Before you drive it to the driveshaft shop, make sure they actually have a balance machine. Some of them don't.
There used to be several places in town that made and modified driveshafts, but none of them balanced.
I asked one guy, and he assured me that the parts he put on were already balanced from the factory........
That is why I always use a friend of mine's machine shop that does driveshafts. But, since I do, I don't have much to offer in the way of advice for home shop work.
He has a setup that lets him chuck the shaft in a big lathe.
Spins it and uses a cutoff tool to remove the yoke weld. Cleans up the cut a little, and then lets the power feed slide the new yoke in.
Lathe insures that its perfectly straight. Then, with it clamped tight, he spots it in 4 places, then turns the machine on dead slow and does a complete weld as it turns.
After that, he takes it to the balancer. Chucks the two ends up, hits a button which locks one end down and lets the other end float.
Uses a belt that swings down from on top to spin the shaft, and uses a strobe timed to the vibration of that end to find the right spot.
He has a big assortment of washers in a bucket, and a digital scale next to it. Reads out how much weight is needed and finds a washer that weight.
Puts the washer on with electrical tape and respins it. When he gets it right, he locks that end and unlocks the other and finds the washer needed for it.
When its all setup, maybe slightly light on each washer, he tacks them on and gives it a final spin.
If they are light, he adds a little more weld. If heavy he hits them with a grinder.
I don't know how fast that belt will spin a shaft, but I have seen one going so fast it was a blur and was rock solid.
There used to be several places in town that made and modified driveshafts, but none of them balanced.
I asked one guy, and he assured me that the parts he put on were already balanced from the factory........
That is why I always use a friend of mine's machine shop that does driveshafts. But, since I do, I don't have much to offer in the way of advice for home shop work.
He has a setup that lets him chuck the shaft in a big lathe.
Spins it and uses a cutoff tool to remove the yoke weld. Cleans up the cut a little, and then lets the power feed slide the new yoke in.
Lathe insures that its perfectly straight. Then, with it clamped tight, he spots it in 4 places, then turns the machine on dead slow and does a complete weld as it turns.
After that, he takes it to the balancer. Chucks the two ends up, hits a button which locks one end down and lets the other end float.
Uses a belt that swings down from on top to spin the shaft, and uses a strobe timed to the vibration of that end to find the right spot.
He has a big assortment of washers in a bucket, and a digital scale next to it. Reads out how much weight is needed and finds a washer that weight.
Puts the washer on with electrical tape and respins it. When he gets it right, he locks that end and unlocks the other and finds the washer needed for it.
When its all setup, maybe slightly light on each washer, he tacks them on and gives it a final spin.
If they are light, he adds a little more weld. If heavy he hits them with a grinder.
I don't know how fast that belt will spin a shaft, but I have seen one going so fast it was a blur and was rock solid.
