I started to build the mount point for the front axle floating mechanism:

This will be a quite of puzzle until this back floating mount point and the front floating mount point are ready, but hopefully the end result will be worth of that.

Today I used some time to collect all the pieces coming to the front axle I currently have and started the final planning how I will build the rest of the frame/support structures around them:

Seems that there will not we too much space around the diff/floating_mechanism/tie_rod/steering_axle… But also seems that there is enough space for all of them. Floating mechanism front bearing mounts need to be fully bolt mounted since the diff needs to escape towards front when it needs maintenance. This also means I probably need slightly adjust it’s middle mount since now it needs to be lifted couple of centimeters before it can escape towards the front, but luckily this is not that hard modification to do.

At least I now believe I know how to continue and to what things I need to worry/consider when putting all the things together.

Here is also a short video around the project:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbmQHZQ7QRw

At Sunday I welded front diff middle mount parts to the axle frame:
Once again generally a rather simple task, but since this will finally fix the diff to it’s place everything needs to be just right.  After this it is impossible to adjust how the diff aligns without cutting it pieces once again, so all the possible measurements need to be done and parts adjusted based on those over and over again…

And then I reassembled it once again:Next task is to figure out how to continue this build since there are now many parts that need to fit to this puzzle like tie rod, steering axle, front axle floating mechanism and the “main” frame of the tractor itself. This will take time… But I’d rather take the time for planning if I can avoid building some parts multiple times because one is blocking an another.

Some minor progress at Saturday with the middle parts:

I managed to squeeze once again a short while to work at garage. Today’s effort was to weld the lower diff mount to the axle lower beam:

Even it sounds quite quick task it takes some time to get is just correct place and make sure the diff will align properly. Also dismantling the wheel mounts from the axle frame takes some time and after welding assembling it back together:

Next I will create diff center mounts and perhaps after that comes the floating mechanism. The upper beams of the front axle can only be created after the floating mechanism and front piece of the tractor chassis frame are ready to make sure there will be enough room for the axle to float properly.

I have been rather busy with other tasks  during this week and only today I managed to get some quality time at my workshop:

So I started to build the diff support structures and lower piece is now ready.

Since the steel beams I will use to make the frame are purchased from the scrap yard I needed to dismantle them first:

It was actually fairly easy task and did not took long until I had my materials in usable form:
But unfortunately I wasn’t able to do any other things related to my tractor project since my dad needed help to install new hood to the kitchen stove. Hopefully I can continue building the diff mount tomorrow.

Front axle frame is now this far:

Tomorrow I will start making mount for the diff. After that I’ll add couple of steel bats to beef up the front axle + make the floating mechanism.

This is the current situation:

Even it doesn’t look much progress, it just tooks plenty of time to get the pieces just right. This phase forms the final shape of the front axle and it is very important to get it all the measurements perfectly correct. Work continues at weekend…

So today I assembled the drive shafts and rear diff back to one piece:

And just for the comparison below is the front diff with its drive shafts & wheel mounts.

Next task is to continue building the front axle frame and hopefully soon it start’s to look like an axle.