There’s been a some progress in the last few weeks, but none of it has been really picture-worthy until now. Besides a new side project (which I’m very excited about and on which I’ll post here in the coming week or so), I’ve been gradually forming and welding the frame segments together, and this past week I figured out a good torch technique to make the outside-corner TIG welds consistent and attractive, with good penetration and very little warping. Minus a few inches on the ends to make splicing with the stock frame easier, the new frame segments are now fully welded into a very solid box channel and are ready to install into the frame.

Pictures posted under Frame Modification, page 4.

The frame segments are coming together, slowly but surely. I made a good bit of progress this weekend, though there’s not much visually interesting to share besides the handful of pictures I’ve posted in the image gallery. The best news is that I’ve gotten the side plates welded together on one of the two frame segments, and it looks like my plan for assembling everything is actually going to work out.

(Read on …)

I’m happy to say that the viewing distance of my TIG welds at which they could be mistaken for “good” welds is decreasing, gradually. Six months ago it might have been 15 meters, obscuring the embezzlement of most of my “stack of dimes” (welder’s term for an evenly rippled, well-executed weld bead) by unknown parties invisibly shaking my torch hand. Today it’s more like 3 or 4 meters, enough for the eyes to glaze over the tiny pinprick holes that I occasionally find in my finished weld beads, a sign that I was less than thoroughly vigilant in grinding the scale, rust or other impurities off of the steel before welding. I’ve found that if the parts aren’t completely clean (including the edges!), you’ll hear the sizzling of burning oils and contaminants under the arc, and your weld puddle will bubble like soda. This is happening to me less often these days though; I feel like I’m getting the hang of it.

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What I’d hoped to be a small task for the first part of the day ended up being an all-day affair, but I’m glad it’s done and I think it turned out well. You may recall having seen in previously-posted pictures of my plan drawing, a top hole in the suspension front mount that seemed to be separated from the others. It appeared to be separated because it actually wasn’t provided on the parts I had. In fact, I would need to add the piece of metal in which this extra hole would be drilled. The purpose of this hole and the reason it wasn’t provided end up being a nontrivial story. (Read on …)

Short post again, and again no pictures ready.

I’ve recently been cutting out the inside pieces, again with finish cutting generously provided by Erik Bigelow (huge thanks for the help!) who was able to make quick work of them this week.

In the meantime, I’ve also been working on some test welds of different varieties, the same sorts of welds I’ll have to do on the truck. With proper fitment, I’m now pretty confident that my TIG skills with 1/8″ stock are adequate for doing butt welds, lap joints, T-joint fillets and outside corners (that being the big one, since the frame rails will require long continuous welds of this type). The welds may not look terrific as one tends to expect from TIG, but I think they’ll be strong.

Finally for tonight, I have a happy product endorsement to make. After being dissatisfied with a wide variety of different options, I’ve finally found a product that really works for removing the dark grey mill scale from mild steel, which must be done prior to welding. Norton 3X Rapid Strip wheels for angle grinders are exactly what I’ve been looking for. Every other product I’ve tried so far has had a difficult time getting through this hard, low-friction coating, even stone grinding wheels; you can really feel the grinder start to pull when you finally hit steel and the grinder starts to dig in, indicating that you’re just wasting time grinding on the mill scale as the tool doesn’t want to bite. Not so with the Rapid Strip wheels. These bright blue abrasive coated mesh wheels (imagine a loosely woven Scotchbrite pad with abrasive glued to the fibers) bite in instantly, and have enough flexibility to conform to the surface and leave a bright, wide streak of perfectly clean steel, ready to weld. I have no idea how long they’ll last, and honestly I don’t think I care very much. The only downside is they don’t seem to be available without the threaded hub; I’d rather use my grinder’s clamp nut instead and avoid paying for the extra part.

This will be a short post, and unfortunately without pictures. I’ve been working at trying to form the strips to match the contour of the top and bottom edge of the side pieces, and in doing so I’ve realized that with the tools that I have, there is no way I will be able to achieve a perfectly straight bend (with the bend axis perfectly perpendicular to the strip itself), which would have been the advantage to forming them to the proper shape before attempting to attach them. (Read on …)

It’s been a while, as I’ve been in Dallas both for work and family matters. I’ve also taken some time to help out with other goings on locally; Mark Witt is still working on his Ranger battery pack conversion which is facing some unfortunate setbacks, and Erik Bigelow recently led an “EV Intro” session which was well received by some new AustinEV members. Rob’s RAV4 conversion is proceeding rapidly as well, and next weekend if everything works out, I’ll be over there again helping with a welding intro for those who want to try it out.

On my own project, I have some good news. (Read on …)

Well, tonight I’ve had one of those evenings when you discover that your fine, shiny 2-dimensional plans have been complicated by the subtleties of a 3-dimensional world. For reasons that may include the existing frame not being a perfectly square C-channel, despite my best efforts I have an error in my measurements and therefore in the shape of the new frame segment. A very slight error, but one I intend to correct before I go any further.

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A good bit of work, but not much to show for it. I’ve roughly cut out the first two pieces, and in doing so I can tell pretty clearly that I currently lack the skill to do an accurate cut with the plasma cutter. Even with wheel guides on the torch head, I can’t move my hand steadily enough to prevent skips (where the torch does not cut all the way through) or re-welds, and I doubt I’d be able to follow the line perfectly. This is a shame, as I’ve found the cutter produces a surprisingly even and precise edge with very little slag underneath, if it’s moved smoothly. This cutter can be upgraded internally for machine control (CNC); I’m really wishing I had space for an X-Y table.

Alternatively, what I could really use right now is a metal-cutting bandsaw. I have one that belongs to a friend, but it’s not made very well and despite attempts to adjust it, it’s developed a habit for throwing the blade — every few seconds. It’s probably not really up to the task, and I’m reluctant to drag it out of the attic just to realize that it’s worthless. I may end up using a jigsaw, but I really don’t like that idea either.

Anyway, here’s what I’ve got so far.

At this point, I now have the pattern for the new shape of the frame, ready to cut out of 1/8 inch steel plate. How I got here from where I was last time, involved some important decision-making.

(Read on …)