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All-World's bucket project

You can cut the spacers out and then use the other tube to straighten the first one when you clamp the 2 together.

You won't need to heat the bottom rail. You should be able to close the gap by hand. Work one tube at a time while straightening out the cuts. Then grind the chamfers and clamp the 2 tubes together.

Don't worry about the questions Craig. Better to ask them now than later. That's what I'm here for. Together, we can get you there.

Ron
 
Tapered rails

Took the day off today, wife went to work, and then I sprang into action.

Cut out the spacers and chamfered all cuts. Because I've never worked with steel tube before, I was surprised how easy it was to bring up the lower tubes to meet the upper sections. There's still the better part of 1/4" space in the relief cuts, but that can be welded up....I hope.

The original cuts came out really well because I didn't have to make any adjustments and I ended up with a perfect 2" height. I am now invincible...LOL

pics in the next post

Craig
 
Re: Tapered rails

Good boy! I knew you could do it. When you weldup the relief cuts you might use a little gap inhancer or just trigger it in. Good practice for filling holes. LOL The next frame will be easier, I promise.

For your front spring perch, were you going to locate the gussets at the outter edges of the plate or in the center of it?

Ron
 
The next frame??? If I mention another bucket to my wife, I might as well leave the country.:eek:

For the perch, I kinda like the look of the gussets on the outer edges of the plate.
 
Just remember, when the time comes, "It's just as easy to ask for forgiveness as it is to ask for permission."

BTW...You better get crackin' on that bathroom!

Ron
 
When we have excessive joint gap at work, we put a piece of rod in the gap, tack it and then run a pass over it. We call the rod "a gap enhancer". LOL

Ron
 
Youngster said:
Just remember, when the time comes, "It's just as easy to ask for forgiveness as it is to ask for permission."

BTW...You better get crackin' on that bathroom!

Ron
Click to expand...

I thought it went "It's easier to get forgiveness than it is to ask for permission."

:welcome:
 
Nope...Tried that, didn't work either. She just didn't have a sence of humor. Now I tell my cat what I'm going to do and he just walks away. I interpit that as an OK. LOL

Ron
 
Youngster said:
Nope...Tried that, didn't work either. She just didn't have a sence of humor. Now I tell my cat what I'm going to do and he just walks away. I interpit that as an OK. LOL

Ron
Click to expand...


:welcome: That works :rulz:
 
Rails clamped

Here's the pic that I should have included in the last post. When I clamped both rails together, the small amount of warpage that Ron mentioned would happen during the cutting process did occur.
 
Re: Rails clamped

If the warpage is in the bottom section you can work it out by trimming the cut and pulling that piece up to the top section with a clamp.

If the warpis in the top section, put another clamp just behind the relief cut where the tube is still 3" wide. That should flatten the top rail. The top side of the rail is the one that will be most noticable so you want that side as straight as possible.

Ron
 
Re: Rails clamped

Youngster said:
If the warpage is in the bottom section you can work it out by trimming the cut and pulling that piece up to the top section with a clamp.

If the warpis in the top section, put another clamp just behind the relief cut where the tube is still 3" wide. That should flatten the top rail. The top side of the rail is the one that will be most noticable so you want that side as straight as possible.

Ron
Click to expand...

That bit of advice is great to know Ron. In my case, warpage occurred at the top... I guess you can never have enough clamps on hand.:eek:
 
My first official welds

This bathroom reno is killing me. Anyway, I decided to move on to much more important things.

Before welding up those tapered rails, I had to fix up something that was really bothering me. Many moons ago, I ordered a pair of 36" front hairpin radius rods from a super individual in Texas. Due to my own stupidity, he thought they were for the rear and the tubes ended up almost 6" apart while the holes on the front batwings are only 5 1/2". What to do? I thought that bending the ends to 5 1/2" would look kinda crappy so I ended up cutting the welds, cleaning up the tubes and shaving 1/4" off each tube at the curve.

Then came my first attempt at welding (after the night course)...not the greatest job but I think it's liveable, just needs some grinding. No explosions, no fires - life is good!

Also, I was a bit off the mark when lining up the tubes, and one tube ended up a little short. All I have to do is shave 1/8" off the ends of other three tubes and nobody will notice.

The project is off for a 3 week hiatus. Wife says home chores and then a vacation.
 
Re: My first official welds

Ya did good Craig! This is just the first "What was I thinking?" situations you're going to run into. It's fun being a problem solver though ain't it?

Ron
 
Thanks Ron...surprising how quick the confidence levels rise by just picking up the tool and getting the job done rather than overthinking the job.

Somebody in another thread talked about some guys getting in over their heads on a scratch build, and I'm in well over my head but this has been a pile of fun so far and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Craig
 
Looks like a good weld for a first timer.Not like bird crap like some welds I see good penetration is the most important thing You don't want it breaking on a hard bump.
 
Tapered rails welded

After a week of good living in S Dakota, I finally got motivated to get those tapered rails welded because the model A rear crossmember was on it's way.

From what I found, the key was to clamp everything together, as per Ron's plan set instruction, as perfect as you could get. I then ran a grinding wheel at a 45 deg angle with one pass along each joint which created a chamfer on both edges. The clamps were rechecked to ensure everything was square and that I had exactly 2" height at the front of both rails.

I still had those tube sections that I used for cutting practice, so I used them to get the skip welds just right. From that point, everything went slow but ok. Continually turning the entire unit over and over was one hellofa workout.

I originally goofed on making the relief cuts and ended up with 1/4" gaps. Well I didn't feel confident on welding that size of space so I enlisted a neighborhood expert. Did some fast grinding but both rails need a lot more.

I unbelievably ended up with 2 rails that are virtually identical, which was my worst nightmare before I started this project. The rails look really unique and I have to thank Ron for sharing his design.

Hope the welds hold :eek:, but that's for another day.

Craig
 
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