A new year, a new project...

After a few uneventful days off in Iowa, I decided I needed to start another project.  This one is different from most of my others however, it is aimed at actually helping me earn some money instead of spending it.  It all started with this ’97 Dodge ram dually that I bought at an auction several years ago simply because it was a good deal.  My original intention was to turn around and resell it hopefully making a little bit of cash.  Well, I never would have fathomed how useful a 4x4 diesel truck is to have around until I started using it.  Now, I am tyring to raise some funds to finally build a shop large enough to house my collection of machinery under one roof and the decision was made that the truck must go.  However, the truck is in desperate need of tires.  Instead of just buying 6 good used tires the correct OEM size, I acquired a set of 19.5” diameter Alcoa rims with tires through trading some machining labor on a past job.  But in order to use them, I need the help of an adapter kit.  You see,  the bolt circle of the Dodge truck is small and the bolt circle of the 19.5’s are large, really large. 

I was not satisfied with the kits commercially available so I figured that I could make my own.  Part on this decision was based on having a CNC mill sitting in my shop and I constantly on the hunt for work for it.

Believe it or not, the hardest part of this entire project was finding the studs for the 19.5’s at a reasonable cost.  The local parts store wanted $9 each for the studs and another $7 for the lug nuts.  That adds up quickly, especially when you need 32 of them.  I did eventually find studs for $3.75 each and lug nuts for $3.53 each on line.  Quite the savings, but still, I need 32 of them.

So after a couple hours of machining in the old Fadal, I went from this: 

to this:

And after getting a chance to get the truck into the shop, I ended up with this:

I still have a little bit more to do, like machine three more adapters, but at least it worked without haveing to make any major changes.