Sanding down sprockets to get a better grip ?!?

[MichaelC]

Hi all,

Has anyone ever attempted sanding the sprockets to get a better grip on tracks ? I installed a metal KT sprockets with plastic KT tracks on my Maus and it keep slipping on the tracks going forward (drive sprockets is in the rear) but not backwards. So it looks like it has no problem pulling from the top but seems to slip when try to pull from the bottom. When there is no resistance everything works (i.e. sitting on a brick).

So I am thinking of sanding down the gap between the teeth on the sprocket so that there is a better catch/pull on the plastic track. It is the early KT so there really isn't that many sprocket teeth gap to grind.

Am I crazy or does this make sense ?

MichaelC.

[tomhugill]

The problem with the king tiger sprockets is the low number of teeth and therefore large gap between teeth. Would tiger tracks and sprockets work with this tank?

[MichaelC]

Maybe.......... But I will have to get new tracks and sprockets........... I would rather try sanding it first if there is a chance that it might work. I thought metal track might do the trick but it made it worse. It could be a combination of plastic tracks and metal sprockets as well I suppose.

Bottomline is I rather stay with what I have now and try to fix it then bring in new stuff. It was all custom fitted so changing gears/sprockets/tracks would mean a lot of additional work.......... I guess I didn't mean sanding down the gap between teeth, I meant sanding the teeth sides so there is less of a slope to slip off the teeth.

MichaelC.

[FreakyDude]

Mike Have you thought of putting a track tensioner on it?

[MichaelC]

I have to mount my own idlers so I didn't consider a track tensioner, but I can play links a little bit but the KT links are tricky, only two at time. I don't think I can take it any tighter than what it is now since the boggies don't have suspension on them. That's actually why I have to glue the last one before the sprocket because it was pulling it up as it runs.

I think I am going to try to sand the teeth and see what happens before trying something more drastic like replacing the gears/sprockets/tracks.

Michael.

[ALPHA]

My vote would be ...go with the sanding of the sprockets.....the one thing I would be cautious of is having the tracks "stick"...so it could be a slow process of experimentation to see what depth works best

ALPHA

[FreakyDude]

Well I can tell you this, by sanding the sprockets you may get the tracks to go deeper but they will stick. If the track goes too deep in the sprocket the sprocket will act like a wedge and pull them all the way around.
My King Tiger had a slipping track because it stretched. I put tensioners on it and adjusted the tightness and no problems. The lack of suspension will only help tighten the track to the correct tension.
removing links won't work as you said, the KT has 2 links that have to go. I doubt you need that much but a 1/4" sounds about right.

[alphatiger88]

hi, be aware that if you remove material from the drive sprockets you may end up changing the pitch slightly which in turn destroys the mesh with the track, it may seem fine but if one tooth is off then every time that tooth contacts the track it will stress the track and cause breakage ! , metal tracks suffer the issue less as the sheer mass of the track maintains better engagement with the sprocket ,and as mentioned idler tensioners would be a good move .
good luck with whatever approach you choose

[ALPHA]

Personally ... I think you should try the other suggestion on the other thread... and play with the toe in/ out of the gearboxes...

ALPHA

[MichaelC]

Finally decided to open up and take the gear set out to see if there is any solution and realized that it is not the sprocket/track problem, it is actually my brass drive gear slipping (See new thread). Sorry about this folks....... The Maus is such that you can really see the gears once I put it in so I couldn't tell what is going on other than seeing the tracks flittering...........

http://www.rctankwarfare.co.uk/forums/v ... 95&t=13817