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Step 7The hitch
The 1" hitch shaft is welded to a 7/8" solid steel cross shaft, turned down on each end to fit into bronze bearings. The cross shaft came polished and would have fit directly into larger bearings with some sort of thrust surfaces on the ends but instead was turned down on each end to use the smaller bearings side-to-side thrust surfaces.
The hitch was made removable to ease storage or stuffing it into the car if it had to travel. Bearings were encased in flocked epoxy and glass with steel spacers providing the holes for the bolts. As it is important to have a hitch that doesn't come off on the road, it was overbuilt with eight grade eight 5/16" bolts and lock nuts through steel plates holding it on. Keep in mind a single 5/16" pin holds it to the snowmobile. Shorter bolts shown in the bearing block picture were keeping things aligned. The bolts holding them on go up through the bottom steel plate, through the steel spacers embedded in the bearing block and into a coupler nut (a.k.a. tall nut) embedded in the body. Shorter bolts inside the body go through identical steel plates inside the body into the same coupler nuts, assuring the bearing block cannot be pulled or sheared from the body.
The bearing blocks were slid onto the ends of the cross shaft of the hitch, the hitch was put in place with the bearing blocks mounted with connector nuts through holes in the body and the voids then filled with fiberglass and flocked epoxy filler. (Don't forget to use mylar tape or other release agent between the epoxy bearing blocks and epoxy applied to the body.) After setting, the hitch shaft was removed to allow clean up around the bearing blocks and to curve and add the mouse to the hitch shaft.
The center layer of foam in the mouse was cut off along the bottom, when reunited to the sides of the mouse this created a tunnel for the hitch shaft to pass through. Two nuts embedded in the body allow the mouse to be bolted to the shaft but also make it removable. Mouse ears were made out of foam, covered with fiberglass, the foam dug out, the ears were trimmed and glued to the head and shoulders. Additional fiberglass through the front of the ears tied them to the head.
The cheese was made by wrapping fiberglass around foam cores. The front of the wedge was then carved as needed, a hex shaped hole was cut in back and the shaft slid through the hole. The nose of the cheese was then glassed over and the various sized holes molded into the cheese with doming punches.
The hitch was made removable to ease storage or stuffing it into the car if it had to travel. Bearings were encased in flocked epoxy and glass with steel spacers providing the holes for the bolts. As it is important to have a hitch that doesn't come off on the road, it was overbuilt with eight grade eight 5/16" bolts and lock nuts through steel plates holding it on. Keep in mind a single 5/16" pin holds it to the snowmobile. Shorter bolts shown in the bearing block picture were keeping things aligned. The bolts holding them on go up through the bottom steel plate, through the steel spacers embedded in the bearing block and into a coupler nut (a.k.a. tall nut) embedded in the body. Shorter bolts inside the body go through identical steel plates inside the body into the same coupler nuts, assuring the bearing block cannot be pulled or sheared from the body.
The bearing blocks were slid onto the ends of the cross shaft of the hitch, the hitch was put in place with the bearing blocks mounted with connector nuts through holes in the body and the voids then filled with fiberglass and flocked epoxy filler. (Don't forget to use mylar tape or other release agent between the epoxy bearing blocks and epoxy applied to the body.) After setting, the hitch shaft was removed to allow clean up around the bearing blocks and to curve and add the mouse to the hitch shaft.
The center layer of foam in the mouse was cut off along the bottom, when reunited to the sides of the mouse this created a tunnel for the hitch shaft to pass through. Two nuts embedded in the body allow the mouse to be bolted to the shaft but also make it removable. Mouse ears were made out of foam, covered with fiberglass, the foam dug out, the ears were trimmed and glued to the head and shoulders. Additional fiberglass through the front of the ears tied them to the head.
The cheese was made by wrapping fiberglass around foam cores. The front of the wedge was then carved as needed, a hex shaped hole was cut in back and the shaft slid through the hole. The nose of the cheese was then glassed over and the various sized holes molded into the cheese with doming punches.
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