abosely Posted February 17, 2018 Author Share Posted February 17, 2018 Lol yes it is should be a reasonably stout frame. :-) Cheers Allen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abosely Posted February 18, 2018 Author Share Posted February 18, 2018 Made some progress today. Started setting up the jig for the chassis rails. This is the first time I’ve had two of the side panels set up and the top caps set into position. Whew, they like each other! Lol Up until now I was hoping they would fit together without a fight. I pre-bent the top & bottom caps so they are a very close fit just sitting in place. The vertical angles will be tack welded with heavy tacks & have cross pieces tacked to hold them apart & maintain alignment. Will tack the side panels to the vertical angle pieces of jig to maintain exact alignment while welding & cut the tacks after to release it. Will have wire alignment string to make sure nothing walks out of alignment while welding. Will tack weld caps in place & weld in short sections alternating side to side & end for end so as not to get everything too hot & make it walk. The three pieces of the side panels of each side will have their diagonal seems welded with the panels laying flat. Then all 4 side panels will be clamped together and match contoured so they will be identical. The top caps are in two pieces & the seam will be diagonal. Once both top caps are welded, I’ll rearrange the jig & repeat for the bottom caps. All the metal will be cleaned to bare metal & given an 80 grit surface finish for the Buzzweld coatings. The interior of everything is getting etch primer, then RCP followed by War. Exterior gets 2K Armor, then CIO topped with War. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jordan_meakin Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 Could you not have it galvanised? Makes sense to preserve all of your hard work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abosely Posted February 18, 2018 Author Share Posted February 18, 2018 To have it galvanized I would have to send it to Oahu Island. It’s expensive & has to be put on a barge to send it there from a Big Island. But Buzzweld coatings are actually better and longer lasting than galvanizing. Amazing stuff, check them out at buzzweld.co.uk Chees, Allen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AV8R Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 Impressive build ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abosely Posted February 19, 2018 Author Share Posted February 19, 2018 It rained a lot yesterday & rained some today & my open sided carport/work area isn’t all that dry today I thought it might be wise to hold off on welding till tmw. :-) I did a little part that I wasn’t sure how I was going to actually make until I actually started fiddling with it. I wanted the rib on the bottom of the second main cross member and have it look ‘right’. Thought about cutting a piece of ⅛” or 3/16” into a strip & welding that on the bottom. But I think that would look ‘fake’ and just not ‘right’. I know this isn’t a period correct build, but I am trying to maintain the over look & feel of a SIIA, maybe just slightly updated. Looking at to real on it’s a bent rib, not just a strip of metal. So, I cut a piece of 1/16” material 2” wide. Bent it on edge of bench & then put it in vice & & bent it all the way over. Pounded nice & flat with a piece of ⅛ inside it to make it uniform. Then marked it ¼” & cut it to size. I needed to figure out a way to make it a uniform height. So I sandwiched between two pieces of ¼” bar, clamped it down and used flap disc to grind it down flush with the ¼” bars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abosely Posted February 19, 2018 Author Share Posted February 19, 2018 Thought I’d make this in two posts. That gave me this after ran a file down the insides to smooth it up. It had a nice flat face on one side & a nice radius on the other side. I was concerned that as I bent it to follow the contour of the bottom plate of the cross member it would twist and or buckle, but it laid right down nice as you please with minimal fuss! :-D Pic of it on the forum block I used for the CM bottom cap & the rib and with it laying on the CM, it’s not in the center of course, but will be when it is welded into place. Am I putting too many pics & too much detail? I like the details of how something was made, but don’t want to bore you to tears. :-) Cheers, Allen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted February 19, 2018 Share Posted February 19, 2018 Glad you can never have too many pics... Looks great! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lo-fi Posted February 19, 2018 Share Posted February 19, 2018 Please post away, I think its fair to say we all love reading detailed, well documented builds. Great work, and good on you for going for it yourself! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AV8R Posted February 19, 2018 Share Posted February 19, 2018 You're doing a great job, Abosely ! Keep posting 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abosely Posted February 22, 2018 Author Share Posted February 22, 2018 Ya know, it doesn’t look like much work or effort required to weld the 4 chassis side panels. But each one is made up of three pieces. They of course have some pretty big contour to them. They had to be lined up straight, and then make all 4 of them the same. Ground the welds smooth on both sides because they are getting clamped together and the contours all matched dead on. They gained a bit of weight when all 3 pieces are welded together, kinda funky shaped and a bit floppy to handle. But all & all not really a problem, just a bit tiring wrestling with em single handed. :-) Upward & onward! Not the best pic, but I was getting kinda tired at that point. Lol Cheers, Allen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abosely Posted February 22, 2018 Author Share Posted February 22, 2018 The rail sides now have match ground contours and are ready to have the mill scale removed, 80 grit finish. I’m going to put 1/16”/1.59 mm doubler on the inside of the two seams on rack side of the rails. Going to keep the top & bottom of the doublers about ⅛”/3mm set back so can get weld bead on all four sides of doublers. That way if moisture ever gets in there, it can’t get between the doublers and sides of rails. Of course with Fluid Etch then RCP and than War applied to the interiors, moisture probably wouldn’t be able to get between them, but let’s make darn sure! :-) Cheers, Allen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abosely Posted February 22, 2018 Author Share Posted February 22, 2018 Got the tubes for the cross members welded up today. This is my high tech method of keeping them round. :-) The first & second cross members ready for welding & now have the mill scale removed & have a nice even 80 grit surface ready for Buzzweld coatings when welded up. The Fluid Etch, RCP & then War don’t need the surface texture so much, but the 2K Armor that’s going on the outside of the CM after they are welded into place like a good texture to get a bite into. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abosely Posted February 22, 2018 Author Share Posted February 22, 2018 Didn’t get much accomplished this afternoon. But thought it would be nice to have a plate on the splices of the chassis rails, at least on the inside. One on each side at the rear splices & one on each side on the front splices. So made some upfrom a bit of 1/16”/1.59 mm sheet. I know no one will see them, but I made the 4 forward & 4 rear ones all shaped, contoured & the holes the same. Made the corners with radius’s to make it easer to weld & not have stress risers. The ⅝” holes will be welded all around the perimeters, to add strength, tying it into the rails & sealing them so that moisture can not get between the pieces. Just one of the interesting things that can be done to make it nice when one is building it oneself. :-) Rear splice front splice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzar Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 Top work! I'm contemplating the same rib for my back of gearbox crossmember on my lightweight chassis. I bought a replacement crossmember, and, whilst fine, lacks the rib, being of four side construction. Getting the seam between the fake rib and the bottom side looking like it was pressed will be the challenge. I suspect a low power high wire speed run with the MIG, and selective use of the power file will suffice. Keep the photos coming. G. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 This is great stuff, Allen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abosely Posted February 23, 2018 Author Share Posted February 23, 2018 (edited) 17 hours ago, Gazzar said: Top work! I'm contemplating the same rib for my back of gearbox crossmember on my lightweight chassis. I bought a replacement crossmember, and, whilst fine, lacks the rib, being of four side construction. Getting the seam between the fake rib and the bottom side looking like it was pressed will be the challenge. I suspect a low power high wire speed run with the MIG, and selective use of the power file will suffice. Keep the photos coming. G. Gazzer, what I did was cut a piece of 1/16”/1.58mm sheet 2” wide and extra long. put a piece of angle along the edge of the work bench & clamped a piece of ¼” plate I had laying around. Clamped the 2” piece with 1” sticking out. Then used a rubber mallet to start bending it over a bit, then took a piece of 2”x4” x 3/16” about 8” long I had sitting there and put it on the strip & whacked it along the strip. It bent it over smother than just the hammer or mallet. When it was bent over 90 degrees, took it out & squeezed it in a small bench vice, working it along and increasing the bend till it was almonds folded over. i think what really made it look nice & even was I put a piece of ⅛” thick strip with a bit of a radius on the edge, about 2” wide I had handy. And clamped it into the inside corner of the strip and finish hammered it nice and uniform. I tried to make it without the ⅛” piece inside & the corner wanted to collapse onto itself unevenly, using the ⅛” strip worked a treat. the i marked it about ⅜” used angle grinder to cut it down. It had a bit of curve in it so I took two pieces of ¼” metal and clamped it between them & clamped it to press out the curve. Took the angle grinder with flap disc & ground it down flush with the ¼” plates. Gave a nice uniform channel a bit less than ⅜” wide & ¼” high. It went really quick, probably 25 mins to make it. I thought that when I tried to bend it to match the curve of the cross member it would twist and/or collapse on itself. Nope! :-) It followed the shape of the CM and kept the contour great. One thing that I thought was going to be a pain & take good while to make was one of the easiest & quickest things I’ve made! Lol You can see it in these two pics laying on the cross member without any clamps holding it in position. Cheers, Allen Edited February 23, 2018 by abosely Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzar Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 I'm impressed! I suspect mine will be a lot less sophisticated. Two thin strips tacked in place, seam weld strips together, and flat fat weld the steps to the crossmember. After zinc spraying and painting it will look okay. Pictures in my thread (slowest build ever), some day. G. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arjan Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 Impressive !!!!! Keep them coming please.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abosely Posted February 26, 2018 Author Share Posted February 26, 2018 All of the parts & pieces have now had all the mill scale ground off man that stuff is a pain to get cleaned off! Lol I welded up the rear tank outriggers today. I tacked them up and welded the inside corners & ground down the tack welds on the outside corners. I’ll finish weld the outside corners next day or so. The welds on the inside corners aren’t exactly pretty, it was a bit challenging to get in there to run the corner beads. They don’t really need to be welded, but I figured a fillet would be helpful to add some extra strength and give me some material to be able to round off the outside corners a wee bit. Over the next few days will be welding up pieces to make components to be welded together to make a chassis! :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abosely Posted February 27, 2018 Author Share Posted February 27, 2018 Got a few bit done today. All 6 outriggers are now done except for running a finish weld the seams. They are either welded inside or tack welded well and close. Ground down the tack welds to make the final weld easy to run nice & pretty. The middle chassis is done less grinding down the tack welds, almost stitch welded. Then final weld the seams & weld the rib to the bottom of it. Hopefully weld up the front cross member & then the chassis rails hopefully tomorrow! :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzar Posted March 17, 2018 Share Posted March 17, 2018 I'm doing the rib on mine now. I'd an off the shelf part to start with, much lighter than yours, but it will do. Like yours the rib is missing, and that annoys me, so I made one up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzar Posted March 17, 2018 Share Posted March 17, 2018 I hope to get an hour in the workshop tomorrow, so I can finish the welding. Then I've to fit the seatbelt mounts to the other side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arjan Posted March 17, 2018 Share Posted March 17, 2018 Impessice !!!! Really well done. Envious of your welding skills... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzar Posted March 17, 2018 Share Posted March 17, 2018 Thank you. Hard earned skill. I've spent a fortune on grinding disks! Plus I did spend a few quid on upgrading the welder to euro socket, and all that. I think the biggest help is the welding mask, a 3M air fed job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.