DUKW Scratch Builds 1/16 & 1/9.25

[Herr Dr. Professor]

Ah ha! Now that's an ingenious source of useful wire. Hmm... Thirty-two years ago I wired this house for TV as I was building --now outdated and useless. I probably have some extra around, even without cutting a hole in the wall.

[Ecam]

This coax ended up being a copper clad steel wire, I'm sure some of it is copper. But frankly the steel will hold up better than the soft copper could.

Got most of the hooks and hoops installed. There are two winch guides to go and three on the very front of the hull, but I will wait until I build the front winch hawse till I do those. Winch received the last of the details it will get. Drum clutch lever and fork (to free spool cable out) and the drum brake. And finally the towing hoop (pintle hitch to chain/clevis/hook...).

[DAVEY65]

Wow Ecam, just came across your DUKW build, absolutely amazing work. if you are still looking for some nice tires go over to Shipways 3D Printing, look for panzer vs tanks, he has the tires, wheels and can print in any size, i contacted him years ago to see if he could print my 1/4 scale halftrack tire, he said yes but it was his limit (9 1/2" OD), you can also reach him on FB under Holden8702 , very nice guy

Dave

[Ecam]

Thanks Dave, I will give that a look.

[MonsieurTox]

Eric, I have a question for you. I'm back on the DUKW and I'm worried about the bearings in the axles, do you have any rust problem with them after going into water?

[Ecam]

No. I think the bearings are mostly stainless steel. Most of the grub/set screws do get some rust but a dab of oil applied with a tooth pick seems to control that. The driveshafts also show no signs of problems with the water (other than the set/grub screws). I do use "marine" (not USMC) grease for packing of the axles and t-case. It repels or at least won't mix with water and still provides lube. It is blue in color (in this part of the world). It is what they use in the wheel bearings of boat trailers.

[MonsieurTox]

No. I think the bearings are mostly stainless steel. Most of the grub/set screws do get some rust but a dab of oil applied with a tooth pick seems to control that. The driveshafts also show no signs of problems with the water (other than the set/grub screws). I do use "marine" (not USMC) grease for packing of the axles and t-case. It repels or at least won't mix with water and still provides lube. It is blue in color (in this part of the world). It is what they use in the wheel bearings of boat trailers.

Thank you Eric,
I'm affraid because I left some bearings in my old basement and they were very rusty after one year or two.
I have some water resistant grease at home, I'll look into that, unfortunatly I did not packed the whole axles, just the middle where the gears are. Oh no, I don't want to take them appart once again.