Has anyone come across a serendipitous alternate source for the Ring Mounting ring?
It might be faster for me to just go get one cut out by someone with a waterJet, but it really seems like a part you might find elsewhere… I just can’t place it!
The only thing I’ve come up with so far is those Orthopaedic Halo Braces - and I don’t think i’ll stumble across any of those lying around.
Any Ideas?
The rings were custom made. I don’t think you will find one anywhere… but you can still get linkage kits if you want to go that route. There’s no data that shows ring kits are better than linkage kits.
Good point @madgrizzle I wouldn’t mind some feedback if someone has compared - but my intuition is that the rollers on the ring might actually be more likely to bind than the linkage, which would have a bit more leverage, i suspect.
That being said, so far I found this :
IndiaMart.com has these around USD$10 ea, qty30.
(actually called a 5-8 Ilizarov Ring)
But I don’t want to wait for them to come from India, and Stainless Steel is overkill.
I still feel like there is an obvious source that I’m not thinking of…
well, if you are doing a complete make-your-own solution, it might be easier to find a full metal ring (hoop) and then just cut off the bottom part.
Indeed, I am certain you are right!
( Don’t know where i’d find a ring though…)
just get a linkage kit, they are pretty easy to make yourself out of steel bar at hardware store. Just stack the bars up and drill through all of them at once so you know they are the exact same distnaces
or buy one
if you must get it laser cut send it to keithg222@gmail.com
he has fair prices for low volume and you can bend it in a vice or similar technique. Be aware the U bearings and Shoulder bolts are very expensive. Can’t believe they old sold the kit for $60 with those components. One can use cheaper components and probably have it work, like regular bolts. instead of shoulder bolts.
I know this is rather dated, but has anyone considered adapting a duct flange?
the ring needs to be pretty rigid, and then you need to be able to run bearings
against it (remember, each chain can be pulling at up to 66 pounds)
David Lang
Their weld on flanges are listed as 1/8" thick - I’d expect that’s enough unless they’re measuring a rolled edge. Slight modification or a clever roller design will be required.
Feeling cute, might mock something up in CAD later, IDK.