Got the Briggs engine running on this Craftsman Tiller 917.293482 - after I replaced the gas tank and carb then freed the intake valve and replaced the cam gear. Only then could I move to the transmission. Tines moved but not the drive wheels. Took the whole thing apart to find a needle bearing had exploded, shaft had worn, and drive chain had broken - all available. Then found a gear missing teeth and I can't find this gear anywhere which is a new scenario for me. Was wondering if anyone has new-old stock around or a broken tiller they're selling parts from.
Here is the Craftsman part # 102121X; but replaced by Husqvarna part # 532102121.
Partstree.com shows them in stock but after a phone call they do not have them. No luck on ebay or contacting Husqvarna via phone. No local shops have one either so I'm sitting on this pile of parts. Would appreciate any leads!
As a person who has been playing with 199 year old stuff all my life there are a lot of things you can do
First of all it is just a tooth that can be built up recut then heat treated
Or all the teeth can be ground off and a nre band of teeth welded on a process called rebanding and commonly done to automotive flywheels and if they are strait cut teeth and it is the right diameter then you might luck in something like a Leyland Mini ring gear which might fit.
And finally as t is not a very high stresses part it can be remade by cutting the bull gear off then welding a standard gear onto the shaft .
The internet has tuned us into world or retail shoppers .
Now comes the hard bit
You have to find a "Jobbing Engineer" who are the people who do individual engineering jobs and one off jobs.
Believe it or not there are thousands of them out there .
Or look up "Gearcutters & Hobbers " these are the people who make gears
OR "Flywheel Rebanding " ther are the people real mechanics take your buggered flywheel to and have it repaired .
Now that Google has destroyed the Yellow Pages , they are harder to find because you will always be sent to ebay, amazon, Walmart etc.
To get over that you might just have to get in your truck, drive to an industrial area and carry it into an "Engineering Supply " shop.
There are the people who sell things like standard bearings , pulleys , cutting tools , standard gears etc etc etc
NOTE THIS IS NOT HARBOUR FREIGHT they are a shop for cheapskate idiot consummers .
Do not ring them go in person
If you start to describe your gear over the phone using laymans terms you will get "sorry buddy can't help you"
You have to take it in to the shop / factory & put it in their hands . if you have the parts book take that with you .
Engineers are real people they speak in engineering terms that are absolute and use drawings to communicate.
And chances are the best ones will be from Mexico / Argentina / Brazil etc places where spare parts shops do not exist
Over the years of playing with old motorbikes I have come to the conclusion that all Americans have velcro trousers and all chairs are covered with velcro and all shoes are made of lead .
I have never come across a group who seem to be almost terrified to get off their butts and go to places .
I get my cast iron heads heat treated by a bloke in Toowoomba 1300 miles away
The workshop that welds them is in Warnambool 900 miles in the opposite direction
And we pay $ 10/ gallon for fuel down here
There is nothing that can not be fixed
You just have to do some more than ask Siri
#7
Jbbb
I have already talked to 2 shops who gave some options for the old gear including cutting new teeth into the broken gear and welding a new gear onto the shaft. I didn't know how this will effect the quality of the existing steel and was hesitant to go that route since these do get torqued pretty good. A factory part is the preferred fix.
All condescension and insults aside, thank you for the input.
Just an observation from years of forums
A massive difference between general attitudes I notice on national levels as most veteran car & motorcycle forums are global so you notice the differences.
I did try to put a little humour in there .
While factory parts are always the easiest route a lot of times they are just not an option particularly when the factory has not existed for over 50 years .
If you have been given a lead to some one who can weld & recut then go for it.
Engineers who do this every day know what they are doing and when they see the parts diagram they will undestand what sort of stresses the tooth in under
Just remember a skilled engineer is a skilled engineer so will charge accordingly and argueeing about price will not get you a good deal
There is several hours of work in replacing that tooth
While the hobbing machine might cut the tooth in 10 minutes, setting it up can take a half hour
Genarally I find having a grateful attitude and no rush time frame will yield the best result for the lowest cost .
The average Joe has little to no understanding about what loads parts can take comfortably and are used to ametur repairs that go horribly wrong
When it is all said & done tou only have a small HP engine applying the torque and while thay can be multiplied substantially, the tooth is on the bull gear which will have to lower load by virtue of it's size .
Unless otherwise informed we have to assume that all poster have near zero understanding of engineering .
Ths no one gets in over their depth of understanding so hopefully disasters & potential injury get adverted
Now if the gear was on a 40Hp tractor spinning 6' wide x 14" diameter tynes then things might be a little different .
Anything that is walk behind is light duty & light load .
#9
Jbbb
Understood. I'm not a machinist nor an engineer and don't know what would be considered a good or bad job done on a gear like this. I do know that I don't want to disassemble this damn thing again (even though I have enjoyed the challenge). I may end up having my local guy do what he can and hope for the best. I don't want to give up on this machine and as you stated, "there is nothing that can not be fixed". I would add "by a capable man".
Wish I were a better welder.
I am (or rather was ) a graduate metallurgist with several post graduate diplomas so I understand & appreciate
Doing is a slightly different thing
I can do a good solder joint on a cable
It usually takes around an hour or so
The cable maket I go to to get mower control cables made from scratch takes about 30 seconds
So go to the nearest recommended professional and stree that you want a quality job done & are happy to pay for a quality job
Usually yjey do not charge more but do doa better job because they appreciate that you appreciate them & their skills and not trying squeeze them down on price .
I am sure you have heard the joke about the $ 5/hr welder
Fixed!!
A local machinist cut the other teeth down then brazed a new sprocket onto it. He had a little shaping to do on the teeth. He said the existing metal was infused with oil and couldn't be welded properly. Said it was a challenge but he enjoyed it. Thanks to the group for the input. Now for the assembly.
