I’ve cut and welded driveshafts myself, been in shops like the one in the video where shafts are made and balanced, and have been in some of the most high tech high dollar drivetrain companies where ultra trick race shafts are made as well. So I’ve seen a lot of different shafts go together. For a steel or aluminum shaft, like the one being made here, there really isn’t much trickery going on but rather a good use of tools and equipment to make something that is straight, balanced, and isn’t in a bind. In this video from Haggerty you are going to see just how a pretty standard driveshaft goes together and how the tools are used to make it right and to make it easier to build. The lathe is used a lot more than folks realize when building driveshafts, and I’m always confused when I see someone make one without using the lathe to it’s full potential. But you’ll see what I mean when you watch this one.
In this particular case the driveshaft here is being built for a T-5 transmission swap in a project that just needed a completely new shaft. In many cases you can have your existing shaft shortened without any issues, but it really does depend on what you are going to be doing with the vehicle, critical speed, power, lengths, etc. The longer the shaft the more robust it must be, especially in a performance application.
But lets see how this shaft goes together!
Really nice video of a skilled craftsman with good tools and experience. Thanks for showing us how it’s done. Lots of experience in that shop, for sure.