Tailgate Handle Reproduction?

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Yes, polish it! The sintered metal can buff out to a mirrored finish. Looking forward to hearing about the installation.
 
wngrog said:
Does that handle need all the drilling and tapping discussed in this thread earlier?
Click to expand...

Negative. The other piece that bolts to the tailgate and provides the pivot for the piece pictured above is the one that needs to be tapped.
 
hows you guys' toes?

FJ55 Tailgate Handle

looks like your engineering team has a new pointman:lol:. better set him straight or he's gunna take your shade...
 
scrapdaddy said: ↑
jrh00800,

Have you attempted the other piece of the handle yet? We've been trying to figure out how to tap the holes for mounting.

@scrapdaddy The handle base: 1972 FJ55 Tailgate Handle Base by jrh00800 on Shapeways
I have not personally printed this part yet, nor tapped the holes.
I have drilled and tapped this material for another project and it is a real PITA but doable. This stainless hybrid material is super strong and when I tapped the last project I had to go with <50% thread engagement otherwise it was just too painful to try to tap. If you visit my link there is mention of the handle base which has two pilot holes. Also has info on tapping. It is up to you and possibly a machine shop or friend with machining experience to enlarge and thread the mounting holes.
I can modify the design to have two studs rather than holes that could be pinned or some other way mechanically fastened. Let me know if you would like to try something.

In a nutshell
Go less than 50% thread engagement for tapping the current model of 3D handle base.

Great job BTW to you guys on your efforts to make your own handle, I was not aware of this until @LAMBCRUSHER pointed out the thread. Very interesting to see your progress that paralleled my own.
The 3D images by @DoubleNickels are amazing, were these ray traced or something? You've even got the spring and the fasteners that is nuts!
I am not a vendor, I am just a guy who has made some parts for Jeeps, dirt bikes and now the iron pig that I hope helps people out.
This particular project came from a guy who got one of my jeep clips and thought I might be able to help with this handle situation. I started reverse engineering the broken handle back in 10/16 and it stalled when the guy who wanted it had some issues that prevented us from going any further. Several people have purchased the handle however and have helped to establish its usability. Thank you! And it is finally showing up on rigs around the net! Looks great @VIVA TERLINGUA can you post the pics of the handle on your pig though?

I apologize for not finding your tailgate creation thread and seeming to step on toes, not my intention. Very surprised anyone was even attempting this and truly fascinating to see the great work you guys were doing!

Another note: I noticed you guys mentioned polishing the shapeways part; the polished nickel steel is just a finish of the stainless steel material, polishing will remove the finish. FYI
 
J Mack said:
1972 FJ55 Tailgate Handle Base by jrh00800 on Shapeways

1972 FJ55 Tailgate Handle by jrh00800 on Shapeways

Wondering if anyone has used these, can't find any feedback.


Product Description
Mounting holes require drilling and tapping of existing pilot holes
In order of tapping difficulty: 5mm drill bit (75% thread) / #4 wire gauge drill bit (50% thread)
M6X1.00 bottom tap

Shapeways Stainless Steel Tapping Best Practices
Stainless Steel Tapping Best Practices
Click to expand...

I apologize that there hasn't been any feedback until now.
Definitely check the tapping best practices, good eye @J Mack

In particular:
GlenG - You need to trust me when I say carbide tooling is the only practical way to drill, tap and machine this material. Slow feeds and plenty of lube. Playing with hole diameter would help. Expansion contraction is minimal.

gNSortino - Here is another update on this subject. I decided to test out the feasibility of tapping further.

What I did was create 3 small Shapeways Stainless Steel (SS) pieces with a .339", .34375" (11/32) and .375" (12/32) diameters. I put a slight taper on each of these to make it easier to start the tap.

I also wanted to test a straight imperial (non-tapered) thread to see how that worked as well. For this test case I created a 50%, 25%, and 15% thread for a 1/4"-28 UNF machine screw. This equates to a diameter of .2281", .23905", and .24343" respectively. Each of these also had a slight taper to help with threading.

##Setup##
For my tapping equipment I used a standard ratcheting tap wrench and the following taps:

1/4"-28 Cobalt Steel (McMaster Part # 25215A61)
1/8"-27 NPT Cobalt Steel (Mcmaster Part # #2662A26)

I chose cobalt steel taps because they have a Rockwell hardness between C30 and C45 whereas Shapeway's Stainless has a hardness of 20-25 ( https://www.shapeways.com/rrstatic/material_docs/mds-stainle ss.pdf)

I also used a drill press to align the tap in the hole. Very similar to this process here: . This was the first time I've used a drill press to align a tap and I found it did a very good job.

##Test Results##
I did the imperial 1/4"-28 (UNF) taps first starting with the 15% thread and moving up to the 15%.

All 3 threads were fairly easy. The easiest being the 15% thread and while the 50% was noticeably tougher although it was not what I would consider difficult. I was not concerned at any point the tap was at risk of breaking. As would be expected the thread on the 15% was barely noticeable. However, it would still mate with a machine screw and if screwed all the way in it would hold pretty well. The 50% created a really nice thread and the 25% was somewhere in the middle.

Next, I did the NPT taps starting with the 12/32" diameter and working my way to the smaller diameters. The 12/32" was very easy to do. It only produced a slight thread but it would mate with male NPT thread. The 11/32" was noticeably more difficult towards the bottom of thread. I stopped tapping with about 6-7 teeth still visible on the tap, which I believe is typical. This created a pretty well defined thread that mated very nicely. The .339", which is a standard "R" 1/8" NPT tap drill size was about the same difficulty as the 11/32".

##Closing Comments##
Based on these tests I would say that tapping Shapeways SS is definitely doable. I cannot say how much of an effect the cobalt steel taps or using the drill press for alignment had but I suspect they both helped significantly. I don't think the slightly tapered start had much of an impact but I also don't think this hurt things either.

While tapping I noticed that the chips were much finer that when you would typically see when tapping free machining metals. They were almost like large grains of sand. The material made a grating sound as it was tapped and even though the chips were smaller they still had to be broken (eg. back 1/4 turn for each turn forward). Also, the material did not get very hot like you would typically see when tapping something with a low heat transfer coefficient. I suspect this was due to the 40% bronze content.
 
A few comments...

LAMBCRUSHER said:
hows you guys' toes?

FJ55 Tailgate Handle

looks like your engineering team has a new pointman:lol:. better set him straight or he's gunna take your shade...
Click to expand...

Thanks man, I wear steel toes, so I am good. Plenty of room in the shade...

wngrog said:
He did not step on anyone’s toes. Seems he was doing this before this thread was even started.

Also, who said it would not be for profit when the original posters started to this?
Click to expand...

Maybe not stepped on toes, but it was a unique decision to start a new thread when we had this one going currently, and it included their product. It would probably make sense to merge the threads, and/or start a straight-up Classified thread if it is pure product placement.

As for timing, I have been on the hunt for a tailgate handle solution ever since I got my first Pig, well over a decade ago. The drawings that @jrh00800 compliments I got over 6 years ago.

Not that you would have any knowledge, but when @DoubleNickels and I were discussing this project, we agreed that if we had proof of concept design, we would let people print at their cost. So no profit. Now you know.

LAMBCRUSHER said:
most of you guys on the team have stars and more than a few posts... I'm just keeping an eye on the gate...
Click to expand...

Gratitude amigo! Your comment made me look at my star - where is my star? I used to get a notice when I was expiring. I will have to renew with @woody

jrh00800 said:
scrapdaddy said: ↑
jrh00800,

Have you attempted the other piece of the handle yet? We've been trying to figure out how to tap the holes for mounting.

@scrapdaddy The handle base: 1972 FJ55 Tailgate Handle Base by jrh00800 on Shapeways
I have not personally printed this part yet, nor tapped the holes.
I have drilled and tapped this material for another project and it is a real PITA but doable. This stainless hybrid material is super strong and when I tapped the last project I had to go with <50% thread engagement otherwise it was just too painful to try to tap. If you visit my link there is mention of the handle base which has two pilot holes. Also has info on tapping. It is up to you and possibly a machine shop or friend with machining experience to enlarge and thread the mounting holes.
I can modify the design to have two studs rather than holes that could be pinned or some other way mechanically fastened. Let me know if you would like to try something.

In a nutshell
Go less than 50% thread engagement for tapping the current model of 3D handle base.

Great job BTW to you guys on your efforts to make your own handle, I was not aware of this until @LAMBCRUSHER pointed out the thread. Very interesting to see your progress that paralleled my own.
The 3D images by @DoubleNickels are amazing, were these ray traced or something? You've even got the spring and the fasteners that is nuts!
I am not a vendor, I am just a guy who has made some parts for Jeeps, dirt bikes and now the iron pig that I hope helps people out.
This particular project came from a guy who got one of my jeep clips and thought I might be able to help with this handle situation. I started reverse engineering the broken handle back in 10/16 and it stalled when the guy who wanted it had some issues that prevented us from going any further. Several people have purchased the handle however and have helped to establish its usability. Thank you! And it is finally showing up on rigs around the net! Looks great @VIVA TERLINGUA can you post the pics of the handle on your pig though?

I apologize for not finding your tailgate creation thread and seeming to step on toes, not my intention. Very surprised anyone was even attempting this and truly fascinating to see the great work you guys were doing!

Another note: I noticed you guys mentioned polishing the shapeways part; the polished nickel steel is just a finish of the stainless steel material, polishing will remove the finish. FYI
Click to expand...

I am glad you like the 3D images.
Understood you were not trying to step on toes.
Yes, I have been working on this for a while with others.
This thread has been hanging around Page 1 since we started, not sure if it dropped off, I have been busy working.
If you are open to it, we should probably have the Mods merge threads and start a Classified thread.
Where are you in CO?

jrh00800 said:
I apologize that there hasn't been any feedback until now.
Definitely check the tapping best practices, good eye @J Mack

In particular:
GlenG - You need to trust me when I say carbide tooling is the only practical way to drill, tap and machine this material. Slow feeds and plenty of lube. Playing with hole diameter would help. Expansion contraction is minimal.

gNSortino - Here is another update on this subject. I decided to test out the feasibility of tapping further.

What I did was create 3 small Shapeways Stainless Steel (SS) pieces with a .339", .34375" (11/32) and .375" (12/32) diameters. I put a slight taper on each of these to make it easier to start the tap.

I also wanted to test a straight imperial (non-tapered) thread to see how that worked as well. For this test case I created a 50%, 25%, and 15% thread for a 1/4"-28 UNF machine screw. This equates to a diameter of .2281", .23905", and .24343" respectively. Each of these also had a slight taper to help with threading.

##Setup##
For my tapping equipment I used a standard ratcheting tap wrench and the following taps:

1/4"-28 Cobalt Steel (McMaster Part # 25215A61)
1/8"-27 NPT Cobalt Steel (Mcmaster Part # #2662A26)

I chose cobalt steel taps because they have a Rockwell hardness between C30 and C45 whereas Shapeway's Stainless has a hardness of 20-25 ( https://www.shapeways.com/rrstatic/material_docs/mds-stainle ss.pdf)

I also used a drill press to align the tap in the hole. Very similar to this process here: . This was the first time I've used a drill press to align a tap and I found it did a very good job.

##Test Results##
I did the imperial 1/4"-28 (UNF) taps first starting with the 15% thread and moving up to the 15%.

All 3 threads were fairly easy. The easiest being the 15% thread and while the 50% was noticeably tougher although it was not what I would consider difficult. I was not concerned at any point the tap was at risk of breaking. As would be expected the thread on the 15% was barely noticeable. However, it would still mate with a machine screw and if screwed all the way in it would hold pretty well. The 50% created a really nice thread and the 25% was somewhere in the middle.

Next, I did the NPT taps starting with the 12/32" diameter and working my way to the smaller diameters. The 12/32" was very easy to do. It only produced a slight thread but it would mate with male NPT thread. The 11/32" was noticeably more difficult towards the bottom of thread. I stopped tapping with about 6-7 teeth still visible on the tap, which I believe is typical. This created a pretty well defined thread that mated very nicely. The .339", which is a standard "R" 1/8" NPT tap drill size was about the same difficulty as the 11/32".

##Closing Comments##
Based on these tests I would say that tapping Shapeways SS is definitely doable. I cannot say how much of an effect the cobalt steel taps or using the drill press for alignment had but I suspect they both helped significantly. I don't think the slightly tapered start had much of an impact but I also don't think this hurt things either.

While tapping I noticed that the chips were much finer that when you would typically see when tapping free machining metals. They were almost like large grains of sand. The material made a grating sound as it was tapped and even though the chips were smaller they still had to be broken (eg. back 1/4 turn for each turn forward). Also, the material did not get very hot like you would typically see when tapping something with a low heat transfer coefficient. I suspect this was due to the 40% bronze content.
Click to expand...


My thoughts on this are that it is usually the pull that breaks, while the mount piece (the threaded piece that mounts to the tailgate) does not. Maybe a re-pro of the pull piece is all that we need?

fj55-100 said:
ordered my handle , now i just have to break mine ,:pig:.. And maybe next month i will order the other half and try to assemble . my dad is a retired machinist .
Click to expand...

Oh that would be great if your Dad perfected the tapping of the mount piece. They used a very short fastener on this piece.
 
I will have to take off my spare off the parts pig , to have a sample for him to work with , he is keeping busy in retirement with a restore on a willys FC 150 , and his 71 blazer , and looks forward to me ( hey dad ) can you make one of these ( insert any part i have looked for in the last 10 years )
 
The only issue is that the holes in the handle needed to be enlarged to accept the shoulder screws. I passed that info on to @jrh00800.

6169A5B1-1715-4556-9979-C333664508D5.webp
 
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