RivennHewn
Well-known member
Must have a good teacher. His first look better than my 100th.
MP&C Shop Projects
- Thread starter MP&C
- Start date
Yarz
Well-known member
^ I was thinking the exact same thing!
bulletpruf
Well-known member
Subscribed!
Thanks for all the comments guys..
Had some time this evening so worked a bit more on the wagon..
Finished up the door paint fixture.. will be adding some ballast to the base..
Just to compare the driver's door and fitment / body line alignment to what we had to modify on the passenger side:
Paint stick gap width at the top rear, all body lines straight across, about as close as you can get to what should be there.
Also needed to finish the slotted holes for the trim under the door's window.
We'll use a carbide ball nose in the Dremel...
Straightedge spanned across two slots for a more precise scribed line..
Had some time this evening so worked a bit more on the wagon..
Finished up the door paint fixture.. will be adding some ballast to the base..
Just to compare the driver's door and fitment / body line alignment to what we had to modify on the passenger side:
Paint stick gap width at the top rear, all body lines straight across, about as close as you can get to what should be there.
Also needed to finish the slotted holes for the trim under the door's window.
We'll use a carbide ball nose in the Dremel...
Straightedge spanned across two slots for a more precise scribed line..
This evening we worked to finish the reptile domicile. All screens installed, we plan on some 8-32 press studs to hold the screens in place..
The top frame is plastic, so it won't take much abuse in installing the press studs, so the pliers we used to clean for spot welds will come in handy..
Then added some Loctite and a hex nut to keep the stud from pushing out..
The screens were drilled clearance for the 8-32 and counter-bored to clear the nut holding the stud..
As luck would have it, the local True Value is converting to an Ace Hardware, and cabinet knobs were 75%off. Made them a bit more appealing than wing nuts...
The other side will not typically be opened, so it uses hex nuts...
All ready for the new tenant...
The top frame is plastic, so it won't take much abuse in installing the press studs, so the pliers we used to clean for spot welds will come in handy..
Then added some Loctite and a hex nut to keep the stud from pushing out..
The screens were drilled clearance for the 8-32 and counter-bored to clear the nut holding the stud..
As luck would have it, the local True Value is converting to an Ace Hardware, and cabinet knobs were 75%off. Made them a bit more appealing than wing nuts...
The other side will not typically be opened, so it uses hex nuts...
All ready for the new tenant...
Strouty
Well-known member
Nice work, what is going in there? Bearded dragon?
Ohmthis
Well-known member
That's a good size cage. My little boy got a bearded dragon or "dragon beard" as the kids call him, for Christmas. Nice job on the top!
If you ever go to the parts counter at Kieffe & Son Ford in Mojave, CA The parts counter is actually the top of a cage with the biggest damn snake I have ever seen. It looks to be at least as long at the counter. You can't see it from the customer side of the counter, so you will have to ask.
Strouty
Well-known member
55 gallon is usually 48x12x18 tall.
Today Kyle worked on another paint fixture for the wagon, one to hold the front fenders, while I started on adding the weatherstrip and drain holes in the bottom of the driver's door. I had made new bottoms and hadn't gotten around to these holes just yet. I did save the old bottoms to use as patterns.
The old was merely laid over the new and traced to get the horizontal alignment of the drain holes and weatherstrip holes. Then a more accurate measurement located the vertical dimension of the drain holes...
After drilling, a couple of twirls by hand of a 3/8 bit worked nicely to de-bur the holes, inside and out..
The end of the old section was cut out and trimmed to be able to use it as a scribing template..
Using our same Dremel set up from the top slots.....
Kyle is getting the hang of this welding stuff.....
While he started media blasting the core support, I finished up the passenger door's "un-chop"
Outside done, now for the inside piece...
Fitted:
And that will do it for today....
The old was merely laid over the new and traced to get the horizontal alignment of the drain holes and weatherstrip holes. Then a more accurate measurement located the vertical dimension of the drain holes...
After drilling, a couple of twirls by hand of a 3/8 bit worked nicely to de-bur the holes, inside and out..
The end of the old section was cut out and trimmed to be able to use it as a scribing template..
Using our same Dremel set up from the top slots.....
Kyle is getting the hang of this welding stuff.....
While he started media blasting the core support, I finished up the passenger door's "un-chop"
Outside done, now for the inside piece...
Fitted:
And that will do it for today....
BigMike782
Well-known member
Robert, I don't remember if it has been asked but how many hours have you put into this job?
BigMike782
Well-known member
It seems like you have been working pretty steadily on it for over a year......you are not only a man of obvious talent and skill but have the patience of a saint.
Mike, didn't get the "adding machine" out tonight, will have to be another...
No, I have a full time job that sends me on travel far too much that it interferes with shop progress...
This year has included about five or so trips to FL, one to HI, one to Okinawa. The year before we spent around 5 months of the year in the Baltimore area. In the year and a half before that, about 7 months time spent in UK. So I'm hurrying the best I can before I have another distraction..
No, I have a full time job that sends me on travel far too much that it interferes with shop progress...
This year has included about five or so trips to FL, one to HI, one to Okinawa. The year before we spent around 5 months of the year in the Baltimore area. In the year and a half before that, about 7 months time spent in UK. So I'm hurrying the best I can before I have another distraction..
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E12-535iTurbo
Well-known member
So you're doing this in the evening hours? That would be incredible, and you would be a stranger to your family right?
8man
Well-known member
Brilliant!
Today Kyle worked on prepping the driver's door for epoxy primer...
Meanwhile, with the passenger door unchopped, I turned my attention to the slots for mounting the stainless trim and drain holes.. The old door's "window sill" was aligned and clamped in place to mark the slots..
Then the slots are marked onto the new skin, and that location transposed down to the proper location..
This is what happens when you pull the carbide cutter out too far while joining the holes...
Weatherstrip holes drilled, drain holes laid out...
Kyle has the driver's door scuffed and ready to go, once the passenger door is finished we can spray some more epoxy..
Meanwhile, with the passenger door unchopped, I turned my attention to the slots for mounting the stainless trim and drain holes.. The old door's "window sill" was aligned and clamped in place to mark the slots..
Then the slots are marked onto the new skin, and that location transposed down to the proper location..
This is what happens when you pull the carbide cutter out too far while joining the holes...
Weatherstrip holes drilled, drain holes laid out...
Kyle has the driver's door scuffed and ready to go, once the passenger door is finished we can spray some more epoxy..
Kyle has the driver's door scuffed and ready to go, once the passenger door is finished we can spray some more epoxy..
Robert,
Are you going to epoxy/paint the whole door at once, or do the inside then the outside?
Sneak preview of the powder coating, here's one of the inner fenders...
Kyle working on more media blasting, we should have another batch for powder coating this weekend....
With the passenger door removed and out of the way, I worked on the radius-ing and repairing of the lead gap seam. First to check the radius of the completed driver's side with the Gatormeet radius gauge...
Radius patch is bent using roll former dies in the Diacro press brake and checked to the radius gauge...
The patch is trimmed for the fit to the A-pillar, and a horizontal tail is left to have something to hold on to while tacking in place. A score is added using the cutoff wheel so the excess can be snapped off after tacking...
Welded and dressed..
Roof skin patch trimmed and fitted...
Welded...
Welds dressed and radius checked...
Kyle working on more media blasting, we should have another batch for powder coating this weekend....
With the passenger door removed and out of the way, I worked on the radius-ing and repairing of the lead gap seam. First to check the radius of the completed driver's side with the Gatormeet radius gauge...
Radius patch is bent using roll former dies in the Diacro press brake and checked to the radius gauge...
The patch is trimmed for the fit to the A-pillar, and a horizontal tail is left to have something to hold on to while tacking in place. A score is added using the cutoff wheel so the excess can be snapped off after tacking...
Welded and dressed..
Roof skin patch trimmed and fitted...
Welded...
Welds dressed and radius checked...
utahdog2003
Well-known member
love it!
polexican23
Banned
you are a miracle worker.
mantakev
New member
Hi, my first post on here and it's because I've been reading this thread like a novel for the past week in bed at night. I've been on forums for many years and I have also been building and restoring Opel Mantas for many years. This has some of the best info about welding body guage steel I've ever seen and has opened my eyes to the problems I've had with a few things .
The planish after welding I've never seen before but explains why on a recent wing ( fender) when I have changed the side repeater for one off a different car, I got major distortion, I thought I had stretched the metal with heat so used propane to shrink the ' stretch '. That made it worse so I shrunk more and on and on until the $600 wing is now scrap.
Brilliant explanations have made me get back out and attempt it again but this time also use rounded corners and not the 90 degree ones I had tried to weld in.
You Sir are a Genius.
Thank you
The planish after welding I've never seen before but explains why on a recent wing ( fender) when I have changed the side repeater for one off a different car, I got major distortion, I thought I had stretched the metal with heat so used propane to shrink the ' stretch '. That made it worse so I shrunk more and on and on until the $600 wing is now scrap.
Brilliant explanations have made me get back out and attempt it again but this time also use rounded corners and not the 90 degree ones I had tried to weld in.
You Sir are a Genius.
Thank you
Thanks for the kind words fellas.... Kev, welcome to GJ! You'll have to start a build thread on your Opels!
More progress on the wagon today. Kyle had finished the media blasting on the hood brace, so we had a few areas to address. As the hood ornament no longer exists, we didn't need the mounting holes going through the brace.
A piece of brass flat bar is radius-ed to make an anvil..
High spot is heated and tapped down with the hammer.. Then pick the next high spot and repeat....
Slot is welded closed, welds dressed, area media blasted once again...
Kyle working on prepping the passenger door for primer... Sorry for the blurry picture, gonna have to fire the photographer!
The hood ornament hole in the cross brace was also welded closed and dressed...
Next on the list were the stress cracks on the ends of the hood brace.
Some 16 gauge CRS was used to make some stiffeners inside the corners...
test fit..
Plug welded in place and the flanges wrapped around... cracks repaired...
Test fit to the hood...
More progress on the wagon today. Kyle had finished the media blasting on the hood brace, so we had a few areas to address. As the hood ornament no longer exists, we didn't need the mounting holes going through the brace.
A piece of brass flat bar is radius-ed to make an anvil..
High spot is heated and tapped down with the hammer.. Then pick the next high spot and repeat....
Slot is welded closed, welds dressed, area media blasted once again...
Kyle working on prepping the passenger door for primer... Sorry for the blurry picture, gonna have to fire the photographer!
The hood ornament hole in the cross brace was also welded closed and dressed...
Next on the list were the stress cracks on the ends of the hood brace.
Some 16 gauge CRS was used to make some stiffeners inside the corners...
test fit..
Plug welded in place and the flanges wrapped around... cracks repaired...
Test fit to the hood...
jimgood
Well-known member
That's the difference experience makes. You probably already knew that you were going to have to grind the welds, what tool you'd use to do it and where the tool was.Hell, my first thought would have been to simply weld the cracks. That's how inexperienced I am. Beyond that, I would have fiddle-farted around with a Dremel and some kind of worthless stone grinder that would wear away half way through the first weld. Then I have to go to Tractor Supply to see if I could find another grinding stone and they'd only have one. Then I'd come back and grind the other half off the first weld. Then I'd go to my computer and look up what kind of tool to use. Abandon that and order 50 more of the stupid Dremel grinding stones and wait a week to get them. So MP&C's ten minutes would be equivalent to my week and a half.
Yarz
Well-known member
Surely you don't want to do that.. I don't have a good enough imagination to picture in my head what you say you're doing
TimeWarpF100
Well-known member
I think I could find more than one thing for the out of work photographer to do in my shop
I would be happy to hire him for a photographer spot here!
My have a "bit" of other work I could find as long as he is here . .
He would probably not be happy here, he would get slim to none rust repair . .