Re: CHAINSAW V^V^V^V^V^V^V

[William and Melissa Johns <gizmology-at-gizmology.net>]

My two cents:

1. The rules don't allow combustion engines.  Fire hazard, I guess.
2.  Don't bother with hydraulics.  They're expensive, heavy, and 
inefficient.  Gears are a lot cheaper, lighter, and efficient.  See 
http://www.gizmology.net/tracked.htm for a few designs of gear steering 
transmissions.
3.  To slow the motor down, use a worm gear.  Not quite as efficient as a 
train of spur gears, but you can get huge ratios in small packages for 
relatively cheap.

BY THE WAY: Harbor Freight has right-angle-drives for drills on sale.  They 
advertise steel gears, so they might stand up to use in a tank.  I forget 
the price - $12 maybe?

ALSO BY THE WAY: I am considering the possibility of hosting the previously 
mentioned New England Bull Session in Late August here in Athens NY 
(population 600).  I'll have to find a place to run the tanks (my yard is 
about as big as my living room), chill the beer, etc.  And I suppose I'll 
have to at least _start_ my tank (unless you let me count the Sherman) past 
the paintball gun development stage.  No guarantees ... I'll let you know ASAP.

Bill


At 10:19 AM 4/11/2004 -0400, you wrote:
>Hi Sonny brar I was pondering a gas engine as well in the beginning of 
>planing my tank and was leaning more toward a weed eater type engine with 
>electric start  first off ya gotta slow that engine down have you thought 
>about doing it hydraulically? ...


>Sonny brar <sonny_brar-at-hotmail.com> wrote:
>hey guys,
>
>Can i get any tips on building a gearbox to run a tank thats powered by a 
>chainsaw engine i need to know how i can build my tank so it can run each 
>track individually, reverse, an move forward individually ...




--

"Wit is educated insolence." -- Aristotle