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On of the things the site foreman at the galvinisers said was that "If you don't have enough penetration on your welds, it'll fall apart in the acid bath." This had me worrying, as I knew some I had ground down and redone, but was it enough? I needn't have worried though, because having to drill through my welds for the drain holes showed they were definitely sufficient. It took me ages on Wednesday/Thursday to drill enough holes before I dropped the frame back at the galvinisers. Fast forward to yesterday (Thursday) and I get a call from the galvinisers saying my frame was ready. I also had a very nice surprise in that instead of the $723.80 I was quoted, it would only be $253!!! Very happy with that, and despite the hassles getting it from home to there and back again, still much cheap and better than trying to bath it in a makeshift pool. So this morning I get to work early so I can use the truck and go pick up the frame. I didn't get any pictures of it loading into the truck, but here it is, lashed to the racks at work. I'm moving house next week, so rather than move it, then move it again, I'll just borrow the work truck to move and take it home at the same time. 20151127_094610 by Sciclone, on Flickr 20151127_094617 by Sciclone, on Flickr As above, I'm moving house, so work will probably slow on all projects for the next week or so while I pack up the shed in preparation. The next house has a bigger shed/garage though!!
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I also had a very nice surprise in that instead of the $723.80 I was quoted, it would only be $253!!! Still a bloody expensive way of testing welds though! Good luck with the move.
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Nov 27, 2015 14:01:24 GMT
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That frames looking great with the galvanizing, top work mate!
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OK, so moving house sucks. It sucks your time, you energy, your mojo and your money. After last weekend's camping, I feel a little less drained on energy, so during the week I set about tidying up the garage. It's not massive, but it is bigger that the previous house, has power points and enough room to make stuff in. Here's some photos, for anyone that's interested. So what does a person do on NYE/NYD? They bust out the power tools at 9am to annoy all those who drank too much First thing I've made is a tonybmw sheet metal folder. Well mostly made. It's still got to have the holes drilled and the nuts welded on, but it should come in handy as I'm hoping to start the next phase of caravan building - The lattice shell. Also, I picked up a vice for $10 from fleabay. It should also be handy. Here's to some forward movement.
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Mar 14, 2016 23:05:16 GMT
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Ok, let's try that again.. After trying to bend the 6mm alloy flat in the vice, it soon became apparent it wouldn't suffice. It wasn't going to produce a clean, crisp bend that I need, and I was moving the bench more than bending. So a few messages to a fabricator I know (he lives about 300km away, so no chance of getting him to do it), he suggested a bender from Hare & Forbes. I had a look at the link, then realised I'd seen the same thing in a tool shop around the corner from work. So I fronted up with the money and bought myself a UB-100, the generic name for the bender sold by Magnum, Trade Tools, (I think Clarke also sell it) I went away 4WDing for a weekend and when I came home, I bolted it to the bench. Here is my first attempt at making the hoop. (the left leg is actually 158 long from the bend) After doing 2 on the bench, I got frustrated, because trying to bend 4m flats mean that it hits everything in its path. So I unbolted the bender from the bench, then drilled some holes in the concrete where there was at least a few metres of swing area. It was a little harder on the knees, but within a much shorter time, I had bent 3 more. I'm not 100% sure at this stage, but I'm going to try using just 5 hoops for the main shell (not including front and rear ends). I've only got 5 spare flats at the moment, so I'm going to try bolting it all together using them as a lattice work. If it works and is rigid enough, then good, I can rivet them together and start on another area, if not, then I'll just have to get/bend some more. Here is my attempt at clamping them together (to try and get some of them lined up). I had gravity fighting against me, so this is all I got done before I ran out of energy.
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Long overdue update..
Well, due to changes in circumstance and a total lack of mojo to complete it, this sat around for another year and a half with very little progress being made.
Then when we decided to move into a smaller townhouse over the new year, it was time to put it on gumtree and sell it. I only got $400 for it, compared with how much I spent getting on parts and materials, but at least it's gone from my headspace. I also learned a bit from making the chassis as well. When the guy that bought it showed up, the professionally built trailer that he used to take it home had worse welds/fabrication on it compared to mine, which he complimented me on.
I think if I were to do it again, I'd plan it better from the start. Then there'd be less waste of parts/time. I'd make a jig/frame table up, so I could keep everything square, and rather than starting out using an angle grinder, I'd use the metal chop saw from the start.
Other than that, I'll put it down to experience.
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