Axle - AGAIN!

 Yes again I'm afraid. It had been leak free, but then I took it to Peterborough & there was "evidence" when I got back. So I had the axle in bits again & put in another of the 2mm cross section O-Rings & this time ran a file round the edge of the axle to make sure there were no burrs in it, covered it in "Hylomar Blue" & pressed it in very slowly.

It cut a sliver off the O-Ring.

"Perhaps the Hylomar will hold it" I thought - no, it didn't. When I put it on I read the instructions "allow the solvent to evaporate off before assembling" OK, any clues for how long? Not long enough as it turned out. it appeared to have dripped a single drip, but it had dripped.

I ordered more O-Rings, this time 1 1/2mm cross section, then looked up the Hylomar wait time on the internet - 10 - 20 mins. I dry assembled the 1/2 shaft, I put an O-Ring in the groove on the bearing & dry assembled it, I put an O-Ring at the far end of the bearing rebate in the axle as well & dry assembled it making sure that didn't put load on the bearing retainer plate.

I put a bead of Hylomar round the bearing & the O-Rings & pushed the 1/2 shaft in - then pulled it out, ensuring the coating was thin & even. After 10 mins I pushed it back in & bolted it all up.

(sigh)

It's been out a couple of times since & no leakage yet. The jury is still out & my fingers are still crossed.

In other news I've been ferreting away at cameras again. I have a camera mount right in the nose cone & I really like the low view it gives, but up to now using it has meant stopping, moving one of the cameras into the nose & setting it going on battery, driving for a bit & then swapping it all back. As my lovely girlfriend gave me new cameras for Christmas, it occurred to me that one of the old ones could go in the nose, but experiments with battery life suggested I'd not get much of "the good stuff" if I set it going before I got in the car. I considered powering it from a USB but a hole in the case would mean it would fill up with water in the inevitable showers.

So what to do? I had a matt black GoPro case that I'd not used because it had a large rectangular hole in the side for putting a USB cable in through, so I drew a box to fit snugly in there, then a round open cylinder with "bead" on & printed it in rigid plastic. Next, a conical "boot" with a matching recess for the bead printed in rubbery stuff. Having glued the rigid part to the camera shell, I can plug in the USB & pop the boot in place & it's waterproof & operable from the remote on the dash.

It actually looks quite techie. What would I do without my 3D printer & On-Shape?

The boot in 1mm thick 90 shore polyurethane is just right & stretchy enough to force the pug through a 4mm hole so it seals against the cable outer, it's a simple thing, but my videos should be a bit more interesting & I won't have to stop & re-arrange the car to achieve it.