# Great Idea! $20 dollar adapter plate!



## oates1324 (Oct 13, 2009)

Ok... here goes it: let me know your feedback.

I take a solid butcher block or some sheet of 1" thick hardwood, maybe 2". 

I then go about "machining" the adapter as I would a steel one: trace out a template, cut with jigsaw, drill press holes for tranny and coupler.

When you have the newly made wooden adapter, sand down completely. 

Apply numerous coats of high resin water/heat/chemical retardant paint to the wooden adapter, allow to dry completely. Sand after each application with a fine grit. 

Attach motor to tranny!

Now... I know this sounds illegitimate... but whats the issue?
- It is a hardwood, it can withstand the pressure.
- The paint will make it withstand the heat of the motor.
- It will be waterproof aka, no rotting. 

I don't see why not! Especially when your paying $800 dollars for a steel plate. 

Feedback? Please... just a thought feel free to bash.


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## peggus (Feb 18, 2008)

You're paying 800 dollars for a steel plate? I've got some steel plates lying around that you can buy for a real bargain at $400.

Go buy a 2'X4'X3/4" aluminum plate instead, it costs $50.


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## oates1324 (Oct 13, 2009)

peggus said:


> You're paying 800 dollars for a steel plate? I've got some steel plates lying around that you can buy for a real bargain at $400.
> 
> Go buy a 2'X4'X3/4" aluminum plate instead, it costs $50.


Point me to a link and i'll believe it! 

I think the wood solution is alot easier than having a sheet of aluminum custom machined.


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## PhantomPholly (Aug 20, 2008)

Why so big for steel plate? Seems like 1/2 inch would be plenty.

Anyway, 2'x4'x3/4" is < $400 here.


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## vpoppv (Jul 27, 2009)

oates1324 said:


> Point me to a link and i'll believe it!
> 
> I think the wood solution is alot easier than having a sheet of aluminum custom machined.


 I think that aluminum was mentioned because it is very easy to work with. It IS a bit more expensive than steel plate though. I used both, and if I were to do it over again, I would have used 1/4 inch steel plate all around: it's really not that hard to work with. You don't need to have it custom machined. I used a hand drill with a cutoff wheel to cut it and a drill press and hand drill for drilling holes. As long as you "measure twice and cut once", anyone can do it with basic tools. 1/4 inch steel is pretty easy to find cheap....


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## neanderthal (Jul 24, 2008)

You usually pay $800 for a custom pre-made adapter plate for a setup that retains the clutch. It is very cheap to make a plate on your own from steel or aluminum. You can actually use a jigsaw for aluminum too.

Wood will just not hold up under ev conditions. The adapter plate handles 100% of the torque that your motor generates. And bouncing up and down on a road will increase the stress on this part. If this were to break on the road, you would be in trouble. Pretty dangerous.

Once in a while there can be a weird situation that puts a ton of pressure right there. Another member discovered his controller sends a surge of juice if he lets his car roll backwards in any forward gear that brings his car slamming to a stop. Sometime a controller can start off jerky, once mine failed at full throttle. Scary stuff. Any of these situations I believe could break or at least warp (a bit) a wooden adapter plate.

Plus the adaptor plate carries part of the weight, and bouncing of the electric motor. If the wood bends or warps just a bit, the alignment of the tranny/motor will be off, causing a ton of other problems. 

Wood and drivetrains just don't mix in a roadworthy car.


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## tj4fa (May 25, 2008)

My 2 cents - Cheap out somewhere else or you will get what you pay for.


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## Woodsmith (Jun 5, 2008)

As you can see by my user name I work in wood. Wood is my living. I make things from wood and I teach people to make things out of wood.
I would not use wood as an adaptor plate*.

One of the problems is that a piece of wood that is wide enough would be very unstable so it would have to be made from a number of planks glued together.

Another problem with wood is that all its strength is in only one of the three axis of direction.

Wood also moves. it shrinks across the grain and on a 2' wide board that shrinkage could be about 1/4' or more. That means there is no accuracy in the fit. 
Day one could see the motor mounted spot on central. The next day it will have moved. Over a week or so the trapped board will simply split to relieve stresses. 

Some of the fixings in the plate may need to be tapped and wood will not hold a machine thread. Washers and through bolts with nuts could be used but you would need a big washer to spread the loads. Can't do this if there is something on the other side. Having the nut in a counterbore will make the wood thinner.

The rotational torque on the system will cause the bolts to try and move through the timber. That will cause the timber to split either with the bolt moving sideways or along the grain.

The timber will absorb moisture and release moisture. If you seal it up completely then you will find that the torque on the bolts will bear on the sealant and wear it away. Trapped moisture in the wood will blow out the sealant anyway.

You might consider laminating plys to improve the directional strength of the board. Heat and moisture will cause the plys to delaminate and the plys in each direction will need to be about equal the thickness of the original solid board to maintain its strength so the board ends up twice as thick at its thinnest points, ie in any counterbored holes.

I am also trying to think of a timber that will be able to handle the dynamic loads on the plate. True mahogany comes to mind but a suitable piece will probably be antique and cost more then an aluminum plate. Modern mahogany type woods are not strong enough and true mahogany is protected.

On the plus side, it will look nice if you get a nice figure in the wood and finish in Osmo oil.

* Using a sheet of stable MDF as a template to check fit and clearances would be ok though but the dust from working it will cause you many health problems so use dust masks and 1 micron filtration in your dust extractions system.


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## Stunt Driver (May 14, 2009)

Wood won't hold dimentions - and those got to be precise.


ps. got 1" thick aluminum leftover plate for sale. $50


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## DavidDymaxion (Dec 1, 2008)

My adapter needs to be able to withstand about 5000 lbs of force, be 0.001" accurate, and double as a scatter shield -- could wood do that? I used ~$50 of 1/4 inch steel. http://www.geocities.com/david_dymaxion/Adaptor/adaptor.html


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## JRitt (Sep 29, 2009)

just get a manhole cover and cut it out for an adapter plate. They are laying around everywhere.


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