It's time for something different
 

It's not as if all of my tank projects are completely done up to the nth degree.

I've been wanting one of these, a 1/10 scale Kaelble Z6W2A 130 heavy towing truck; the model first brought out by Jochen Maier about 24 years ago
and continued to this day by the fellow who purchased his company, Jürgen Stehr. Jürgen carries on the exceptional level of quality I've come to expect
from this firm. Maier.Stehr models are not common place items here in the US and this one is no exception. I know of one other person who has one of
these albeit a complete 'fully loaded' example. Over the years the price of a completed model has risen far beyond what I can justify so when I had the opportunity ro
purchase examples of these as either incomplete or 'static' models I jumped at it.

Kaelble the company built and supplied heavy moving trucks to the German Railway and during the war to the German Army. Using the 'Gotha' tyep trailer/ 'lowboy'
(Schwerlast Anhänger Typ R 80 II) The Germans were able to move some of their heaviest armored vehicles up to the JagdTiger. As the German designation implies
that trailer had a capacity of 80 metric tons. (I've read that examples of this thing were used into the 1980s.) There's isn't an enormous amount of info on the Kaelble
trucks on line but there were a few variants of the Z6W2A. I believe there were several hundred supplied during the army contract.

The model is aluminum and steel, designed with a simulated 6 cylinder diesel engine which houses 2 530 type motors geared to a common shaft; either a 5 or 10 speed
transmission and twin rear axles with locking differentials and planetary geared output shafts. A winch capable of pulling 80 pounds is available. The truck fully equpped
weighs 50 pounds.

Also available is a fully articulated, steerable Anhänger Typ R 80 II of which I am fortunate to have a fully built example.

I've included a photo of two of my trucks. I have made a number of repairs already to the first which is my most complete as well as building the entire rear super structure.
The second also requires a rear body, in progress; it needs a transmission however I have already built the simulated diesel and I had had Jürgen build out the axles.
These machine are wonderful things, somewhat rare and certainly unusual.

There is much yet to be done with these, a very pleasant break from tanks.

Jerryhttps://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rcu...73aedb1987.jpg

Wow that is nice, I look forward to these builds for sure

Nice! Bet it would have no problem carrying a Hetzer.

I would be surprised if it did! And seriously bummed to boot.

I went back to working on the simulated engine I mentioned elsewhere. When I purchased one of my trucks it came with a set of basic mostly machined engine castings
but nothing else, no motors, gears, bearings, shafts... no guts of any kind.

I made this out of it:

https://youtu.be/0GkTvSP3zI0

Below I have it set in the frame of truck 2 I showed above. I have to finish making small screws for the pulleys( see the outsized one on the right side pulley), wiring and some Bosch decals, some odds and ends and of course putting proper plugs for power.. The max voltage I'll run it at is around 10v and it draws no more than 3 amps with no load. I haven't been able to stop the motors by grabbing the output shaft. More to follow.
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Jerry

Trucks and motor are amazing!!!!

That faux motor covering the real motors is very cool. I know it will take a while to get all set up and running, but it sure would be cool to see a movie of that truck hauling a 1/10 scale tank.

I know the Germans set up some of their tractors to run on rails, you thinking of doing that too?

I don't have a plan to set one of the trucks to rails, haven't yet seen where they did that with this particular truck although I have seen other types set that way. It may
have been used that way after the war years. Truck 1 is the furthest along so it could run fairly soon but I want to get the trailer out with it and a tank on it just to see \
what it all looks like. Likely needs to be on the floor as it will be close to 200 pounds altogether.

Jerry

Very nice. Looking forward to seeing more pictures.

Very cool project. I'd love to see more about these trucks as well. Awesome.
Bob

I've been plugging away at the axles of my third truck. I've been tinkering with the two axles over the course of the last month .

Anyway I tried several variations of bevel gears in my work to get these axles in order. First was the spiral bevel gears I had on hand but there was too much I needed to do to/with them
to get them to work and when that was done they didn't run in a manner I wished. Next I purchased spiral gears for a Axial truck variation and again and
more so there was too much to do to get them to work the way I wanted and the results were not satisfactory. So I broke down and purchased
appropriate bevel gear pair sets from Maedler in Germany. Gads I love their stuff! And their prices to my mind are very reasonable but they always insist on
DHL rocket mail and while it's great to get them in a few days it costs... Not being in the mood to write a lot (see above) I'll let the photos do the talking but this is a work in progress. You can see the bevel gears, meaty pieces,
the reduction gears and the keyed sliding lock that will lock left and right half shafts on demand when finished. According to the documentation this is a mechanism in theory similar to
one used by NAG-Bussing until the mid 1960s for heavy trucks. In the two rear axles only two outer wheel pairs are to be driven under normal driving conditions: the left side on one axle and the right
pair on the other. Once locked all four pairs are driven. Turning must be problematic but the wheels are also to be driven by a planetary gear set in the inner hub. Jerry

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Jerry, I'm so sorry to hear about Clio, and I know how you feel. It is good that she has joined her sister, now she's young and vigorous for all time as the two of them play.

Great work on the gears! Maedler will always pull through.

Thanks for that. I had decided to pull that part of my post off as I'm given to TMI from time to time but I will miss my old girl, she and her sister were wonderful friends
who came into my life a a pretty dark time. About a week after she went away I found a simple white hand towel at a Penny's Home store that had 2 paw prints and the words
'Who Rescued who?" - that said it better than I ever could.

I'll email you shortly. While we love all our dogs dearly, my blue girl Sophia is special. Everyone who meets her falls in love with her and she's never met anyone she didn't know. Don't know what I'll do when her time comes.

I've been plugging along on my third Kaelble, working on the rear 2 axles. I'd received the spiral bevels from Maedler and have modified and installed those and I've made
the locking mechanism and actuator. I put in the reduction gearing and this all works well so far. I ordered the internal ( 'ring') gears for the planetary outboard drives to each wheel.
Current building the flanges that will mount some of these parts. Below see a few photos of truck 1 and the Gotha trailer.

My house seems empty most times without my old girl dog. She would often get up from her bed to come into the shop while I was working just to see me. Often times she'd come over to where I was working and I'd have to stop for fear of chips hitting her. And of course give her pets and rubs which were always appreciated. Sometimes I would stop what I was doing a go look at her and play around which would almost always get a puff or her hiding her face under her paw. I miss that.

Anyway I have been making quite the pile of turnings making these parts AND I was lucky enough to find a fellow in Germany who had a transmission for the Kaelble that he no longer needed
so that handily should solve the problem of a gearbox for truck 2. As I mentioned I dragged out the trailer, truck and some tanks that were handy for a weak attempt at a photo op. Lugging this stuff has made me ready for nap time... Jerryhttps://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rcu...f58e748564.jpg
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You're on Mark!

I should mention that the truck I'm showing up above was 'pre owned' by at least 2 others before me but had no rear body work. Also as with many
models I've either seen or purchased over the years this one had some violence visited upon it. 'Extra' holes drilled in places that no longer made sense
possibly from some long forgotten attempt at modifications; ugly, clunky plastic parts added to implement an RC system, servos partially hacked( literally)
to get them to fit I'd guess. One of the areas still needing attention is the front cab and engine bonnet area. You can see that the side covers are given to flopping over
in a stiff breeze which I need to fix with a more stable approach. The hood itself required filling of multiple holes and replacing cut out sections as well as reshaping
the piece. I'd love to make the bonnet a functional part with hinges and such. As my other two trucks don't have the side plates( apparently I was told these were unavailable
for years) I plan to make my own using a louver tool I have yet to make. Depending on how these turn out I make remake the entire assembly and replace the semi- clunky
cast hood itself. It's one of those central eye-focused parts that spending time with should greatly improve the model.

Since getting these models I've familiarized myself with the engines and rear( and front) axles so these pose little mystery now. The part that remains relatively unknown is the transmission. it is a beefy unit seen below. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rcu...fbb0fc1502.jpg

Jerry, my two cats and I are also very sad to hear that you lost your dog. People that don't have pets can't really understand just how traumatic that can be. If I were to lose either one of my current two cats I would be absolutely devastated, so I think I know exactly how you feel. Just stay focused on all the good times you had with that dog and all the times the dog made you laugh or smile.

​​​​​​Oh yeah, I really love what you're doing here. I like it so much, you almost have me convinced to try 1/10 scale. :)

Well you know that I think 1/10 is just the bee's knees...To be honest I think all tank scales are pretty spiffy but I don't know how the 1/6 guys mange a large tank.
Lugging that stuff outside then back in wasn't fun. The tanks weigh 80 and 30 pounds( that Hetzer has a steel upper/lower hull), the Kaelble 50 pounds( you wouldn't think it
but the tires are one of the heaviest parts as they are solid rubber) and the trailer about 35-40. That's heavy enough for me.

Jerry

I've been making slow if not steady progress on the axles for my third Kaelble. They are a lot of work but
in the end not THAT much. I've made the out flanges that mount the planetary( epicyclic) final drive
to the wheel pairs. I have one axle nearly complete as I write this. Adding the epicyclic gearing has been a challenge.
The gear layout is deceptively simple in appearance but in execution, planning not so much. You'd expect the planet gears to
simply be laid out at 90 degree intervals, given set gears of a given pitch, tooth count, pitch diameter and tooth angle.. You'd think that.
Yet it isn't that simple. I found that the math behind working out a epicyclic isn't trivial and tooth profile standards even come into the mix.
Let me say I had to fudge two aspects of my implementation. I purchased high quality gears from Madler as may be seen and these likely worked against
me in this instance... Suffice to say I have one axle down or nearly so and I'll be happy to see this part of the work in the rear view mirror...!

Jerryhttps://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rcu...e90521831f.jpg

Preparing to cut the keyway in the sun gear
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Sun gear mounted
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Planet gears mounted. Internal( ring) gear yet to be cut and mounted on the inside of wheel hub.

Jerry this gear work you are doing is fantastic!!!

I've been making slow but steady progress on my set of trucks. I've finished up the rear pair of axles. This included making and/or mounting all of the internal
components, the outer planet drives, sealing the housings and making the universal to connect the two. I've remounted and tested the units on the chassis and initials tests
were perfect.
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It's on to examining, cleaning sealing and resealing the 10 speed transmission I'd purchased for my second truck. As I have a set of machined housing castings for a
third transmission I hope to learn enough from working with the second unit to build my own version for the third truck.

As seems to be the case more often I'm spending as much time making specialty fixtures and tool/cutter holders as actually using them. Work on the transmission for my third
truck I found that I can only do so much with gears I was able to purchase from Maedler. The transmission requires 0.7 module gears and several are of a configuration
I assume are 'custom' made. In order to replicate the function and since I could not find these gears anywhere I looked I needed to make these gears myself. I've had gear
involute gear cutters for some while but always rather use off the shelf gears which are usually available. No such luck this time. Not having an appropriate arbor to hold the
cutters of this size I needed to make one as well as a mandrel to hold the blanks.
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The first photo shows the gear blanks, the second horribly blurry photo shows cutting and the third the cut gears. The forth also blurry photo show the trans in progress with three of my cut gears in the middle of the top three shafts. All the other gears are from Maedler. The last photo is just me closing up for the night putting on the trans cover; there is a lot of work yet to be done and I'm waiting on a tapered end mill to arrive.( to cut the selector engagement teeth).

This little unit has been a lot of work but I've learned quite a bit.

Jerry

Jerry, your Machining capabilities are rather impressive. I've been making gears for about 30 years now and I still think it's cool that you do it in the most basic manner. That's real fundamental stuff there, and it's good to see someone is keeping it alive. Nowadays everybody wants CNC. If it's not CNC they don't want it. Even though 90% of the people don't even understand what CNC is, they still want it because it's the newest and the best. That's why it kind of warms my heart to see you go old-school, Jerry. Keep up the good work.

Y'know I go with what I know, Thanks for the complement. I've wanted to go to CNC for a while for some things. I just can't get myself to stop doing what I'm doing long enough
to either convert one of my machines to CNC or buy one, learn it, learn a design package and just generally go through the learning curve. My stuff is far from perfect but it works for me..
It's the same for 3D printing. I've actually had a small 3D printer for years but have never stopped long enough to learn it. There have been gaps in my building but if I'm distracted long enough
it's for other reasons. And there's this: I was a software developer much of my life, design, develop, support, trouble shoot; learning new languages and platforms/technologies
was a never ending way of life for 45+ years. Losing myself in my shop with my way of doing things was my escape, my sanctum. I play Baroque, Renaissance and Rococo period
music in my shop and it is peaceful for me. Another lesser known facet of my past is before I made the switch to software development I had studied and graduated with a degree in chem( also
studied math) and ultimately worked for 2 years as a chemist at Varian. I mention this only because the chem lab was directly adjacent to the prototype machine shop. The PM was run by a brilliant
top notch traditional jovial master Swiss born machinist( I can still hear and see his face clearly) and was staffed with the cream of machinists- all traditional dial turners. In my free moments
guess where I was? I learned a few things during the 2 years I was there and it wasn't more chem...

I've watched with abject fascination CNC machines whizzing out parts I can only dream of, "I could use that!" I've thought to myself many times. I believe part of my resistance is based on
a subconcious fear that all the CNC'ing would somehow ruin my hobby for me, some parts would be too 'sterile', cookie cutter. Certainly not a bad thing for precision parts....If I was starting out today
CNC would likely be how I'd start but having a few fundamental skills would never hurt.

If you guys only knew the backlog of projects I have sitting here already you'd think I was nuts. Maybe one day I'll go CNC but who knows?

Jerry