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Posthumane's Ranger based southern Alberta Locost
http://locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=13644		 Page 15 of 17
Author:  zetec7 [ April 19, 2017, 8:15 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Posthumane's Ranger based southern Alberta Locost
From what I can see, there are two Metal Supermarket locations in Edmonton, and one in Calgary. Their SKU number for the stuff is AC6063/343418 - here's a link to the page: https://www.metalsupermarkets.com/metal ... 3-channel/ The stuff I got is the 4th one down on that page.

They do offer shipping (you need to put in your postal code to do that - just click on the shopping cart/globe icon, and it will take you to their shipping calculator page. It might be worth checking that out, vs. the cost of driving to Calgary...

What I DO like about MS is the quality of their stock. It's always stored indoors, is always clean & straight, and so far it's always been precisely what I needed. It may be pricey, but sometimes it's best to just bite the bullet & get what you need the first time.

BTW, even though I bought a 10' stick of the channel, the price wasn't nearly as bad as I'd feared. I did need almost all of the 10' piece, and only have 1' - 1.5' left over. I gouged mine up some in the bending process, so had to file, sand, and polish it up. It looks amazing, now...a little shinier than I'd wanted, but not quite a mirror finish (close, though!).
Author:  Posthumane [ April 20, 2017, 9:54 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Posthumane's Ranger based southern Alberta Locost
Thanks a lot for the link. I had a look at their website and the price isn't horrible. For two 6 foot lengths (one for the top and one for the bottom of the windshield) it comes out to $34 CAD plus $16 for shipping, compared to $7 per 4 foot length at Cambodian Tire. I'm overdue for another visit to family in Calgary anyway, so if I don't find something locally I'll just plan to make a trip on one of the coming weekends. Looks like they're open saturdays, excellent!

Perhaps while I'm waiting to get the frame material I'll get started on the hood. I'm planning to do a piano hinge down the middle (like one of Perry's builds) to allow opening just one side or the other for things like checking oil.
Author:  zetec7 [ April 20, 2017, 10:45 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Posthumane's Ranger based southern Alberta Locost
I'm with you on the piano hinge hood - that's my plan as well. I've seen guys take their one-piece hoods off & place it on the ground at car meets, etc., and all it would take is for one gawking passerby to stumble and sit on it to cause a disaster. Or, if you want to check your oil at a gas station, for example. I think the hinge down the middle will also give the hood considerable rigidity, with essentially no weight penalty.
Author:  Posthumane [ November 26, 2017, 2:25 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Posthumane's Ranger based southern Alberta Locost
So I did get my windshield frame and supports more or less made, although not much else to report in terms of car progress this summer. I decided to try some thinner wall alu for the frame that I found locally, and it turned out OK, but not great. I lined the inside of the frame with a stick on rubbery foam that's used for door insulation, and it fills in the gap between the frame and glass very well. In fact, it was a bear getting the glass back into the frame - it required lubing up the glass with soapy water and a lot of working it in a bit at a time. The supports are cut/shaped from 1/4" 6061, which is a bit thicker than most but I thought I would want these to be fairly strong. I might add some small handles to them for getting in and out of the car.

I other news, the reasons behind the lack of car progress during the summer include a big career change. I was away on an army leadership course for a month, and while I was gone I finally got an offer for a transfer to the air force that I applied for over three years ago. This means I'm ditching my full time engineering job and part time army reserve work, and am now a regular force RCAF pilot awaiting training. I'm looking forward to actually staring my flying courses, probably in the spring.

On a lower note, we had a big windstorm roll through southern alberta, and my plane ripped free of its tie downs and flipped over in the wind. It's a write off. So if anybody needs any classic C172 parts, let me know! The good news was that it was insured, and I'm now in the market for another aircraft. My short list is now a Bushby Mustang 2, or a Thorp T-18.
Author:  Acerguy [ November 27, 2017, 8:59 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Posthumane's Ranger based southern Alberta Locost
Wow, lots of life changes for sure! Best of luck with your new career! :cheers:
Author:  Posthumane [ December 19, 2017, 2:03 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Posthumane's Ranger based southern Alberta Locost
Just been working on adding a heater recently. It's required to have a defroster in Alberta and it's generally nice thing to have even on cool summer nights. The car may not be driving yet, but at least it will be warm!
Author:  zetec7 [ December 19, 2017, 2:21 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Posthumane's Ranger based southern Alberta Locost
I've said it before, and I'll say it again...you do SERIOUSLY nice work, sir!!! That's a beautiful piece of fabrication! The fun part is getting the hot air to the back of the windshield - I had precious little room up there for ducts!
Author:  Posthumane [ December 19, 2017, 2:24 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Posthumane's Ranger based southern Alberta Locost
Thanks! There's a reason my pictures are all slightly out of focus... makes the ugly details disappear. :D
Author:  zetec7 [ December 19, 2017, 2:45 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Posthumane's Ranger based southern Alberta Locost
Well, it's working! I can't see any "ugly details"! Wish I had your sheet metal working skills...<sigh>
Author:  Posthumane [ December 19, 2017, 2:59 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Posthumane's Ranger based southern Alberta Locost
To be honest, I haven't really done any sheet metal work before this project. I just make paper templates, which is a lot of trim and tape and trim some more... Then I transfer my paper shapes onto metal, cut them out with tin snips, and bend. I don't have a bending brake, so to get crisp bends I found that clamping the sheet onto a piece of 2x2 angle iron and pounding it over with a mallet. The trick is to do it in several passes, and really hammer right on the corner with the mallet so it conforms to the shape of the angle iron. For thicker materials you have to go into figuring out bend radius and offsets, which I haven't done for any of my pieces.
Author:  benny_toe [ December 19, 2017, 3:09 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Posthumane's Ranger based southern Alberta Locost
I agree wholeheartedly. My build would look soooo much better if I had just a little of Posthumane's fabs skills.

Cheers
Author:  zetec7 [ December 19, 2017, 4:36 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Posthumane's Ranger based southern Alberta Locost
I'm dreading doing the bodywork on the outside of my car. I have a sheet of .0625" aluminum for this, and my buddy (who's working on that exact phase at this point) says it's really tough stuff, and takes a lot of muscle & hammering to get right. My plan has always been to leave the body (aside from nose & fenders) as aluminum, to be polished. That means that zero mistakes, hammer marks, etc. can be made. Considering it will be my very first foray into such panel work, I'm understandably nervous...particularly with the cost of aluminum sheet hereabouts!
Author:  Posthumane [ December 19, 2017, 5:53 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Posthumane's Ranger based southern Alberta Locost
0.0625" will definitely take a bit of persuasion for bends, but it should still be workable. Do you know what alloy it is? I don't know exactly what alloy my body sheets are, probably 3003. I was removing some bent skins from my 172 and was amazed at how hard and brittle that alloy is (2024-T3 I believe). I would not want to form that by hand.

I had planned to leave the Locost panels unpainted as well, but I don't think I'll be able to now. As they say, "Mistakes were made."

By the way, I'll be out on The Island in January for a bit. My work is sending me to swim in the ocean by Comox. They call it "sea survival" but I think it's secretly an initiation ritual.
Author:  zetec7 [ December 19, 2017, 5:56 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Posthumane's Ranger based southern Alberta Locost
I believe it's 3003, IIRC. It's still at my buddy's shop. We also have some thinner stuff, .040 I believe.
Author:  horchoha [ December 19, 2017, 7:07 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Posthumane's Ranger based southern Alberta Locost
zetec7 wrote:
We also have some thinner stuff, .040 I believe.


That's what I use .040", easy peasy to form. Just use nylon mallet, and leather slappers.
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