Rookie wanna-be weldor starting to make some cool things!

[kirkster70]

Originally Posted by kubiak

thank you kirkster70! my xr changes like the seasons, right now its all about traveling, heres the latest pic of it.

NICE!

You must have one heck of a spare parts bin!

That Repsol setup was nice as well.

Once I fine tune my skills a bit, I want to find a Superhawk 996 donor and supermotard that.

[kubiak]

Originally Posted by kirkster70

NICE!

You must have one heck of a spare parts bin!

That Repsol setup was nice as well.

Once I fine tune my skills a bit, I want to find a Superhawk 996 donor and supermotard that.

i sell most of my stuff after i change the bike around so my parts bin isnt too big anymore. i usually sell the old stuff to help pay for building new stuff!the superhawk project sounds good!

[kirkster70]

More progress made on the low-buck lift... (or magic with unistrut continued... )



I start the morning tacking two pieces of 3/16" x 1 1/2" flatbar together for the rear locking mechanism. Hopefully this will be stout enough. This is also scrap from the battery racks. They were cross braces.



I drill out the platform to accept 1/2" bolts, attach the supports, and start welding horizontal supports with one piece of flat bar. I didn't mount this all the way at the end to allow for drop-down hinges on the left and right.



I previously made a pencil mark where the KLR was perched. I raised the platform to the same exact position, and then using another piece of strut, I welded in a stop for the supports to test my idea.



Using a piece of scrap pressboard, I roll the KLR onto the platform to see how she works...



Absolutely perfect! This will do just fine. Now that I know it will work, I start adding more pieces of strut for multiple adjustments. I have decided that this is as good a home as anywhere for the lift. I had to relocate a motion light switch, then I slid the lift to the wall. I built those shelves a year ago and it's a perfect height for the lift. I just need to use a hammerdrill to mount some concrete anchors in the floor.



One nice thing about the strut is that the locking mechanism folds completely flat into the strut.



Extra adjustments attached and an extra horizontal support added for good measure. It folds easily, it's lightweight, and it's strong. Now I need to devise some sort of spring return mechanism that doesn't interfere with future drop-down ends.



Preliminary backstop welded in place, and tabs for tie-down straps attached. The tabs were the ends of the scrap flat bar. Holes already drilled! Suh-weet!



Rear tabs welded in place. I chose this postion because it was the best compromise of not running over the tab with ATV tires, yet still allowing the drop-down ends to work unobstructed.



I rooted around under my building and came up with a full sheet of 3/4" plywood I got for free. Yep, it was at one time a basement set-up for a train set. It was heading to the dump, and I rescued it. This was going to be a temporary set-up, until I priced 3/16" aluminum diamond plate. Almost $400 a sheet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Uh...... the plywood is probably staying put.

Another nice thing about strut is that I used 3/8" springnuts to mount the wood.



It's been a good day. The sun is now going down and I made some headway today. The wheel chock is temporary for now. It's been hanging in my building for 10 years or so. I plan on fabricating a proper clamp. We'll see how that goes. Of course, that will also be made with unistrut! Ha Ha!

Tomorrow I will root around in the building for hinges for the ramp and sides. I haven't spent a penny yet - unless you count $30 for the wheel chock 10 years ago! Ok, ok - maybe $10-$20 in wire and gas. That works for me!

Until then...

[Quacked]

Looks great Kirk. I love seeing projects like this one. You took something that was junk and made it totally useable and saved a boatload of cash in the process!

[kirkster70]

Originally Posted by Quacked

Looks great Kirk. I love seeing projects like this one. You took something that was junk and made it totally useable and saved a boatload of cash in the process!

Thanks!

I spent two whole days playing with the lift. Oil changes, filter cleanings, chain cleaning, adjusting, etc. on 3 bikes. It makes a pretty huge difference by not crawling around on the garage floor.

My projects were moving along quite smoothly until this happened...



A drunk driver struck my 4Runner and drove the rear axle up into the frame. Luckily, no one was injured. Now the waiting game starts. I've been wanting a new Tundra, but this isn't how I planned on buying it.

I wanted to hang onto the 4R for the kids to drive in a few years. I'm thinking it will be totaled, then I will have to spend way more than I wanted for a replacement way sooner than I wanted. Time will tell.

[Nailhead]

Hopefully the bastard is insured.

[kirkster70]

Originally Posted by Nailhead

Hopefully the bastard is insured.

It was a heavily intoxicated 19 y.o. female, and thankfully, yes, she had full coverage.

Hopefully her company does what is right. They just contacted me with rental info, so that's a good sign.

[Quacked]

You don't have to wait or deal with her company. That is what you pay for insurance for. Call your agent and have them take care of you, they will subrogate the claim costs to the other company. Just being involved in the accident will still count the same way for underwriting whether you use your company or not. Generally you will get treated better by dealing with your coverage. (Yes, I am an insurance agent...)

[kirkster70]

My carrier and the girls carrier have all the information. I spent 3 hours yesterday making sure that everyone had every piece of info to move this along quickly.

I will let the girl's carrier handle everything, and so far, so good. They have been as responsive as any other claim I've ever been involved in. The rental is all figured out and I will getting that tomorrow.

I'm just waiting on the verdict on the 4R being totaled or not. I've done my homework, and I know what it's worth. If it is totaled, that's the amount that I will accept.

If it gets to this point and starts heading horribly south, that's when others who have very large vocabularies will get involved and then they can pay what I want plus the others' their normal operating fees.

But so far, so good. I'm giving her company the benefit of the doubt for now. Things are moving forward at a good pace at this point.


On the welding homefront, I came up with an excellent idea for the wheel vise for the low-buck lift. The worm gear idea from a large C-clamp from another inmate was an excellent idea, but I came up with an idea that may work better in my situation. If it works, I'll post up some pics in a few days.

I ran out of C25 gas and that was on yesterday's agenda, and the insurance mess took all that time away from me. I'm dead in the water on the steel until I get some gas.

[planzman]

I scanned through this thread and could not find anything about fume controls, are you using some sort of fume eliminator? If not, I would encourage you to stop welding inside until you do and have included this article for your consideration.

http://www.weldguru.com/metal-fume-fever.html


With that said. one word says it all.....Awesome!!

[Gringacho]

Is there anything special you are doing to prep the surface to get the coating off the Unistrut before welding it?

Are you using ER70-6 wire and what thickness?

I have a lot of scrap unistrut from work also and would like to make a welding cart.

Thanks,

[kirkster70]

Originally Posted by Gringacho

Is there anything special you are doing to prep the surface to get the coating off the Unistrut before welding it?

Are you using ER70-6 wire and what thickness?

I have a lot of scrap unistrut from work also and would like to make a welding cart.

Thanks,

I've been grinding where I know I'm making a weld joint. Sometimes I need to make a weld where I can't get a grinder, and the coating doesn't seem to have any negative effect to the weld. Just make sure to have good ventilation or you will get "metal fume fever".

Yes, .035 ER70S-6 wire and I've been using an Argon/CO2 mix.

The strut welds very well. Post up some pics when you are finished so we can continue the "magic with unistrut" thread!

[Shuffler]

This thread kicks ass. I'm already looking into a 'Welding is Fun' class at the local community college...unfortunately it's full. It's a $75/1-day course that goes over the basics and allows one to get familiar.

I can see myself doing this. What kind of setup should I consider if I have a dedicated 220v in my garage?

[kirkster70]

Originally Posted by Shuffler

This thread kicks ass. I'm already looking into a 'Welding is Fun' class at the local community college...unfortunately it's full. It's a $75/1-day course that goes over the basics and allows one to get familiar.

I can see myself doing this. What kind of setup should I consider if I have a dedicated 220v in my garage?

Thanks!

Well, in my case, I've been using the heck out of my MIG. I just used my TIG for the first time last week.

I would say that a MIG is every bit as versatile as a TIG. It's definately easier to learn, that's for sure.

That class sounds very interesting. I would say to take it and make sure to ask lots of questions while you are there. That will also help you to decide on a welder. Keep your eyes on ebay and craigslist. Lots of nice used welders all the time. One sold in the fleamarket here not long ago, and it was a killer deal. I think it was a Millermatic 251 MIG for a grand. Man! What a smokin' deal.

Lincoln, Miller, Hobart, ESAB, lots of good brands. Buy something decent and if you find it's not your cup of tea, you should be able to get all your money back, especially when buying used.

[Shuffler]

I need to look into the local CC and see if I can audit/'sit in' on some welding classes, as another member suggested in the other welding thread here. Otherwise it's 7-9 credit hours @ 158.25 per for a MIG cert. That adds up, and it's a lot of time...but then a lot of time and repetition under the guidance of instructors is not bad, either.

I should really work on my friend who builds bike frames...he works with steel, aluminum, ti, and carbon...scandium too. His time is limited though...he's not getting rich doing it, but it sure seems to keep him busy and he turns out some beautiful stuff.