My goal for this weekend was to weld the base of VI's frame. I started out by laying out my components on a piece of cardboard with the same dimensions as the frame I was to weld. (22" x 20")

I know, the cardboard is rough as all getout. I just wanted to make sure that I would have a little room to play with. As it turns out I'll have VERY little room to play with ;)

Here's a shot with my awesome two yr old, Kaylee. I had a time keeping the Colsons away from her long enough to finish this layout :)

She has a really good idea what's going on with this project. It amazes me how interested she is in BattleBots. Its by far her favorite show.

For the longest time anything bot-related I talked about or website I visited she called, "Complete Control". I am a big Derek Young fan, so I guess it should come as no surprise she is too ;)

Here's the frame freshly cut by my new Makita chop-saw :) 45s are a breeze now... Woohoo!

Everything lined up perfectly so I went ahead and beveled the edges and got things ready to weld. Next step, clamp it together.

Yes... That is plywood :)

I was thinking that as long as I was welding on the top of the tubing that the wood would be ok. For the most part, this was true. It did burn a little though as you can see in the next image.

One down, three to go...

My Hobart Handler 135. I'm really pleased with this guy, Hobart's website and the owners manual really help get a newbie up and running.

All finished welding. I put the frame in the vise next to grind down the welds and make the surface on the corners flat.

My 4 1/2" El Cheapo Clarke grinder turned out to be a great deal. Of course, it might burn up the next time I use it :) but it DID do a great job on the frame this time.

Grind action shot.

Here's a look at what the finished corners look like.

Can't tell a lot by this image, but for a MIG/Metalworking newbie I think they turned out ok...

Layout with Kaylee "helping" set things up using the new frame base!

In this pic she is excited that she successfully rolled one of the Colsons across the kitchen floor. She loves those wheels! If she keeps it up, I'll have to make an odd-ball order for ONE from Team Delta so I can complete the bot ;)

Well, it's a start! I can't wait to get the drivetrain finished so I can ride this guy around the block. That will have to be another update though ;)

Last pic.

This is the 22" x 20" x 1/4" plate of 6061 aluminum that will be mounted to the bottom of the tube frame. For now, I plan on using 3/16 lexan for my armor, but we'll just have to see how that goes :)

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