Spring shackle welding & rebuilding photos #1

[Craig Lewis]

A few days ago there was some talk on Fordbarn about rebuilding original shackles.
I found these 35mm pix showing one way to possibly breath new life into worn original parts which are approaching extinction.

The site won't allow all the pics at once...so I'll use two consecutive posts.

The heavy support bar is a section of F150 axle. Go BIG here...you'll need it.
An end bar & nuts must be tightened onto the shackle before welding to maintain the shape against warpage.
The shackles shown were preheated before starting to mig weld, so as to get maximum penetration from the get-go.
Also...the welded shackle you see is just an example (rather poor) and I found the weld must completely encircle the journal to eliminate chatter on the final & most important cut.
To start, the piece of axle should be 10"-12" long & there's a fine cut taken off between centres to assure the shaft is straight, it's then chucked & dialed in, centre drilled & threaded in the lathe using a tailchuck to maintain a perfectly aligned thread.
The welded shackle is screwed into place on the bar.
(It helps to use a file or grinder & get the welds into a closer semblence of round before chucking things up).
The nipple hole is your live tail centre.

Everybody familiar with lathes can imagine the chatter which can occur with such long reaches, and it's important that all fasteners are singing tight!

Once the lugs are machined to size, redrill the grease passages, cut the grease groves with a mini Dremel disc & harden the shackles completely with Kasenit powder. After quenching, they're beadblasted and final polished in a bench vice with emery strips & then painted.
All 4 units in these pictures, are installed on a chassis.
It hasn't been driven or tested.
Would I worry about the strength of these refurbished shackles?...well yes, somewhat.
Do I worry about the strength & integrity of new offshore parts?..yes again.
Would I worry about safety with the rebuilt units? I'm going with NO.
I figure the end bar keeps the shackle extremely rigid and ads a degree of safety in keeping everything together in the event something cracks.
Also, while driving, it's unlikely that both sides would break at once on a single spring.

***Please understand I accept no responsibility whatsoever as to what any individual does with their Model A. Just the same as I'm not responsible for bucketfulls of unsafe modifications I see at show & shines across the nation each year.
Please use due diligence and be aware that rash behaviour may lead to a fuller but shorter life.