Clamp Moves Tractor Wheel

Axle Clamp Moves Tractor Wheel MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT Miscellaneous 13-2-6 A home-built "axle clamp" designed for his Allis-Chalmers 7040 tractor lets Verne Schlueter, Arlington, Minn., move the right wheel inward in five minutes or less using a wrench. "It saves time and eliminates a lot of hard work," says Schlueter, who uses the "axle clamp" mainly to move the right wheel inward after plowing. "We use duals for field cultivating and disking. But for plowing, we remove one wheel on the right side and move the remaining wheel out so that it runs in the plow furrow. We pull the wheel out by attaching a hydraulic jack to the axle and chains to the wheel casting. That's relatively easy. However, to switch back to duals, we must move the single wheel in again and that was the problem. Before, we had to park the tractor near a tree or other stationary object and set the hydraulic jack between the tree and the tractor wheel. Now we simply attach the clamp and turn a pair of 9-inch long bolts to force the wheel in. It takes five minutes or less and it's easy." Schlueter used 4-in. dia. pipe to make the axle clamp's collar. He cut out a 1-in. cross section of pipe and then split it, pulling it far enough apart to fit around the axle. On the split ends of the collar he welded two 1/2-in. dia. square nuts. A 4-in. long bolt pulls these nuts together. Then on each side of the collar he welded two 1 1/4-in. dia hex nuts. To move the wheel inward, Schlueter removes a safety clip from the axle and places the collar on the end of the axle, fastening it in place with a 4-in. long bolt. Using a 3/4-in. impact wrench, he turns both 9-in. bolts against the wheel casting to move it inward. After the wheel is in position, he removes the clamp and tightens the wheel hub as normally. Schlueter says his homemade axle clamp works on any tractor equipped with straight axles. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Verne Schlueter, RR 2, Box 144, Arlington, Minn. 55307 (ph 612 964-5641).

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