07/13/02 - Frame, Baseplate, and Kenneth Art - OH MY!:

Been busy around the old Autry rental pad! I received my custom baseplate from DC Waterjet (DC Waterjet ROCKS!), Kenneth gave me some art he machined for Village Idiot, and the exterior of the frame is nearly complete! I also received my two weirdo metric LH taps from Poland, thanks to www.e-taps.com. Thanks again to Tony Hall for pointing me towards e-taps.com!

I ran out of the 5/8" square 16 gauge steel tubing some time back, and it turns out it would be HELLA-expensive to order a small quantity now (not a lot of steel places in my area). So I went and picked up some 1/2" square 16 gauge steel tubing so I could do some more work. I finished the major stuff with the 5/8" tubing before I ran out, so the 1/2" will be fine with as little as I am using.

I have been working on the remote start for the engine too, and have been documenting my progress on it as well. I'm going to save all the electric start stuff for a build report of it's own though, so don't look for much of the progress in THIS report. Don't be surprised if you see some pics of the Husky engine with a gaping hole in the side though :)

Click Thumbnail For Bigger Pic:

1) Here are the two weirdo LH metric taps from Poland. These will be used in making the shaft adaptors for mine and Kenneth's saws.

2) Now to do some work on the frame, but first I needed to sharpen my pencil (table grinder = great pencil sharpener!)

3) Be careful using power tools to sharpen pencils. Pencils can poke your eye out and should not be treated as a toy.

4) Using said pencil to lay down some lead. 10, 11, 12, 13" of 1/2" square steel... MARK!

5) I love steel more than the average Joe, but man it's dirty!

6) This piece gets welded into the side of the frame. Here's my nifty caliper I used to put it in the proper place before welding.

7) Here it is glued into place.

8) A second piece gets welded in underneath the previous one.

9) Both sides welded into place.

10) Cutting some 1/8" x 1.5" flat to use in a corner.

11) A piece of the 1/2" square stuff will sandwich beside the 1/8" flat to leave a surface to bolt armor to.

12) After coming from the chop-saw, every piece needs to be de-burred on the pencil sharpener before being glued into the frame.

13) Mo bettah buttah!

14) They will go something like this...

15) Preparing the frame to receive the material. Just removing any spatter from the surface it will be welded to.

16) Align, clamp...

17) ...then weld it in.

18) Flip it over and weld the other side.

19) Grind...

20) ...and GRIN! Giving the Diet CODE RED version of my beloved Diet Dew a try lately, and you know what? IT ROCKS!

21) Grinding a gap in the 1/2" tubing that will sandwich against the 1/8" flat for the corner. I had to make a clearance for the welds on the 1/8" flat.

22) Ready to sandwich and weld. Mmmm... Sandwich...

23) All this talk about sandwiches... Tuna is on the menu.

24) Of course the second step in making a Tuna sandwich, is to put the tuna in a bowl (the first is to drain the water from the can).

25) Add your mayo to the bowl (for best results, use REAL mayo!).

26) Add mustard (not TOO much, mustard is LOUD!)

27) Stir.

28) I use white bread, but you can use the wheat stuff if that's all you have.

29) Chips are optional, but MAN I dig me some plain chips!

30) Okay, back to work... I still drink regular Diet Dew with meals, the CODE RED stuff just doesn't go well with food IMHO.

31) Back to the steel type of sandwich, here's the 1/2" tubing clamped to the 1/8" flat ready to weld.

32) Both sides welded in.

33) Off topic, looks like the bot will still fit great in my "bot transport box". WOOHOO!

34) Here is a side-by-side of the new frame and the old frame. Sorry, I know it's dark!

35) About the time I had the frame ready for the baseplate to attach, it arrived! DC Waterjet ROCKS!

36) I cut some 1/8" flat steel gussets for where the frame extends and the weapon is mounted, then welded them in.

37) I also welded in supports for the KILLER weapon bearings Kenneth made, and grinded them purty.

38) We went down to visit Kenneth, Charis, and Abram over the 4th of july weekend and he gave me weapon bearings and EV motor mounts. Yay for Kenneth!

39) I LOVE my girls to death, but this is my favorite position to see them in on a long trip (this was taken on the trip home from Aliebammie).

40) Here's the chainsaw engine, bearings, and EVs in mounts thrown into the frame on top of the baseplate.

41) To attach the baseplate to the frame I'm using weld nuts.

42) I lined up the baseplate on the bottom of the frame, and clamped it down.

43) I had to make clearance holes through the bottom of the baseplate and frame, to use the weld nuts. So I wanted to make a guide for the holes using this last piece of 5/8" square tubing I have :)

44) So I lined it up to make a hole in the center using the drill press, and made a hole.

45) Centered clearance hole though the little piece of 5/8" square tubing.

46) I used vise grips to clamp the guide onto the frame before making each hole.

47) When I have it all aligned right, I drill though the guide, baseplate, and frame.

48) Next I make a countersunk hole into the baseplate. Then the weldnut gets inserted though the hole on the opposite side of the frame, and a countersunk screw goes through the baseplate and into the weldnut.

49) One side down, and three sides to go! This is a very time consuming/messy process...

50) This is the countersink bit I am using.

51) Two sides finished...

52) Three sides...

53) Four sides!

54) Big mess... LOTS of aluminum shavings everywhere, including in the house... D'oh!

55) Sweet :) Now to actually "weld" those "weld nuts".

56) Attached! Yay for weldnuts, baseplates, sandwiches, and Kenneth art! :)




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