Andrew's Scooby Middy (from Australia)

kikiturbo · **Posted:** Sat Oct 16, 2010 2:41 pm

Beelzeboss wrote:

I'm a bit hesitant to post up this pic, but tell me what you think

Any tips? This was one of my first welds after changing to using the foot pedal instead of constant amperage.

you are doing great... if anything, I have found that there are 3 main ingredients in good welds (and good looking ones..)

1. clean the joints, clean them really well.. degrease after sanding..
2. keep the tungsten clean and sharp
3. most importantly for me,.. rest your hands on the work piece when welding.. if needed, improvise something.. I usually clamp a tube or two onto the frame, and use them to rest my arms while welding..

Beelzeboss · **Joined:** Mon Jul 20, 2009 1:16 am **Posts:** 78

Thanks very much Horizenjob and Kikiturbo.

Quote:

if needed, improvise something.. I usually clamp a tube or two onto the frame, and use them to rest my arms while welding..

That's a great idea, thanks! I often have trouble finding a place to rest my arms.

Cheers,
Andrew

Beelzeboss · **Joined:** Mon Jul 20, 2009 1:16 am **Posts:** 78

TIG welding the whole thing was a bad idea, it's taken SO long to do and I still can't weld into the tight corners.

So I've just bought a MIG welder. Hopefully now I'll be able to weld up the chassis and then make some real progress.

horizenjob · **Posted:** Mon Jun 27, 2011 1:11 am

It's great your still at it. If the TIG was taking a long time, at least you where getting a lot of practice! Let us know what you think of the differences. Practice with the MIG a bit before you hit the frame too. Good luck.

a.moore · **Posted:** Mon Jun 27, 2011 11:50 am

Beelzeboss wrote:

So I've just bought a MIG welder. Hopefully now I'll be able to weld up the chassis and then make some real progress.

Thats the spirit!

TIG welding a chassis sucks. Once you start MIG welding everything, you will wonder what you wasted your time. The only chassis item I would ever consider TIG welding would be a cage and even then many professional racing teams still use MIGs so they can't be all bad.

Beelzeboss · **Joined:** Mon Jul 20, 2009 1:16 am **Posts:** 78

Cheers guys

The MIG has been great so far. I can't make as nice welds as the TIG, but it's a hell of a lot easier and faster.

A little update... THE WELDING IS FINISHED!!!!!!!

There are 3 bars which I want to add to the chassis, but other than that the tubes are all welded.

I'm so glad that's over.

The welder I bought is a Cebora Apollo 215 which is a single phase 240v, 215 amp machine. It seems to work really well, here's a pic:

horizenjob · **Posted:** Fri Jul 08, 2011 10:48 am

Congrats! It's a big milestone, from here on out it's just millions of details!
:cheers:

Winston · **Posted:** Fri Jul 08, 2011 9:50 pm

Wow, I'd say that's the definition of "well triangulated!" Congrats on finishing the welding :cheers:

Soon it will start looking like a car...

Beelzeboss · **Joined:** Mon Jul 20, 2009 1:16 am **Posts:** 78

Thanks guys! It really feels good to have the chassis finished, like most of the work is done (even though I know it's not :BH:

) and looking at the list of stuff left to do there is nothing as difficult/time consuming as making the chassis.

I welded in the 3 bars that I decided the chassis needed.

And I hollowed out the front CV joints to hold the wheel bearings in place. I'd like to machine them flat, but I'm pretty sure the metal will be hardened and I don't have a carbide parting tool.

Next job is suspension mounts. I've got the wood to make the jig which holds them in place but I need to decide on what suspension bushes to use. Any suggestions?

kikiturbo · **Posted:** Tue Jul 12, 2011 9:40 am

Beelzeboss wrote:

And I hollowed out the front CV joints to hold the wheel bearings in place. I'd like to machine them flat, but I'm pretty sure the metal will be hardened and I don't have a carbide parting tool.

you could cut it off roughly with a grinder cut disc , then put it in a chuck, spin at low RPM and finish it off with a angle grinder (thicker disc..) ?

cheapracer · **Joined:** Wed Nov 12, 2008 6:29 am **Posts:** 2592

Beelzeboss wrote:

I'd like to machine them flat, but I'm pretty sure the metal will be hardened and I don't have a carbide parting tool.

Oxy, plasma cutter or 9" grinder.

Beelzeboss · **Joined:** Mon Jul 20, 2009 1:16 am **Posts:** 78

Cheers guys, for the moment I'm going to leave them as-is since I want to forge ahead while I have some free time.

A little bit more progress to report. I made a jig to position the front and suspension brackets and finished one of the brackets. The rest on the front suspension are conventional U-shaped brackets. I decided to use AN-6 bolts from Aircraft Spruce for the suspension because I had a 3/8" reamer.

What a mess, metal is so much cleaner.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll get the rest of the front suspension brackets finished. I also came up with a new front shock system which is much easier to make and has less unsprung weight.

Old:

New:

Beelzeboss · **Joined:** Mon Jul 20, 2009 1:16 am **Posts:** 78

I finished the front right suspension brackets and tacked them into place. I've already made all the left side brackets but ran out of light, I'll attach them tomorrow.

I started out bending them from 3mm flatbar but that was taking ages and wasn't very accurate, so I redesigned them to be made from 50mm tube.

Cheers,
Andrew

Beelzeboss · **Joined:** Mon Jul 20, 2009 1:16 am **Posts:** 78

I couldn't resist, it was so cheap and it's brand new! I haven't decided whether to put this on my daily drive or this car.

Beelzeboss · **Joined:** Mon Jul 20, 2009 1:16 am **Posts:** 78

Today I made the tapered ball joint adapters on the lathe. They fit the lower front ball joints which turned out to be about 33 degrees included angle.

It's a really snug fit on the taper so I'm happy with them, even if they are a bit heavy.

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Andrew's Scooby Middy (from Australia)

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